Alexa Chung: A Style Appraisal

The other day my friend Madelyn and I went to a taping of It's On with Alexa Chung, that new MTV show that sort of replaced TRL. If you've heard of the show, you're probably going to think I'm here to praise Alexa Chung for being stylish and fabulous. But I'm not, because while she's undeniably adorable and charming and I would love to be BFF with her, I'm just not a fan of her style. Here's what she wore on the taping I went to (it was on Tuesday the 14th, the episode with Kevin Connolly, All-American Rejects (the lead singer of which could also use some style guidance, or a shower and a long trip to rehab), and Michael Showalter and Michael Ian Black):Look at those shoes! Ridiculous! And that dress looks pretty cute, but in person it looked rather shapeless and drab. I did love her disco ball necklace, which was Erickson Beamon for Target. So while I appreciate that Alexa Chung has a unique style and is willing to take fashion risks, many of which she pulls off, I would never want to switch closets with her. She wears leather leggings. She probably thinks TopShop is fantastic. Enough said.

But before I move on to the point of this blog entry, I need to praise the hapless intern or whoever that is writing the Style File entries on the MTV Buzzworthy blog. For every episode, she posts a picture of Alexa and names the brand of every item, and then posts a few cheaper look-a-likes that you can find online or at your local mall. Genius! For that grey minidress above, the blogger suggested three similar dresses: two of which looked pretty similar to what Alexa wore, and one that didn't really but is WAY cuter. From Rugby, this Cable Crewneck Dress is just $54.99 and is the kind of dress you'll wear every fall for the next ten years. Yes, of course, you can't wear it now unless you happen to live in Australia--but for those of us who can be patient, it's a great buy.




Ok, you guys, I may have to take back what I said about not wanting Alexa Chung's closet. I've been going back through the Buzzworthy Style Files blog, and there is some major cuteness to be found.
I would loooove to get my hands on this Kova&T dress and French Connection cardigan. Worn on June 18th.


On June 30th, Alexa wore this charming and flirty vintage dress, and a necklace that she bought herself on St. Mark's Place! The blogger recommends this silver silk Thread Social dress as a similar match--at $275, it's way out of my price range, but I'm lusting for it nonetheless.

I find that my favorite items worn by Alexa often come from her own closet; for example, this cream and black piped blazer is hers, and it's classy perfection. I like how she makes it more funky with a lived-in t-shirt and skinny jeans, plus some major shoes. Worn on June 29th.

I know that plaid shirts are both out of season (although I can vouch that it's very, very cold in the MTV studios) and possibly out of style, but Alexa looks adorably casual in her own plaid men's style button-down on June 24th. And those gorgeous two-tone Mary Jane heels are from Chanel, of course.

From June 23rd: I'm not crazy about her striped shirt (the colors are a bit ugly, no?), but I heartily approve of her chunky rosette necklace from Tuleste Market. The blog suggests recreating it with the Clustered Gold Rosette necklace, $330; I'm not usually a chunky necklace type of girl, but I'd definitely make an exception for this bad boy.

Ok, this is the last outfit, and then I'm done:
Alexa really knocked it out of the park on June 25th. Vena Cava bustier dress, Rebecca Taylor cardigan, and Kathyrn Amberleigh shoes. The grey shoes work perfectly with the colors of the dress, and there's some cream on the bottom half of the dress that matches the cardigan. It's a classy, grown-up outfit, far superior to the typical L train outfit (for non-New Yorkers: The L train goes into Williamsburg, Brooklyn and is where you see the most offensively hip hipsters). It's almost something I could see Charlotte York wearing, but it has Alexa's own original spin. I also like how she completely forwent the accessories, excepting a ring or two. It's simple, it's elegant, it's lovely... and I now have to take back everything mean I said about her style.