Sammie Levin

Spring has finally sprung—and it’s about time. After what seems like a century of bundling up in puffy parkas and duck boots, it’s safe to assume we’re all ready to trade in those thermal layers for the new wave of spring trends. But as it goes every season, it’s hard for every figure to pull off the new “it’ trend since our bodies come in such different shapes and sizes. Good thing you have Her Campus to make it easier for you! Whether you’re petite or curvy—or anywhere in between—we’ve got tips on how to make this spring’s hottest prints and styles work best for you.

What’s Trending This Spring

In case you haven’t already scoured fashion blogs or stalked runway collections, we talked to Boston-based stylist Elizabeth Kamm to find out what’s big this season.

Bold Stripes

Stripes are a classic, but this spring they're taking on an especially striking look. 

“This is much different from a nautical stripe; the stripes of the season are very optical, very thick stripes,” Kamm says. “The feel of the stripe is almost reminiscent of a circus big top, having a sort of costumey, fun, irreverent feel. There is a dramatic, Moulin Rouge or Toulouse  Lautrec influence here. But, worn the right way this trend is so cool, and looks very clean if paired with at least one neutral element (a solid top, or bottom).”

Floral

They say April showers bring May flowers, and that holds for fashion too. “The floral trend is still kicking around but we see even more of it for the spring,” Kamm says.  “There are quiet prints- small floral prints in monochrome or soft pastels, and there are bold, vibrant prints accentuating color, texture, and contrast.”

Global Influence

It’s one week before your spring break trip to Mexico or Florida or the Dominican or anywhere warm and sunny, and you realize you’re nowhere near ready to shed those winter layers and bare a bikini. So, you vow to survive on a diet of nothing but water and lettuce for the next few days. You do more crunches than you can count. You lather on too much self-tanner and end up looking like a leopard but it’s too late to fix. Sound familiar?

This year, you don’t have to wait until the last minute to prep for spring break. We’re giving you seven HC-approved ways to start getting bikini-ready at the beginning of the semester so you can avoid that crash lettuce diet and those two days of non-stop crunches that won’t make a dent. Oh, and you won’t look like a leopard either!

1. Get motivated

At the beginning of the semester, spring break still seems far enough away that its arrival is easy to brush off, leading you to procrastinate —“eh, one cookie now won’t make a difference, I’ll start my diet next week,” you tell yourself, as one cookie quickly turns into two and next week turns into never. Instead of setting yourself up for the need to scramble to shape up at the last minute, find ways to constantly remind yourself of your goal from the get-go so that you’re motivated all along.

“What the f*** happened last night?” Whether you’ve asked that question yourself after waking up on your bathroom floor wearing nothing but one sock and a sombrero, or your friends have texted it to you upon waking up at random guy’s house, or even if you’ve just seen The Hangover, then you know what a blackout is. Blacking out from drinking has become so prevalent and normalized on college campuses that it’s used casually in conversation (“yeah John was so blackout that he was yelling at people on the street in Spanish”) or as a motive for the night (“I’m trying to black out”). But should we really be so nonchalant about this drinking behavior? Why exactly do we blackout, and what are the implications? We talked to collegiettes and psychiatrist Linda Smith to find out the real deal behind blacking out. You may regret that time you woke up cradling a bottle of tequila, an empty pizza box, and your broken iPhone—but you won’t regret learning about why it happened and how to prevent it in the future.

What is a blackout?  

“A blackout is alcohol-induced amnesia, wherein the person cannot recall some, or all of the events that occurred while she was intoxicated,” Dr. Smith says. “It is not the same as ‘passing out’, which is loss of consciousness due to excessive alcohol consumption. In a blackout, the individual is conscious and awake, and engaging in activities, but later has only partial or no recall for those activities.”

Much like that frat star known to take his shirt off at every party or that professor who is a notoriously harsh grader, foods get reputations. But while these reputations may be well known and generally accepted, they’re unfortunately not always true. It’s hard for a greasy slice of pepperoni pizza or a brownie sundae to be mistaken for a nutritious pick, but some foods actually do masquerade as healthy options when, in reality, they’re packed with an excessive amount of fat, calories, sugar, or sodium and lack the health benefits they claim. We talked to expert Susan Holmberg, a nutritionist and behavior modification clinician, and did the detective work to debunk these foods so that you won’t unknowingly do damage to your diet and can make better choices instead.

1.  Fruit-flavored yogurt

Fruit plus yogurt equals healthy, right? Not necessarily. Yogurt with added sugar is the top sneakily unhealthy foods that Holmberg lists. Though many fruit-flavored yogurts boast that they are low-fat or fat-free or low in calories, almost all of the calories they do have are from sugar, rather than something filling like protein or fiber.

A small 6 oz container may have up to 20 grams of sugar—and a Hershey’s chocolate bar has 24 grams. What’s worse is that the jelly-like fruit at the top or bottom, which Holmberg refers to as “junk,” is typically more artificial flavoring than it is fruit.

To avoid a sugar bomb, stick to plain yogurt and mix real fruit (berries, bananas) into it.

Opting for plain Greek yogurt over regular will give you more protein to keep you satisfied, and swirling in a bit of honey can sweeten it up.

2. Pre-packaged salads