Winter Wear

It can sometimes be difficult to transition out of the holiday months into January. With the gift exchanges and work parties in the past, it can be hard to differentiate what can be appropriate for the Secret Santa exchange and what would still be useable in a few months in the future. After all, there is a lot more you can get away with in the fashion arena during the time between November and December; sequins and glitter seem to be never ending, as are the patterns and colors they are paired with.

Dresses and tops in this set resemble some useable items that may be in a wardrobe after the flurry of gift wrapping has subsided. The baroque patterns in the sweater and sweater dress somewhat resemble the holiday months, but in a way that more represents the fall 2012 trends instead of St. Nick. The dark colors will look great when paired with pops of color, such as a pair of violet heels or a mustard yellow satchel. 

The shift is a classic and must have for any closet. A black one can become a year round staple and can be worn to multiple places and occasions when paired with other items. With the one in the above set, a pair of riding boots, tights, and even a studded motorcycle jacket can make it an exciting outfit for January instead of being paired with pops of red and green as in the months before.

Boot Up for Fall

This set, so unlike the elaborate ones that I typically post on here, is what I made to go along with a newspaper article I wrote for my college. I was given the task of writing up trends that I saw around campus. I hadn't realized until I was actually observing people how difficult this would be, espcially on a small college campus. Girls typically throw on some yoga pants and a sweatshirt and call it a day. Those who don't are often times have their own indiviual style that is not main stream or are still wearing the trends from last spring.

Fortunately, I persevered and saw that one thing that was going to make an inevitable appearance this fall were boots. With all of the different boot trends that were introduced by designers for the fall 2012 season, I concentrated on just three.

The first one -and my personal favorite -are the lace up heeled boots. I like the shoe mostly because of its versatility. Though some from the front resemble combat boots, the heeled aspect gives it a more stylish touch. The platform versions with chunky heels that are in department stores remind me of a pair my older sister used to own a few years ago. By the time she moved out and left behind some of her stuff, I thought they were odd looking, seeming to just throw a sneaker and a heel together to make something only mildly coherent. Though I'm still not a fan of the chunky heel, I do think the stilleto versions give an outfit a sleek add on.

Knowing that me going on in 300 words about how much I love heels (and completely capable of running in them to my next class) was not going to be relatable to a college audience, I shifted to two other trends that were alternatives to the lace up heels. The first were combat boots. During the summer, I scowered eBay for a decent pair of Doc Martens that I could get my hands on. Though the $100-250 pricetag is well worth it -a woman I work with has had hers for 20 years, and they have hardly any visible wear and tear -my budget was not allowing me to partake in such expenditures. I found some over at Marshall's, and am satisfied with them (for the moment).

One other trend I came across was the biker boot, which I was not familar  with prior to this assignment. I knew they were out there, but did not realize they were a trend until I was comparing notes from Vogue's 55 Boots to Buy Now feature and store websites. They remind me of equestrian boots, except more... hardcore. I love the studded Christian Louboutin ones I featured in the set, and wish I could get my hands on a pair. I'll probably be on eBay this week to grab myself a pair.