With the Fall 2012 semester suddenly upon us comes a change of students, music, classes, majors, but more importantly, the newest fashion trends of the season. A last minute trip to the mall is just what you need before the beginning of classes and the first big party of the year. According to the most popular and trusted fashion magazines, the upcoming styles this fall have moved in an unexpected and unique direction. Unfortunately, for the college gal certain patterns, colors, and fabrics just don’t go with the university environment. So, before buying the hottest items you see in the shop window, take a look below to see what to avoid before strutting your stuff on campus…
Belted White Dresses – Summer time is the season meant for floral prints, spaghetti straps, and most especially, the flowing and angelic white dress. Well, that’s over. While white used to call for sun rays and fresh lemonade, now it screams for beer and mixed drink stains. Nothing is worse than wearing your favorite dress to a party and having it ruined five minutes after walking through the door. Spilling drinks is a very frequent occurrence at night and those stains are a real pain to get out the next day. Instead, I would suggest trying a deep red colored dress. Red is also an upcoming trendy color and accidental spills won’t show as much. And let’s be honest, who wants to be angelic when you can be red hot?
Statement Hats—Unless you’ve just been inducted into the royal family or are on your way to church, anything other than a baseball cap or a cute sun hat should be avoided entirely. I guess matched with the right outfit and accessories, it might be a bold thing to try at an elegant event, or, uh, maybe a garden party…? Hats might block the sun, but on campus the only thing it will block is the vision of your annoyed classmates trying to see the chalkboard over your enormous Victorian top hat.
Plaid—Getting older might be tough to accept and it’s understandable to try reliving your younger years, but do yourself a favor and skip the grade school uniform pattern.
Velvet—A cute style expected to be a major hit this fall is velvet. This material is versatile and can be worn for any occasion when styled correctly. Its look might be luxurious and sophisticated, but it is also an extremely pesky fabric to clean. Certain types of velvet are also thick, which is not something you want to deal with after ten minutes on the dance floor.
“Room to Grow” (Oversized)—There is a huge difference between loose-fitting attire and parachutes. This style can range from insanely large trench coats to “can’t help but trip over” long skirts. It is entirely unnecessary, as well as, inconvenient for the average college student. I dare you to walk into class tomorrow with that extra fifteen pounds of excess clothing and try to fit into the tiny desk that you most likely will have to sit in. That’s already a challenge without the obnoxious garments.
Feathers—You are just asking for that annoying guy that keeps hitting on you at that party to follow you home. You know why? Despite the fact that you are running as fast as you can away from him, all he has to do is follow the trail of feathers that are inevitably falling off of your brand new skirt that you decided to wear that night. For the rest of the week you will be “that” girl everyone talks about whenever a feather flies in their face or they find one sticking out from under their shoe. Sequins and gems are just as cute, but a little more secure.