More often than not, a quick glance around campus reveals throngs of students, each clad in the same school sweatshirt and faded jeans. Yet something is changing here at Stanford; even in the doldrums of winter quarter, flashes of fashion appear in the crowds. Flats replace flip flops; hoodies are traded in for sleek blazers and tailored peacoats. Something is changing because — perhaps for the first time — someone is watching.

Yes, Leia Lorica ‘09 and Taylor Jackson ‘10 are trying to revive fashion, one blog entry at a time.

On Monday night, I sat down with Lorica of StanfordStyle and Jackson of thechicnerd to chat about style, fashion blogs, and the role of each at Stanford. For a 10 p.m. meeting — a time at which students normally settle for sweats — both looked perfectly put-together: Lorica was business casual in purple wedges and a lace-trimmed skirt, while Jackson donned an empire-waisted wool jacket and skinny jeans tucked into suede boots.

“I started thechicnerd blog back in D.C.,” Taylor told me. “So when I came to campus I was planning on starting another one for Stanford. I wanted to name it StanfordStyle: It’s Not an Oxymoron, but then I found out the name was already taken.”

Jackson’s blog is scattered with candids of trendy Stanford-ites strutting their stuff in the Bookstore, Building 200, and her favorite haunting ground — watch out, fashion-phobes — the Axe and Palm.

Just last week, Jackson blogged on the costumes in Blackstage’s production of the Wiz.

“The scarecrow had all the appropriate tears and patches, uneven pant legs and straw in his hood,” Jackson wrote on her blog. “Disheveled worked well — not to mention his glow in the dark kicks.”

Inspired by her coursework at Stanford, Jackson, a product design major, often includes color palettes — collections of hues that compliment each other.

“After taking Art 60 I started to notice how much color matters,” said Jackson. “I like to look at outfits the way one of my favorite bloggers, wearpalettes, does — as personal color compositions.

Lorica is more likely to snap your photo outside Green or Tresidder.

After a long stretch of rain, she snapped photos of students who brightened her day.

“One chose a cowboy hat, the other, a leather jacket and cozy scarf,” wrote Lorica. “Either way they’re staying dry and happy!”

“You don’t have to read Vogue or be a size 00 to have style,” Lorica wrote on her site. “Unlike models in magazine, these are real, relatable students...We salute those who dare to experiment, and we encourage you all to express yourselves.”

Not long into our chat, the two girls — who had corresponded before, but never met — discovered they have more in common than they had previously realized.

Both hail from Maryland, both sport a similar look, and both firmly believe that fashion should be accessible to all. Their inspirations, however, come very different places.

“I’m really inspired by Japanese fashion, especially from Harajuku,” said Jackson. “I love alternative styles and bright, urban colors.”

Lorica, on the other hand, adores vintage clothing and holds her grandmother — “an always well-dressed woman,” she said — as a role model.

But despite all this talk of fashion and looks, just how important is looking fashionable at Stanford?

“There definitely will be days when I’m lazy or stressed out, so I just throw on the old sweater and jeans,” Jackson said.

“But fashion is still important,” said Lorica. “How you look, after all, is the first impression you give to people.”

Those of us with a tight budget can be reassured that looking stylish doesn’t have to be a bank-breaking endeavor.

“I think there is a difference between fashion and style,” said Lorica. “Fashion is what’s on the runway and is super pricy, but style is individual self-expression.”

“Actually, nowadays I’m more turned off by high fashion,” she added.

This is understandable, as Lorica held a Devil Wears Prada-esque summer internship with Vera Wang in New York City — complete with cruel superiors and endless coffee runs.

But, Lorica admitted, she did get free clothes out of the job, and she is hoping to intern with Ralph Lauren this coming summer.

Jackson, on the other hand, will have much more fashion to blog about as well — she is going to Kyoto this Spring, where she will be surrounded by Japanese fashion every day.

Jackson’s blog, thechicnerd, can be found at http://thechicnerd.blogspot.com.

Lorica’s blog, StanfordStyle, can be found at http://stanfordstyle.blogspot.com.