School is great, but it ain’t cute. The process of learning acts upon your things in time, fraying the pages of your textbooks, leaking ink on your binders, and chewing away at the nubby end of every last pencil.
But then there’s you. And you, girl, are a cutie. You swoop in like you’re the popular female protagonist in any ‘90s teen movie and you go full makeover on school’s drab a**. Out with the pink eraser, gone with the yellow pencil, and donezo with that prosaic black ballpoint pen. Combat the back-to-school blues with a few pretty items for your pencil case and make your lectures a little more beautiful, if no less banal. Check out our 20 favorite picks.
York Trash Bucket, Urban Outfitters, $24
This is the garbage can equivalent of a sandy bay in Montauk, N.Y. Before you relegated it to a life of rubbish, this bucket could have built castles on the beach, caught crayfish, perhaps even held a heaping pile of discarded shells at the annual family clambake in Nantucket. Instead, it’s holding the first, second, and third draft of your comparative paper on pathetic fallacy in early Wordsworthian poetry (the trash looks great though).
Moleskine Ruled Notebook, Moleskine, $16
There’s nothing like a classic, and the Moleskine notebook is classicism as Jackie O would have it. Refined. Simple. The pick of Picasso, Hemingway, van Gogh, Wilde, Matisse; it’s a tradition you should want to kill to be a part of. Thankfully, you don’t have to kill anyone—you just have to buy one for yourself.
High Styler Pens, Topshop, £6 (about $9)
If you’ve ever looked at a highlighter and thought, “What an ugly troll of a writing utensil. It’ll never be as pretty as a bottle of nail polish,” then comfort yourself in knowing that the buyers at Topshop evidently felt the same way. Enter the High Styler Highlighter set, the use of which is about as chic as you can be squinting through a stress migraine at some 50-page beast of a poli sci reading.
British Pencil Pack, Topshop, £2 (about $3)
The Olympic flame has long been lit in preparation for London 2012, and if you can’t be there in the flesh, at least you can have this Anglophilic pencil set, right? Leave it to Britain’s requisite retailer of all things cool and current to make you want a set of pencil crayons more than when you were 7 years old and thought popularity to Crayola count had a direct correlation.
FEED 10 Pouch, FEED, $25
Attention International Relations majors: made of natural burlap with a “luxurious plum-colored recycled nylon lining,” each FEED 10 Pouch sold will also provide 10 school meals through the UN World Food Programme. It’s glamorous and philanthropic; if this pouch were a man, it’d be the kind you brought home to your parents. Collegiettes, this pouch is the marrying kind, so pick it up immediately.
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Need Coffee to Work Coffee Tumbler, Victoria’s Secret Pink®, $14.50
Sometimes it’s best to just acknowledge your vices openly and honestly. So, honestly? We need coffee to work. There, we said it. Now let’s all get tumblers that announce it to everyone else, too—the first step to overcoming an addiction is admitting you have one.
Trompe L’Oeil Laptop Case, Urban Outfitters, $29
When your laptop has been open so long it’s threatening to burn a hole in your pants (how awkward would that be?) give it up, shut it down, and package it away in this little brown envelope bound for Paris. Maybe when it returns, all your work will be completed. Or maybe it won’t, but at least you’ll have this quirky, cute laptop case.
Embossed Metal ID Case, Urban Outfitters, $10
It’s 11 o’clock. Do you know where your student ID is? Clasp it in this metal ID case and you’ll never lose it again. Look down your nose at all those lanyard carrying first-year amateurs; you keep your things in a case of embossed gold (Don’t let anyone know you got it on sale, too).
Cupcake Notepad, Fred Flare, $6
You know you had something urgent to write down. God, what was it? All you can think about is cupcakes. And icing. And sprinkles. And icing. And cupcakes. Oh no, now you’ve drooled on your notes. Should you call it a night if you’re considering taking a bite out of this thing?
