CL! Exclusive! Interview with Jessica Quirk Creator of “What I Wore” Blog

You wake up in the morning throw on a cute outfit and as you’re walking down the street you start getting compliments and then you want to make sure everyone on campus notices your cute outfit.

If you haven’t heard of Jessica Quirk she is the amazing creator of the “What I Wore” blog that showcases her amazing daily outfits (photos courtesy of her husband Adam). She posts her outfit creations on a daily basis and not only are they trendy and cute but they also mix a lot of couture items with vintage items to give them a fun twist!

 

What girl doesn’t want the whole world to see the amazing outfit she created?!

“I’m thrilled with where the blog has taken me, but no, I didn’t start it with these opportunities in mind. I sincerely just love getting dressed every day,” said Quirk.

Her blog has taken social media by storm and has now become a popular selling novel dubbed the “Cookbook for your Closet.”

Quirk’s Cinderella moment came when the PR girls from Kate Spade sent her the perfect, crème, satin heels accented with a ruffle for her wedding day in September of 2010.

“At this point, I don’t accept many of the gift offers I receive, simply because I don’t have the closet space,” said Quirk, “I’m so grateful to be able to work with so many talented designers be it through collaboration or attending their fashion shows.

While many of us look at celebrities like Lauren Conrad or Kim Kardashian for style inspiration, Jessica takes her own spin by looking at fictional characters and decades to create her ultra trendy outfits.

“I look more to fictional characters from decades past for inspiration.  I love the late seventies and the styling in Annie Hall and Love Story.  I also have a thing for the 50′s housewife, especially Betty Draper.”

 

Her style is not only unique and trendy but also classy to model a CL’s closet after. Jessica Quirk leaves us Classy Coeds with some words to live by:

“Really use the resources you have available to you.  Many other students donate or sell their gently used clothing and that’s a great place to shop when you’re on a budget.  I don’t think I found my real style until a few years after I graduated and had disposable income to use for that purpose.”

Every CL girl should check out Jessica Quirk’s book What I Wore: Four Seasons, One Closet, Endless Recipes for Personal Style.

CL’s Guide to Keeping Things Positive!

As much as we wish college is nothing but hanging with sisters, making crafts and lounging on a favorite couch, college is also about hitting the books . . . hard. Piling homework, work and sorority meetings and social functions can really stress a CL girl out! Even though a girl may be stressed but it’s still good to show some love to your fellow sisters, friends and family!

Designating a sister to keep things positive is a great way to keep everyone’s moods upbeat! Before or after chapter she could show something funny from YouTube to boost everyone’s moral. Every girl loves a sweet treat and candy is a good way to any girl’s heart, bringing in candy or cupcakes puts everyone in a sweet mood and ready for business.

Sometimes in our crazy hectic schedules we sometimes forget to tell people thank you for all they do or remind them how much we care. Using CL’s TSM (Text Sweet Messages) Campaign is a great way to remind every sister how much they mean to each other. TSM is all about taking an amount of time from each day and texting positive messages.

Going along with positive texts is positive emails. When sorority girls are bombarded by emails everyday from classmates, professors, and anything to do with Greek Life it tends to become a hassle. Anytime a sister sends an email, maybe put a positive message at the end to make everyone smile or try to put a positive spin on things!

Everyone has bad days and it’s good to have something to remind a girl how much her sister’s care about her. Making a simple booklet from bright paper and having fellow sisters write positive messages is a great way to keeps sisters close and keep attitudes on positive on the days when a girl gets hit with something negative.

These are just easy steps any girl can take to let her sisters know she cares and to keep everyone’s day positive! Everyone has rough days and it’s good to know you have a sister to lean on when things get tough!

CL’s Guide to Dressing CLassy for Any Sorority Event!

Being in a sorority requires you to dress for many different kinds of events. Different recruitment occasions, social events, academic banquets, and formal soirees. Worrying about the perfect outfit can cause a CL girl to toss and turn and search through her closet trying to decide what to wear.

Finding the perfect outfit for a recruitment event can cause some stress if it’s catering to a specific theme. The first step to take its scour your closet to see if you have anything compatible, if the theme is a beach type theme try a bright dress or shirt and accessorize with some fun bangles or nautical inspired jewelry! You don’t have to go to in-depth with the theme but just remember to keep it classy because you always have to dress to impress for recruitment!

Academic banquets can be hard to dress for because it could the attire could go all the way from formal attire to business casual. Try to get a feel from people who have been there before what the best way to dress is. A good tip to remember is to always dress better than what you think you should. A black dress with a cardigan and a dash of pearls will look good no matter the dress code.

Formals are the easiest to dress for because the only thing a girl has to decide is a gown or cocktail dress! Formals are meant to be fun and have a class evening with sisters and handsome dates so pick a trendy dress that compliments you but is still classy! Remember to wear heals you can dance in and wear fun headbands or clips for your hair!

Don’t be afraid to borrow clothes! That’s what sisters are for! Don’t forget confidence is always the best accessory!

CL’s Guide to Buying your Big the Best Graduation Gift

Finding the perfect gift for anyone is tough but finding the perfect goodbye gift for your big can be even tougher. What haven’t you already bought her and what crafts haven’t you made for her. The best thing to emphasize is all the memories you both shared so it’s something she can look back on.

The best thing to encompass all of your memories is to make your big a graduation scrapbook. Compiling pages of all the favorite memories and memorabilia is something that a Big can keep around forever. Reminiscing on old memories can bring bigs and littles even closer. 

Even when Bigs are passing down their sorority t-shirts, flowers, and décor it’s good to give them their last family shirt. A family shirt is a great gift because they unique to what a family is all about and it shows the different generations that a big has started. It’s also something that they can wear when they come to visit or during Homecoming weekend.

A great gift that will keep a big grounded in the real world is a journal filled with all of your sorority’s information and what makes your sorority unique. Sometimes in the hectic crazy world a girl can lose herself and it’s good to have a friendly reminder of the woman she grew to be.

 

Piggy banks are the best way to save up a girl’s pennies so why not give a Big a piggy bank to save up her pennies to come visit again! It’s a cute reminder that even though a Big is graduating that she’ll be missed not only by her chapter, but especially her Little.

A practical gift is a nice briefcase or bag that can hold a resume or portfolio. It’ll be great for interviews and when she lands that amazing job she’s been working hard for! Buy a professional one but still has details that go with her personality like a bow or a splash of floral print.

College Lifestyle’s Katie! IUP’s Sorority Girl Next Door

Name:  Katie Gillman

School: Indiana University of Pennsylvania IUP

Studies: Journalism and Fashion Merchandising

Year: Senior

Organization Involvement: Alpha Sigma Tau, College Lifestyles Intern

Position at CL: Sorority Writer, Sorority Twitter/Social Media Intern

What I plan to bring to CL this summer:

Why am I excited to be a CL intern: It’s an amazing website that has the best advice for any college situation!

Career goals: to be the next Lauren Conrad, PR Specialist, and Celebrity Stylist

A classy co-ed is……. someone that can handle any situation with poise and grace, looks their best at all times and trying your best at everything you do

A FUN fact about me: I’m not ashamed to be called a shopaholic and when I’m not writing for College Lifestyles I’m either shopping or planning the perfect outfit.