We love the preppy look. However, it's one of those things that's easy to do full-out, but sometimes a little harder to pull off in a more subtle fashion. Most items are either preppy or they're not. End of story.

We love the look of a soft, pretty headband. And, yes, we loved it even before Gossip Girl. Depending on the style of the headband, it can make your outfit more preppy, girly, or earthy. Today, we're leaning toward preppy.

We're bringing you another pretty little Spring dress because we happened to miss the Dress of the Day on Friday; and if there's one thing we can't tolerate, is not having enough dresses to get us through the weekend.

Though we are not always fond of J. Crew, mostly for its too-high pricetag for only-decent clothing, we make an excuse this season for the Cherry Blossom dress, which features the pretty little floral that we often associate with early Spring. The lightweight silk dress is a shift silhouette that pulls over the head through a modest ruffled neckline and button-front placket. Short sleeves are un-lined and feature ruffle cuffs. Our favorite feature, of course, is the hidden on-seam pockets.

Available from JCrew.com for $198.

We'll be honest. We weren't even aware that J.Crew sold wedding dresses, but tonight, we have discovered that not only does the brand with which we will forever associate the "barn jacket" have wedding dresses, but they have wedding dresses with pockets. We're not quite sure how we feel about this. On the one hand, it's a wedding dress, which already puts it at a disadvantage because you will never wear it again and for God's sake, it's for a wedding. On the other hand, if you're going to wear a wedding dress, why wouldn't you want a place to stash...your car keys? Because everyone knows that every bride always needs to have her keys handy. Or something.

(By the way, looking at the picture on the left, is it just us or does this make her look pregnant?)

[via: Fashionista]

We love shirt dresses, yes we do, but having an entire closet full of black and navy dresses that really look like shirts with belts is pretty boring. J.Crew's Silk Twill Shirt Dress adds interest to your wardrobe because of cool little features that are different from the typical collar, neckline , shirttail hemline, and cuffs of a standard shirtdress: printed fabric, deep scoop neckline, ruffled collar, bracelet-length sleeve and A-line gathered skirt.

The dress is available at jcrew.com for $180.

Every year, you tell yourself you're going to start your holiday shopping early. How could you not, when stores and malls start decorating with tinsel and lights as early as...well, early October? You think I'm kidding? I went to the Beverly Center a few weeks ago and they had already begun the trappings of their "Winter Wonderland."

Styledash will certainly be on hand this season to help you find good stuff for your friends and family (and yourself along the way), but until we package everything up in a nice neat little post for you, BusinessWeek has gotten a jump start with some gift suggestions for the fashionista in your life. In fact, since 65% of gift-shopping this Holiday season will be clothing, the recipeient doesn't even have to be fashionista.

The first in their series focuses on something totally easy, and easy to find: a hat-gloves-scarf set. I like their recommendation for cashmere from Banana Republic, $48 for a pair of gloves. J.Crew also has a pair of cable-knit cashmere gloves in bright baby blue for $38.

I think we're all aware that companies such as J. Crew, Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, and Joseph A. Banks offer not only huge selections of men's ties, but very good looking ties, too. But a glance at the price tag the ties these companies offer can make your wallet cringe, with prices reaching over $100 in some cases.

Take this plain silver tie from J. Crew -- $50. Or this black and blue tie from Polo -- $100!

At one point in my life, I had the mindset never to skimp on any part of a suit, especially ties, thinking that the more expensive my get-up, the better I'd look. But I've since gotten over that, and discovered that like most aspects of apparel, it's not necessary to spend the big bucks on ties.

So, in order to save money on ties, don't go to the mall and shop at the big retailers. I recommend checking out T.J. Maxx -- there's a huge selection of ties at great prices. They've got the same brands as the big guys, but the prices rarely get over $15. If you don't have a T.J. Maxx, try Men's Wearhouse -- not the famous brands, but good looking ties at good prices.

Remember when you had corduroy pants in every color? To match every color of rugby shirt you had from J. Crew? Ok, so maybe that was just me, back in my prep-ster days in high school. But I never wore corduroy in a dress because it only ever reminded me of...jumpers. I'm sorry, but I have yet to embrace the jumper. But until the day that jumper does not equal "Osh Kosh B'gosh" for me, I can only do corduroy in a shirt dress, like this one from J. Crew that comes in a deep espresso color.

The dress is cotton, with a fitted bodice that buttons up the front and has a full skirt. I like the way it is paired with boots, but I'd love it more if the boots were a little lower -- to show some knee. Regardless, the dress will be cute no matter what shoes you wear.

The argyle pattern has been around for a long time, with its origins said to be dating back to the Campbell Clan of Argyll, a western region of Scotland, according to Wikipedia. And this pattern, an array of diamond shapes in a diagonal checkerboard arrangement, is not, in my opinion, going out of style anytime soon.

It's always there to add a little color to the typical sweater or a little excitement to the standard pair of dress socks. It's a great way to portray the business-casual look, which is useful for work, dates, or simply a night on the town with friends.

This season, Banana Republic and J. Crew (two of my favorite brands) have joined in on the argyle addiction, with both companies debuting several argyle sweater options for the fall. The first six sweaters pictured on Banana Republic.com sport the argyle pattern, and J. Crew has several choices, too. J. Crew utilizes lambswool, while most of Banana Republic's sweaters are cashmere. (Okay, it's mostly wool and only 10% cashmere, but still!)

Both companies also have a selection of argyle socks. If anything, argyle socks are bound to get you a few comments (whether they're positive or negative).

Summer is over, so it's time to start investing in sweaters and dress socks. So why not make them interesting with argyle?