My peers refer to me as their fashionista friend, aka the one who can always give them ideas for the perfect ensemble when they are feeling uninspired, or the one who can go into their closets and put together outfit combinations they would have never thought about sporting in a million years. So when one of my girlfriends asked me what I, a native Los Angelena, would be bringing to college in order to keep warm, I was not only speechless but caught off guard. Sure, I thought I was already prepared, since I had my coat, ear warmers, and thick socks, but that one 20-second question made me realize that while those three essentials were definitely important, they were by no means the only things I would need for the numerous impending snow days.
Then one day while perusing the Free People catalog, it came to me: I would need to bring my army of scarves. Why, one might ask? Well, simply because they keep you warm, add a nice pattern or pop of color to your outfit, and are easy to remove if you’re feeling too hot. In Southern California, where we don’t ever technically experience a true winter, I have always found scarves to be appropriate for the occasional chilly evening without being excessive, thus making scarves my ideal cold weather staple.
After only spending a mere week and a half on campus, I have noted that Brandesians do not mess around when it comes to keeping warm. From their thick down jackets to their beanies, gloves, and snow boots, it truly seems that they have every base covered, especially in the scarf department.
Recently I have noticed myself staring at student’s scarves that look as chic as they do warm. It occurred to me that the ones I have been so drawn to happen to be chunky knit scarves. I am so obsessed that I even stopped random students to ask them where theirs are from. Weird, I know, but that just further proves how addicted I am.
While I did bring many of my “warm-ish” scarves to Brandeis, I have recently noticed that there is an apparent void in my scarf wardrobe, which I intend to fill immediately. While I continue wasting away the day doing some online shopping to find my perfect chunky knit scarf, feast your eyes on a few of the ones students are sporting that are currently inspiring me.