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Spring Up Your Wardrobe: 4 Trends to Try Out

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Columbia Chicago chapter.

As the ice melts and the flowers slowly begin to bloom, one of the most exciting seasons regarding fashion is bursting forth. It’s officially springtime and the stores are ready to supply us with our spring wardrobes. So, what are the most popular trends that you can sport for a fabulous spring season? Neons, wild prints, florals, colored jeans, tribal patterns, and lace are a few trends breezing through the fashion industry right now. 

What I love about the neon trend is that one piece can brighten up an entire outfit. Take a pair of skinny jeans, pair it with a black button up top and add an amazingly vibrant lime green necklace and your look is instantly exciting and noticeable. Some of my favorite neon pieces are coming from Kate Spade’s 2012 collection. Her designs are so simple yet so fun because of the amazing neon colors that she uses. 

Of course, for the average college student, Kate Spade only lives in our imagination.  So, for us broke fashionistas it’s off to Forever 21, where there are accessories and clothing just as bright, for a heck of a lot less.

Although neons are extremely popular this spring, pastels aren’t out of the picture. The most popular form of pastels are showing up in pants, most commonly cropped skinny jeans. This trend brings back the lighter side of spring and is so nice on the eye. I love this look paired with a solid wedged heel and an elegant blouse with some simple jewelry. But if you still want to jazz up your outfit, try going with a pair of floral print cropped skinny jeans. These pants have just the right amount of funk and elegance to last you until next fall. 

Something to pair with those neon skirts or tops are crazy, wild patterns that will make everyone stop and stare. Big, bold stripes, giant polka-dots, chevron stripes, and tribal patterns are some of the prints showing up on every street corner. In my opinion, it’s best to pair a patterned piece of an outfit with solids so the whole look isn’t too distracting. For example, pair a cheetah print maxi skirt with a solid crop top or a pair of high waisted bell-bottoms with a printed blouse and solid blazer to top it off. Once you have the outfit balanced, you’re ready to rock the streets.

Lace has been extremely trendy now for a few years, and it doesn’t look like it’s going anywhere soon. One of the most popular trends involving lace that I’ve been seeing is a high waisted lace short. I think this look is simply adorable and can be paired with really anything; a cute pair of wedges for those nightly summer strolls or some flat sandals for your days at the park. Finding items that you can wear with more than just one thing is always great for building your wardrobe and saving some dough. 

So if you’re searching for what to wear as the weather begins to remind you why you loved Chicago in the first place, then try one of these trends. Try mixing, matching, pairing, tucking, un-tucking, new colors, new patterns, new fabric and perhaps you’ll pick up some new things to transform that dreary, dark winter wardrobe into your own stunning springtime fashion show. 

Photo credit: latimes.com

Katy Krantz is a junior at Columbia College Chicago where she majors in fashion business and minors in journalism. Her biggest passion in life is fashion and hopes to someday work in the magazine industry as fashion director, and ultimately an editor-and-chief. Katy unfortunately is an avid shopper and also works at Topshop on Michigan ave...you do the math. The greatest joy she gets out of life is spending time with her family, friends, and her two dogs, Bogey, a west highland terrier, and Ollie a black lab. 
Mariah Craddick hails from the city of Atlanta and is currently a magazine journalism major at Columbia College of Chicago. Though she has a wide range of interests, her concentration and focus lies in fashion, art and entertainment. In addition to writing for HC, Mariah is also a contributing writer for the online lifestyle magazine GlossMagazineOnline. Upon graduation in 2013, Mariah hopes to pursue a career in magazine journalism and maybe even law school.