Just in case you missed ‘em the first time around, here are our picks for the best articles of 2009 on StyleSampleMag.com:

Interview with Rihanna’s stylist Mariel Haenn: Hayley and I met up with Rihanna’s stylist, who gave us advice on everything from getting started in fashion styling to making industry contacts. Great info for future stylists.

Premiere Issue release: If for no other reason than sheer sentimental value, check out the very first issue of Style Sample mag. Remembering this one always makes me smile.

How to Pitch a Story to a Magazine: Aspiring fashion writers, take note.

How to create a Facebook Fan Page for your blog: Actually setting it up is easy; here’s advice on what to post and how to attract fans.

Monetizing with ad networks: This is a new one, but chock-full of extremely useful info about earning money with your blog.

Free Blog Templates and Themes: This is fashion darling, looks are important. Here are some of the best sites for blog templates and themes to make your site sexy.

The Top 3 Online Image Editors: A review of the best (free!) online photo editors so you can easily create collages, add text to photos, enhance your images, and more.

Do you agree with our choices or do you have other favorites?

After many, many hours of blood, sweat, and tears (seriously, there were tears), the new StyleSampleMag.com is finally here!

Feel free to take a look around–much is the same, but the design and layout has changed in hopes of making it easier to find what you need and provide a more consistent publishing platform.

There’s still plenty of work to be done, so things may be a bit “off” for a while. Be sure to let us know if you experience any technical issues with the site or the RSS feed, and as always, we’d love to hear your ideas and what you think!

Style inspiration comes from many places, not the least of which include the dynamic images and dialogue in movies, television, music videos, and of course, on the runway. We took a break to share some of our favorite fashionable video picks and decided to share them with you, too. Enjoy ours and share your favorites in the comments!

The obvious choice would have been “Freedom ’90” as it features some of the biggest supermodels of the time, but Father Figure’s haunting melody and sensual imagery always got to me. Model Tania Coleridge is so cooly gorgeous and that white coat (look at those shoulders!) practically screams Tom Ford for Gucci. - Tamia

This early 90′s Herve Leger runway show includes a baby-faced Tyra and one of my favorite old-school supermodels, Yasmeen Ghauri. Plus, it proves the long-standing power of gorgeous Leger dresses–you know, before they were worn by every starlet within a stone’s throw of Fred Segal. Do you think Tyra and Naomi got into a catfight backstage? - Tamia

My name is not Alice but watching this video makes me feel like I am in Wonderland.  The gals’ wardrobes seem like a merger of the burlesque women placed in the renaissance with vampires and the guys gear came from a combination of the mad men three piece suits with a off color ties mating with the carnie ring leader.  I am a big fan of the Killers look in this video. -David

I am pretty sure there are many people out there that just scream “Born in the U.S.A.!” thinking this is a patriotic song but I know this song is a little anti-American, and a little anti-Vietnam war, so naturally being the son of Vietnamese war refugees born the U.S.A this song made me laugh, cry and hug my neighbor. Regardless, I love The Boss. Arigatou Gozaimasu! -David

I know Lady Gaga’s taste may be debatable on several levels, but when it comes to avant-garde artistic direction and creativity, you really can’t deny her thecrown. Despite her aversion to pants and love of dresses made of Muppets (poor Kermit!), Gaga’s look intrigues me every time.  I can’t take my eye off this video any time I see it…she just does what so many others are too afraid to do, and for that, I adore her. -Hayley

As enticing as it is eerie, I find Victoria Beckham’s Fall Collection ad campaign incredibly chic in its element of mystery. After all, isn’t the best beauty the kind that is debatable? Plus, I can’t help but wonder what it would be like to have a porch swing on my doorstep…-Hayley

Hayley and I had the opportunity to interview celebrity stylist Mariel Haenn, who has worked with people like Rihanna, Ciara, Will & Jada, Keri Hilson, etc. As expected, she was extremely stylish (and very nice, too!) but I had to take a pic of her hands–her nails and jewelry were SICK:

Stay tuned for the full interview, up next week!

Salon Essentials Fashion Show

The SSM Team came out in full force to support the Salon Essentials Fashion show at the Contemporary Arts Center in downtown Cincinnati. First off, a big thanks goes out to Koree Thatcher owner of Salon Essentials for being such a great host and congratulations to her and her salon on their two year anniversary.

The night started off with a fashion show featuring the girls from Swey Modeling, Inc sporting their clothes from Missy & Jack Boutique and rocking to the beats of D.J Spam. Meanwhile, media providers JYS Productions and ShawnD Productions were diligently capturing the glorious night. Overall we were most impressed with the overwhelming positive attitudes of all the participants. Swey Modeling, Inc is part of a non-profit organization which provides mentor-mentee relationships with the girls to promote a sense of self worth through modeling, dancing and community service.

To end the night, a special fashion show was put on by those in attendance who wanted to strut their stuff. This was a great way to check out all the outfits without even moving!

The night ended with Hayley getting felt up by French restaurateur Jean-Robert after a late night at The Righteous Room. Umm…can we get some free steak frites?

I promised to introduce the new Style Sample Magazine editorial assistants, so after a fun evening spent going over the editorial calendar and battling crazy/weird computer issues, they created this post (the title was their idea)!

I’m Hayley, a recent fashion graduate following my creative drive and seeing where it takes me! I’ve been fortunate enough to dabble in a variety of fashion jobs, from a stylist’s assistant to a stint at a fashion magazine, which have only intensified my love of beautiful/interesting people, places and things (as well as teased me mercilessly by being surrounded by amazing designer pieces!). I believe that the most interesting forms of art are in the everyday–which probably explains my unyielding love of people-watching and playing dress-up whenever possible.

My name is Dave! What’s up all you glorious and fabulous people out there on Earth? Basically I would use those same very two words to describe myself along with “bad-a$$”. I am soul believer that style doesn’t require money or professional training but comes from each person’s soul. I spent most of my youth wanting to look like everyone else around me, now that’s my worst nightmare! I hope that I can reach out to all those who want live life one crazy outfit at a time. Much love and Crush the day! D Le