With everything under $150, it’s easy to dress for the holiday season this year with American Living for JCPenney. At the press preview this week, I saw some great jersey dresses in colors that work beyond the holiday season, alongside cozy sweaters, feminine henleys, ultra-soft cords, and great gift giving options like small satchel handbags and colorful wallets. Look out for these items in-store and online with roll-outs occurring in November, December, and January.

-Julia DiNardo

American Living Cargo Jacket, $63.00

The cool, crisp fall days are beginning to call for some light layering. American Living’s latest fall styles, sold exclusively at JCPenney, are as practical as they are cute. While the collection includes dresses, skirts, pants and more, the outerwear is especially trendy. A classic cardigan will always come in handy when in the office or out at night. For a more edgy look, try a cropped motorcycle jacket or a utilitarian cargo jacket, both pictured here (and a few of our faves!). You don’t have to break the bank to look high fashion!

American Living Motorcycle Jacket, $54.00

-Alana Quagliariello

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Which is your favorite?

I Heart Ronson

Bisou Bisou

Olsenboye

Nicole® by Nicole Miller Scarf Print Dress, $39.99

n by Nicole Miller® ‘Miranda’ Sandal, $ 39.99

nicole® by Nicole Miller ‘Maven’ Satchel, $48.99

The winner of the What Will You Wear to the Oscars? Tell Us, and Win a $50 JCPENNEY Gift Card!  giveaway is Ashley W. of Brighton, MA. Congrats Ashley, and thanks to everyone who entered. And, in case you were curious, the most popular look was #2 (the nicole by nicole miller look), followed by look #3 and look #1.

All items are from the spring 2011 JCPenney collections- including designer brands such as Olsenboye, MNG by Mango, Call It Spring, Nicole by Nicole Miller, Bisou Bisou, and I ‘Heart’ Ronson.

Here are the three outfits to choose from (and just for the record, no matter where you live or what the weather actually ends up being, let’s pretend it is a sunny 70 degrees!):

Look #1:

I ‘Heart’ Ronson Ruffle Sleeve Dress, $34.99

MNG by Mango® Salines Cardigan, $59.90

Call It Spring® ‘Papetti’ Pump, $59.99

Look #2:

Nicole® by Nicole Miller Scarf Print Dress, $39.99

n by Nicole Miller® ‘Miranda’ Sandal, $ 39.99

nicole® by Nicole Miller ‘Maven’ Satchel, $48.99

Look #3:

Olsenboye Challis Zip Front Dot Dress, $24.99

Call It Spring® ‘Pleiman’ Sandal, $44.99

Bisou Bisou® Panel Tote, $27.99

RULES OF ENTRY:

1) Sign up for the Fashion Pulse Daily Newsletter (if you haven’t already)

2) Tell us in the comments below “Which outfit would you wear to an Oscars Party?” Tell us the Look  number (1, 2 or 3)

3) USA entrants only, one entry per person, must be 18 or older.

Good luck!

*Contest ends on Sunday, February 27th, 2011 at 11:59pm. The winner will be selected via Random.org

Holidays should really be about sharing and caring – not midnight shopping madness or a fourth flatscreen TV for your home. Putting things in perspective, there are those living amongst us that we can do something for with just a few clicks and a few bucks. I recently received $200 gift cards from JCPenney to participate in the Adopt an Angel program and share my experience with you. In partnership with the Salvation Army, one can adopt an ‘angel’ online, an adult or senior, and shop their ‘wishlist’ anywhere, or at JCPenney. Since I went the JCPenney route, I also got free shipping for my angel — the items just go to a local Salvation Army with the angel’s ID in the shipping label. I wanted to touch two lives this season, and so I decided to pick two angels: one in Pittsburgh, my hometown, and the other in NYC.

[Items I picked for my angels include a stroller, Elmo toy, winter coat, and boots.]

My Pittsburgh two-year-old female Angel was in need of a stroller and Elmo, so I went for the Elmo’s Dragon Adventure Building Set and the Kolcraft® Contours® Lite Stroller. It breaks my heart to think about this child, void of a stroller, and since I don’t know much about kids, nonetheless strollers, this at least looks like a good one!  The second Angel I adopted was a 16 year old female from Queens she asked for clothes, shoes, and a jacket, so I spent some time thinking about what teens wear these days, and what she may think is ‘cool.’ This was more challenging, because high school is hard enough, and not having ‘cool’ clothes really sucks. I went with the UGG-like Arizona ‘Cascade’ Suede Boot, Southpole® Solid 2Fer Bomber, and Olsenboye Stud Pocket Tee.

This was definitely one project well worth my time, and although I will never meet my Angels, I hope that the gifts are just what they need, and if not — can return them for something better suited! It’s not too late to participate in the The Salvation Army Angel Giving Tree Adopt an Angel program – go to the website and adopt one before December 10th in order for gifts to be received in time. Otherwise, you have until Decemeber 14th to purchase a JCPenney Gift Card for your Angel.

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It’s fun to get invited to fabulous fashion events in NYC, but even more fun when I can share it with my readers! Here’s a video from the MNG by Mango Launch Party last night, featuring red carpet celebrity arrivals, a Janelle Monae performance, and the MNG by Mango fashion show.Now you’re an insider too! If you like the clothes you see, go ahead and head on over to JCPenney in order to purchase them!

-Julia DiNardo

1. What I Wore: Made for a morning cup of coffee
2. Style Bakery: Made for doing it all
3. The Budget Babe: Made for shopping at the farmer’s market
4. Gala Darling: Made for enjoying the fresh air and sunshine
5. The Coveted: Made for riding my bike
6. Corporette: Made for a power play
7. StyleMom: Made for a play date
8. SecondCityStyle: Made for shopping in the city
9. College Fashion: Made for date night
10. Clutch22: Made for brunch with the girls

Just in time for back to school shopping, JCPenney has collaborated with Seventeen Magazine to launch a virtual dressing room for online shopping, called Augmented Reality. Shoppers can upload their photos and “try on” items in the online store, getting a sense of what they look like before the item is purchased and shipped.  Olsen enthusiasts can even try on new looks from Mary-Kate and Ashley’s fall London-inspired collection for Olsenboye, like this canvas Olsenboye Foldover Convertible Cross Body bag (pictured above).  Now the worlds of online and brick and mortar shopping are even more connected!

-Kaci Hamilton

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I had the pleasure of taking part in the American Living for JCPenney shoot, a campaign produced by Style Coalition and starring some of my favorite blogger buddies: Jennifer Davidson & Beth Herbst of Style Bakery, Carol Calacci of Second City Style, Dianna Baros of The Budget Babe, Gala Darling of GalaDarling.com, Jennine Tamm of The Coveted, Jessica Schroeder of What I Wore, Jordana Bruner of Clutch 22, Kat Griffin of Corporette, Zephyr Basine of CollegeFashion, and Nichelle Pace of StyleMom. I was a part of Jordana’s video — check out the behind the scenes video and stay tuned for the fabulous videos coming out next week! Each blogger shared her favorite NYC moments as part of the ‘Made For’ campaign.

Here are some fabulous behind the scenes photos from the shoot, taken by the lovely Jennine Jacob (hair and makeup by Jen Paelmo and Tara Drake).