Buy one James Perse item (a wide selection of luxe cotton t-shirts, tanks and a few dresses) and get the second half off at Access, 224 E. College Ave. Prices start at $38. Go take advantage because a sales girl told me it's not going to last much longer!

Finally, Juicy Couture has a much-needed rival for appealing to the 20-something masses; everyone, I'd like to introduce you to Vince. Department stores such as Nordstrom's, Saks and Bloomingdales can't seem to keep these "luxe staples" on their racks. Started in December of 2001 as a sportswear line, Michael LaPolice (Vince is a made up name for Cynthia Vincent, who aided in originating the line but left shortly the line's take-off), has taken the fashion world by storm since teaming up with Rea Laccone, who creating her popular line, Laundry. They both wanted to create a smaller, more personal line, filled with clothing that they would want to wear themselves; cashmere hoodies, well-fitting t-shirts, sweater wraps, warm coats and more.Turns out, a lot more people wanted to wear them then just LaPolice and Laccone, evident in their sales last year, and now this fall.

Admittedly, Vince's pieces are on the pricier side with a college student's budget, but on the grand scale of designer items it's definitely affordable, not to mention worth it. The reason why I'm obsessing over this line right now is because the pieces are keeping in tune with the season's trends (heather greys, trapeze cuts, baby doll cardingans) but not so much that you would want to donate it to Salvation Army after a year. Yes, the cashmere wool blend cardigan that I'm currently eying is $295, but I think of it as five or six junky sweaters that I will waste money on this winter compared to just buying one, great piece that I will keep not only this year, but the following and the one after that.

Think that State College doesn't have it? Wrong! Mr. Charles actually has a sizeable collection of the new line, including this really chic "cocoon" grey, puffer jacket and a leather cardigan. But, if you're looking for even more Vince (like the amazingly cute Audrey dress), I'd like to point you in the direction of shopbop.com, a haven for online shopping for the designer feigns. Not only is there an immense selection, but I also love the quick-view that comes up on the right side when you scroll over items.

Tulle double-breasted wool coat in midnight, was $100 and now $85.90, available at Mr. Charles, 228 E. College Ave.

Welcome to The Daily Collegian's first ever fashion-blog! We are sure that everyone has been anticipating its arrival like that pair of Tory Burch flats that you back ordered months ago.

For the first installment, a brief introduction of the authors, who also just happen to be the styles and trends reporters for our wonderful student newspaper, seems fitting.

My name is Nicole Sciotto, known to friends and now, the online world, as Nikki. I am the senior reporter for the styles and trends beat at The Collegian and I'm currently a junior majoring in journalism and political science. Also worth mentioning is that I'm a native of Princeton, New Jersey, which has influence my style immensely. With a local Ivy League school and New York City a train ride away, I would describe my style as a mix of preppy and urban pieces. My fashion fetish is coats; leather, blazers, dress coats...you name it, it's in my closet.

And I'm Stephanie Schomer, Nikki's counterpart to the styles and trends beat here at the James Building. With a much less impressive hometown of Orchard Park, N.Y., just outside of Buffalo, I lack the ability to get to NYC in less than eight hours, but hey, I have Canada just across the lake, which comes in handy on the weekend. Fashion-wise, growing up in a city where it snows nine months out of the year, I am fall and winter-obsessed and can withstand temperatures of ten below, but I'm not too proud to admit that I struggle to dress myself during this warm Indian summer here in State College. My style tends to center around functionality, with the occasional splurge on a completely useless pair of shoes, which is my own personal fashion fetish.

The blog is for both enlightenment and enjoyment purposes. Both of us are constantly on the prowl for great fashion, whether it be New York Fashion Week or a sale at Mr. Charles, we are in the know and plan to share our thoughts, ideas and knowledge with our readers.

We also are firm believers in smart shopping. Old Navy, Target, Kohl's, and any given sale rack is fair game. That brings us to our first ever "Deal of the Week", which is either an article of clothing or an accessory (i.e. bags, jewelry, etc.) that we've been stalking and waiting to drop in retail price. Of course, all of the Deals of the Week will be from local stores, so you'll be able to enjoy them.

We want to end our inaugural blog entry with a quote by Coco Chanel:
"Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening."

Coco couldn't have said it better. No one is unaffected by fashion; we all wear clothes, don't we?
So if you have to wear them, there's no shame in finding a style and totally rocking it out.

I WEAR WHAT I WANT!