Carissa Duhamel – Copy Editor
No matter how deep in denial you may be that summer’s sun-filled days will carry on endlessly independent of the continuance of time, it is in fact now September and fall is well on its way. Though you may find yourself reaching begrudgingly for a sweater instead of your swimsuit, the coming of autumn doesn’t mean you need to style yourself in piles of black fabric in mourning of summer’s death. Instead, transition seamlessly into the season’s crisp coolness with trends that will make this fall seem more like a walk down the runway than a funeral.
This fall designers transformed their assemblies of models into high-heeled armies with graphic camouflage, combat boots, and military jackets. SCSU students can mix army strong with campus chic by donning classic leggings and oversized camo t-shirts, or an open-cut sweater dress and vibrantly colored Doc Martens.
Don’t bother changing your shoes for fall’s next trend, which is a modern twist on punk á la the Met Gala theme back in May. Style yourself in studded ear cuffs like Nicole Richie, acid colored tartan prints, or daring dye jobs in frosted hues of all unnatural colors of the rainbow’s spectrum to make your fashion fierce for this millennia, and not the 80s.
1950s film noir cuts and shapes are also making a comeback this season, which feature several Hitchcock-esque outfits from designers like Miuccia Prada. Cinched and belted waists, full, flipped-out skirts, and fitted, high neck-lined tops in contrasting neutrals and brights paired with punchy circular or cat-eyed glasses make a fashion forward statement for neo-noir in class. This style is classy, professional, and subtly referential, so if one of your professors attempts to ramble to you about movies like “Vertigo,” or “The Birds,” just smile and don’t correct him – soak up the perceived film buff points he’s endowing you with and pray for a nerd-biased A.
As the days get cooler you’ll find yourself reaching for an extra layer of fabric over your outfit for the first time in months, but this doesn’t mean you have to cover up and hide your fabulous style beneath boring North Faces and puffer jackets. Rather, think of your coat as a removable but equally beautiful addition to your ensemble. This season offers up refreshing interpretations of jackets in unconventional pastels and wildly colored furs. Grab a collared wool coat in ethereal pink or seafoam green, or dare to step out in mid-thigh length patterned black and white fake fur. Just make sure your outfit with and without your jacket is cohesive and that you feel comfortable, then strut your way across the crossbridge with pride.
Lastly, but never least, this fall makes no seasonal style exception by including denim as an essential to your autumnal wardrobe. Make your take on jeans fresh this year by trying out loose boyfriend jeans with fitted t-shirts for a more casual vibe. Don’t be afraid to pull out your denim jacket from last year either; that trusty friend is still the perfect light cover up take you from September to late November. Challenge yourself, however, to think outside of the box with jean fabric – denim on denim done right is not, for the record, tacky, but can be urban fresh if done with careful taste. Just make sure you steer clear of the Justin Timberlake/Britney Spears look from the early 2000s if you do decide to enter edgy fashion territory.
So don’t look to the coming of fall as a painful farewell to your tan, but instead dress yourself in the season’s trends and think of it as the return of pumpkin spiced lattes and a hair-straightening friendly end to humidity. You look cuter without sweat streaking down your bronzer anyway.
