The first week back to school after winter break is my favorite for two reasons: back-to-school fashion and post-holiday fashion. Not only are collegiettes dressed to impress for the second go ’round of the school year, but they’re decked out in their newest gift-given apparel and bling. So what if Gretchen Wieners can’t wear those white gold hoops her parents got her for Hanukkah? I know you sure can.
An easy way to pull off “back-to-school” chic is with a good looking collar. I haven’t seen a trend go this big since Lady Gaga mentioned “mint being very big in the spring” in her Marry the Night music video. Peter Pan collars, cut-out collars, mini collars, over-sized ’70s collars, lace collars, jewel encrusted collars…and they’re all fabulous. You want to impress your professor, the students in your class, and mostly your fellow collegiettes. Sadly, Florida’s weather is too temperamental for everyone to invest in a classy coat, so a cute top with a collar is a great way to class up your look.
As I walked around UCF’s beautiful campus scouting for my first stylish collegiette to feature, I spotted Danielle Mone’ at the Student Union catching some shade. I thought her outfit perfectly captured her interpretation of back-to-school fashion: a little bit of punk, a little bit of class, and a lot of original style. From the black chiffon shirt with the cut out collar and skull buttons all the way down to the perfectly bedazzled slippers, this look is on point. What I found most exciting though, was that she told me she had gotten nearly her entire outfit for Christmas, including her Michael Kors bag and other accessories. She came to her first week of class working it head to toe, and I couldn’t have been more honored to have such a stylish collegiette break my column’s ice. I’ll be on the prowl for all of you other fashion addicts out there on the UCF campus, so never let your guard down. Treat every week like it’s back-to-school, post-holiday week, and always be on point.