Blog Posts by Ariel Rivera, Style Editor

'Tis the season to load up on our Americana. Hot dogs, stars and stripes, and a summer anthem beckon. Luckily, rapper Azealia Banks' new jumpoff, "Liquorice," has all three. Plus, the video is styled by Nicola Formichetti whom you may know as one miss Lady Gaga's stylist. Between the all-black mercenary looks and the PVC outfit in the final campfire scene, you can very much see his stamp on this.

Now, Banks is a total knockout in her American flag everything, but my advice would be to choose just one patriotic piece at a time. A crochet flag bikini top with coordinating shorts in front of a giant flag banner is one thing in a music video, and an entirely other thing in the real world. But do go ahead and accessorize with shiny gold accessories the way Banks did. It's so much more glam that way. 

A triangle flag bikini would be extra sassy with some gilded mirrored aviators. And these flag-print cut-offs long for this belt. This tee-shirt gets the point across well, too. America!

Paloma Faith is a fussy dresser. Make no mistake about it, the singer may have -- on a given day -- just rolled out of bed, but you won't ever catch her primping to achieve that ubiquitous look. Instead, every component of her presentation is attended to, from her coiffed hair (often avec accoutrements) and full face of make-up, to her themed clothing and punishing footwear.

On the day this photo was taken -- May 22 -- Paloma was visiting the BBC headquarters in London. Her strawberry and platinum blonde hair was swept into a 1940's rockabilly flip with a big floral clip as she balanced atop super-high platform red patent boots, wielding a boxy train case. Never mind the embroidered cardigan, for the part of this look we care most about is her ASOS gingham ensemble. The crop top and coordinating pants cost $20 and $25, respectively, and are still available on their site.

We've officially entered the season of delicious yet cloying constant heat, when our most difficult questions are which flavor popsicle and how can we look cute and un-wilted. Coconut, obviously, and enter: the kimono jacket. Celebrities like Nicole Richie, Florence Welch and Miley Cyrus are already loving it, and you can, too.

This flowy, airy, wisp of a thing can be paired with anything from cut-offs to a slip-dress to a swimsuit.

For the weekend: Try one over a simple tank tucked into high-waisted shorts and flat sandals.

For night-time: Drape one over a mini-dress and add colorful wedges.

For the beach: choose a swimsuit with a sexy plunging neckline, add sunglasses, and throw the kimono jacket over for the walk over.

[top row, from left to right: green waterfall kimono, long sleeve floral kimono, seahorse kimono. bottom row, from left to right: sheer mint kimono, pom pom kimono, hot pink and purple kimono.

There's really nothing sultrier, make-up-wise, than red lips or smoky eyes, but rarely does the Big Beauty World of Restrictive Rules advise pairing the two. It's a lot of face to give during the day, maybe, but it's a totally sexy nighttime-appropriate look for sure.

If you've made it past the horrifying tarantula scenes and seen Sky Ferreira's "Red Lips" video, then you know that I'm referring to the look above and not the full face-mask of YSL Rouge Pur lipstick she maniacally applies to her face. It's so striking with her pale skin and platinum hair but this look can work on a variety of different skin tones and against different shades of hair, so listen up.

Assuming you've already got your skin-care/everyday make-up routine under control, get the above look in 3 easy steps:

Step 1: Pick a shade of red that works best for you. I like orange-y reds with olive skin and blue-er reds with fair skin, but to each her own. Cover Girl's Blast Flipstick in "Tease" ($8) is my current

Has anyone else noticed that Miley Cyrus looks incredible lately? She's got a defined style and an air of confidence that's not always common within 19-year-old girls.

While doing her thing around Toluca Lake, CA, she tucked a $9 Forever 21 slouchy neon slub tee into a pair of shredded, studded black Urban Outfitters cutoffs and accessorized with Chuck Taylors, a massive black leather Chanel tote, boxy shades, a printed headband, matte pink lips and her new engagement ring.

I know this look isn't worthy of the red carpet, nor is it likely to land her at the top of a best dressed list, but she's really nailing that off duty model/summer festival/cool girl style that we all love so much. 

Do you agree? Do you hate her look? Are you a little skeptical of a marriage that begins at 19, but as a feminist feel that you want to support a woman's right to do anything she feels is best for her? Let me know.

Ariel's almost ten years older than Miley Cyrus, also engaged, and on Twitter.

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(Kate Bosworth/Splash)High and low dressing -- the act of mixing something expensive with something affordable -- is neither a ground-breaking idea, nor is it altogether that surprising. I for one know that purchasing a big ticket item like a Chanel bag (even one from eBay and an INVESTMENT, mom and fiancé) would necessitate that the rest of my wardrobe came from Forever 21 for a safe period of time. It is, however, at least more interesting when an A-list celebrity practices it.

Kate Bosworth, whose net worth is well into the millions and whom most likely is sent loads of beautiful clothes and accessories from designers, need not mix her high-end goods with more accessible pieces. But she's a little street style minx, you see, and from time to time she likes to throw a nod to the Real Girls. Her Tom Ford sunglasses may have set her back a cool $435, the Jason Wu "Daphne" satchel costs a whopping $1,875, and her Chloé scalloped shorts and sandals go for $500 and $290, respectively, but by golly, did she

I like to look at shoes like these and wonder about the lives of the women who wear them. Where is this bizarre and exorbitantly-priced footwear acceptable? One pair of the shoes below was born from the imagination of a famous rapper whose namesake sneakers just sold on eBay for over NINETY THOUSAND DOLLARS. The most expensive pair costs over eighty-nine times the cost of the world's most expensive hot dog. They're all so bad, you can't even look away. Click through and let us know which of these are so horrible that you kind of love them!

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I'm not a miracle worker, you guys. If you're into looking sexy on the beach, you've got to watch what you're eating and you've got to log those hours at the gym. And if you're already content with the way you look in a swimsuit, well, good for you, girl. Furthermore, just as there are no two women cut from the exact same cloth, there is no magic, universally flattering swimsuit. There are, however, good guidelines to stick to when shopping for your seaside (or pool-friendly, for my landlocked sisters) essentials.

If, like my pigment-challenged best friend who loves to cover up AND apply SPF 70, you prefer a saucy ONE-PIECE (1), choose one that 1. has a v-neck, 2. has some sort of ruching and/or draping and 3. is cut high on the leg, making your legs appear longer.

If a BIKINI (2) is what you're after, choose a molded-cup, underwire top and pair it with a hipster bottom. This top gives shape to lesser-endowed women, and lift to those of us who were blessed with more.

And here's a tip