Blog Posts by Ariel Rivera, Style Editor

Miguel/VM/FAMEFLYNET PICTURESDoes pairing $400 jeans with a $15 sweater justify the price tag of the jeans? Maybe not, but it softens the blow.

Miley Cyrus and her platinum military haircut made their way out of a California Starbucks recently in just the sort of Coastal Cool (East-West sartorially ambiguous) ensemble that inspires us on days we're feeling stumped. Skinny, cuffed, leopard Isabel Marant jeans ($395) got the cozy treatment from a slouchy, roll-neck Topshop sweater ($15).

For accessories, Miley kept it classic and rich. A Chanel bucket bag, black ballet flats, House of Harlow sunglasses ($148) and an '80s-style belt rounded out the look.

Are you over printed jeans? What's your go-to coffee-fetching look? Are you still stock-piling sweaters, especially now that everything's so post-holiday discounted? Tell us everything.

Hangovers are inevitable. Bad style doesn't have to be. Do you want to not only avoid looking like you've been out all night, but also be cooler than everyone in the room? Thought so. Below is the way to do it.

Hangover fashion.

Full-coverage opaque, or barely-there sheer? Swiss dot, herringbone, nude fishnet, faux-garter, or vertical stripe? With so many tights on the market, how's a girl to choose? And, once she's stocked her winter tights arsenal, how's she to know what to pair with what.

Let's dive right in. And don't forget to click to buy these options below.

Tights galore!

 SHEERS

-Sheer tights are inherently dressier and more feminine than all the other tights in the land. Sheers are what you'll want to wear with your fitted pencil skirts, your flouncy dresses, and your sequin shifts.
-When it comes to shoes, choose closed-toes with your sheer tights. Anything else is a little too.. pretending you're not wearing tights at all. And no one will believe you.

OPAQUES

-These are your standard, everyday tights. These are the tights you wear with a thick sweater-dress and a leather jacket. These are also the tights you wear with mini dresses and leather mini skirts--for modesty.
-For shoes, anything goes. Chunky

Tom Ford sunglasses.Holiday shopping got you down? You're not alone. This year, Groupon--the flash deals site we all know and love--commissioned a study where they surveyed gift-givers about common gift-giving challenges. At this time of year, thirty percent of people polled think that they're going to get "ugly, inappropriate or bad-fitting clothing," said Julie Mossler, Director of Corporate Communications for Groupon.  Been there, received that. Meanwhile, "the majority of people were worried about buying something for an unidentified love interest," which Mossler described as "not an ex and not a current." Her advice is ingenious: "Get them a local experience!" she advises. "Locate traditional Daily Deals in their neighborhood, go do an activity with them--go skydiving, go drive a Lamborghini for an afternoon, go wine-tasting." Makes sense; when you're not quite sure where your "unidentified love interest" stands in your life, spending time with him or her will only bring you closer.

Racing experience.Of course,

Erika Goldring/GettyA peek inside COVERGIRL Janelle Monae's closet would surely reveal a pristine super hero-esque cave of slim tailored suits and tuxedos, with crisp white shirts and a collection of ties. The girl may have a formula, but it serves her very well. Especially when there is a matte, hot pink lip involved.

At Wednesday night's "Grammy Nominations Concert Live!!" Janelle received three (count 'em!) GRAMMY nominations for the song she and Fun. collaborated on. They performed "We Are Young," a charming tune about carrying a friend home after a night of too much partying, to a room of screaming, singing, supportive fans.

For her very successful night, Janelle made like Erika Goldring/GettyDiane Keaton in “Annie Hall” in a white, spread-collared shirt under a matte black vest teamed with fitted trousers, and finished with a tie, felt hat and leather boots. A structural cuff and pearl earrings made up her jewelry game, while black nail polish and hot pink lipstick (not to mention sleek black eyeliner and a flawless

(Larry Busacca/WireImage)Did you tune in and watch as nominations for the 55th Annual GRAMMY Awards were announced Wednesday night in Nashville? If so, you watched as thrice-nominated Taylor Swift and LL Cool J traded adorable banter, and Taylor actually beat-boxed while LL sang one of her original songs, "Mean." And not to BE mean, but I suffered some pretty horrendous second-hand embarrassment while watching them. Let's just say they should stick to what they're good at.

One thing Taylor Swift is good at (besides getting GRAMMY nominations and despite being an enviable and towering 5 foot, 11 inches tall) is dressing like a life-size doll. She opened the show in a long sleeve white fit-and-flare dress made from gorgeous, thick, intricate lace. One major diamond ring and sweet, gold, sparkly peep-toe pumps completed her darling look.

Erika Goldring/GettyLet's talk about her hair, shall we? Full, blunt bangs make Taylor's eyes pop, while soft, face-framing waves add a dose of femininity. Subtle cheekbone contouring, bronzed

Even though she was recently exonerated of public opinion that she broke up the Beatles, she's still the same old Yoko Ono. Just last month, Sir Paul McCartney told the Los Angeles Times that, "she certainly didn’t break the group up, the group was breaking up.” He continued, “When Yoko came along, part of her attraction was her avant-garde side, her view of things, so she showed him another way to be, which was very attractive to him."

Yoko Ono and D.M.C. Team To FIght World Hunger

It's this avant-garde lifestyle that's kept 79-year-old Yoko in and out of the news regularly over the last fifty years. It began with her 1964 performance art spectacle, "Cut Piece," in which she sat on stage in an expensive suit and invited audience members to take turns  disassembling it and keeping the pieces. Then it segued into the great "Bed-in" of 1969, in which she and Lennon invited press into their honeymoon suite every day to promote peace. A recent installation at the MoMa including "Whisper

The Thread had the pleasure of chatting with actress and singer, Lucy Hale, who was in town kicking off the Duracell Power Holiday Smiles program to benefit Toys for Tots. She surprised the students of P.S. 64 in New York City with battery-operated toys for their holidays. As the holidays are fast-approaching, our conversation centered around family tradition and gift-giving, and then ultimately landed on our favorite topics: music and fashion.

Hale, the 23-year-old, Memphis-born singer/actress is probably best known for her role as Aria on "Pretty Little Liars," but not for long. She's got a Christian Bush-produced country album coming out that's sure to set her on the map. Especially since a) Hale claims Bush "really put [her] through the ringer," and b) she's Hollywood Records' first country artist. But country music is not all she loves; Hale says if you were to check inside her iPod, you'd find an eclectic mix of everything from Johnny Cash, to "Glee," to Carly Rae Jepsen. "As