World Map Folders (Set of 12), Indigo, $16
What do you keep in these file folders? Just your plans for making it around the world in 80 days. Seriously–it’s all in there. Travel itinerary, plane tickets, duplicate passports. You’re leaving mid-September when the work starts to really kick in and you’re not coming back ‘til you’ve made it full circle. Just kidding, it’s only your loose bio notes. Reality sucks.
Vintage Camera Pencil Sharpener, Fred Flare, $16
Dull pencils make dull minds. Keep your graphite sharp as your wit with this vintage camera pencil sharpener, which is in every way as cool as it sounds. Scratch that–it’s cooler. Not only does it hold your pencil in place for you while you turn a handle to sharpen it, you can actually adjust how sharp you want your pencil. Are these italics getting our point across?
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Staple-free Stapler, Fred Flare, $10
What is a stapler without staples? The staple-free stapler, which “staples” by hole-punching your papers together, is not only practical and eco-friendly, but it’s also a mind-bending question of social norms, technological convention, and philosophical theorem. (And, like, it comes in pink).
Lipstick Ballpoint Pen, Fred Flare, $5
It’s a universal truth of the female experience that where there is lipstick, there need be no pen. But despite its impressive clout as a utensil of both cosmetic and scholarly purposes, your Revlon Red is looking a little ragged following its usage on surfaces a tad rougher than your pucker. So stop using your lipstick as a pen and start disguising your pen as your lipstick. It’s all very Bond Girl, no?
Sprout Bookmark Set (Set of 6), Fred Flare, $8
You’re a plant killer and you know it. You can’t even keep a Chia pet alive, and you bear the brunt of this shame wherever you travel. Stop houseplant murder; buy these sprout bookmarks. So they’re made of silicone. So what? They’re the closest you’ll get to nature while sheltered away in some dreary corner of the library for weeks on end during finals and they’ll mark your page for you.
Cottage Rose Lap Desk, All For Color, $24
It’s that point in the night again. The point where you’ve given up on your desk and have straight up moved your work to the bed. You know you’re going to give into sleep at any moment, but at least while you’re pretending to do work you can prop your laptop up correctly? Look–there’s even a cup holder for your new Need Coffee to Work tumbler. And that floral print! It’s like someone just knew.
Scented Erasers (Pack of 5), Kikkerland, $4
So these scented erasers, otherwise unsensational, merited a spot on this list because of a certain smelly aspect: the scent of milk. What? Frankly, our main concern is what might happen if you start associating the scent of milk with messing up. Will you ever eat cereal again?! What about milkshakes?! These are just some salient and totally normal things to consider pre-purchase.
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Bunny Earbuds and Cord Wrapper, Indigo, $18
The grass is green, the sky is blue, and headphone cords will get tangled at least five times a day. You already spend a third of your life sleeping—stop wasting time untangling your headphones. Enter the Bunny Earbud & Cord Wrapper, which is not only functional, but also looks like a rabbit, which is just plain adorbs. Are you seeing those googly eyes? Are you?
Cleaning Paw, Kikkerland, $10
Is there anything more embarrassing than a dirty computer screen when you’re in a lecture hall surrounded by hundreds of peers? Probably. But it’s still kind of gross how many fingerprints and dust flecks have accumulated on your screen without you noticing. Keep it clean with this microfiber paw. It’s a paw, guys. Cleaning does not get cuter than this.
5 Minute Shower Timer, Kikkerland, $5.50
So this isn’t strictly a school supply, but then again, how many morning lectures have you hustled into late because you showered ‘til the water ran cold? We’re guilty, too. It’s okay. Just consider this your latest Her Campus Challenge! Do you know how much extra time you could have before school in the morning if you didn’t shower for like, five hours?
Ballerina Wall Clock, Fred Flare, $16
Keep time with the pointed toes of this ballerina wall clock and you’ll find that the hours pass in a graceful, more balanced, and generally pinker way. Side effects of purchase may include an enveloping boredom with standard black-and-white wall clocks and a newfound taste for chignons. If you’re going to stare at a clock all day, let it at least be chic!