So, I’m on Twitter tweeting some haute picks from Bluefly’s big shoe sale, when I tweet a particular pair of corked heels saying, “Only the quirky chic need apply,” because the shoes were a bit quirky in design, while still remaining chic, of course. Then my friend @Sara_Mooney replies to me, “Thanks to you, I think I finally have a name for my fashion style: Quirky Chic.”

Quirky chic is certainly a form of fashion style, and definitely one of my favorites. Think Carrie Bradshaw on one of her more quirkier days, Lisa Loeb or Ellen DeGeneres. It’s a style that’s fun, whimsical, cheeky and not very well thought out. But that’s good, because a quirky chic woman never looks affected. That’s for sure.

Are you quirky chic? Do you incorporate funny shirts into your wardrobe? Are colorful Converse sneakers a staple in your closet? And if so, do you pair them with a flirty skirt and a peacock feathered headband? When you get ready each morning, do you find yourself humming “How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?”

Or… do you long to be quirky chic? Maybe you have a career that doesn’t allow for your quirky chic style. Or, maybe you come from a family where your quirkiness was simply not tolerated. Well, you’re a grown up now. And work doesn’t have to rule your world. I say: Unleash your inner quirky chic style! Of course, we wouldn’t want you to get all Lady Ga Ga on us, which works for her and the persona she’s created, but fashion shouldn’t be a costume behind which you hide. It’s a tool for self expression.

Pull out your cat eye glasses, brightest sneakers and Hello Kitty headband from your closet. And wear them with a hilarious Flight of the Conchords business time t-shirt and a pair of cropped boyfriend jeans. Better yet, how about giving The Hangover t-shirts a try along with a sequined mini skirt? Talk about quirky.

Give yourself permission to be funny and expressive. You deserve it. We can’t all look like Audrey Hepburn. And who would want that? We all need our own individual looks and styles. So go on… be quirky chic. It’s the chic part that matters.

You are going to die laughing when you read this post from the pages of Fashion Pulse Daily. Enjoy!

In fashion, it seems downright chic to have womenswear borrow from menswear, but vice versa really doesn’t seem to ever work. Prime example? These “man”diators (or  “lad”iators as my boyfriend calls them) are absolutely absurd. I recently spotted them in the TopMan section of Topshop, and every guy that I’ve shown them to this past week has essentially responded with “you couldn’t pay me to wear those”. Priced at $60-$70, I have absolutely no clue who will be actually buying them; I mean, check out the colors that they come in!  If they weren’t so large in size they could easily be mistaken for women’s shoes. The only guy that could barely pull these off was Russell Crowe in the movie Gladiator, and I’d like to keep it that way.

- Julia DiNardo