Trends

Back to Campus: Part 2

Sheemtana Shameem

Too many people at the registrar's office? Didn't get the courses you wanted to do this semester? The computer just froze in the middle of your registration? All of the above? Trust me, we all have shared the pain of trying our best to sort everything out at the beginning of each semester, and yet have ended up disappointed. So, why not make the most of it by looking your best? It's a known fact that when you look good you feel more confident about yourself and can deal with stress better. The cold wave, many say, is due to come back in a week or so, hence staying warm should also relieve you a bit.

I am still rooting for the cardigan as it goes perfect with your skinny jeans and ballerina shoes aside from being an ensemble to your eastern attires. So get cardigans in darker hues to go with all your clothes. The skinny trousers have been our favourites for the last few years and the good news is that they are still pretty much 'in'. Although, I would suggest that you experiment with other materials too, since winter is the only time in our country when the skinny trousers are actually comfortable to wear, otherwise they stick to your legs in the hot summer days. So reserve your breathable denims for the warmer seasons, and wear trousers that have a synthetic mesh instead. And if you are into the sporty chic look, then take out your sneakers and hoodies and get your favourite backpack out as well and be one of the few most comfortably dressed girls on campus.

You would also want to give the sweater dresses a try this year; they come in all shapes and colours, and look very hip with the skinnies. Wear them in bright colours like scarlet or electric blue with a printed scarf, and keep everything else black or grey. Although we don't wear a lot of browns, a few shades, like camel(a rich, honey brown) have hit the fashion scene that we could actually try over here too.

Hoodies and chucks -- I know the guys love them! Chucks or converses are an amazing pick for your feet, especially to pave the dusty winter streets. Please opt for socks and sneakers instead of sandals or open toed sandal shoes. It looks totally shabby if you wear jumpers and sweatshirts with bare feet as they look dry and scaly. Do yourself a favour and ditch those sandals for the sake of your feet. Even if you don't want to wear sporty shoes, you can wear more formal looking ones or try out semi formal hybrid sport shoes. Just make sure you don't show your feet, no matter what you choose to wear.

When it comes to clothes, you too should focus on staying warm and looking cool. If you are into hoodies and jumpers already, two thumbs up for you! My suggestion is to not stick to the staple black, and trying out some coloured ones. The hoodies come in two basic designs, the pullover and the front zip style. It's better to wear the front zip ones during the day, since it tends to get warmer around midday, and you can just keep the zip open for that, and not have to take it off altogether. When thinking on those lines, you would also want to have a few statement tee shirts to wear inside. Sweatshirts (technically they are just hoodless and zipless hoodies) are very comfortable as well, and you could try them out with your favourite sporting team logos on them.

For those of you who want to wear shirts and trousers to class and get a gold star from your favourite teachers, you can do that too. Just make sure that you get a few new sweaters to go with the shirts. Instead of the block coloured ones, try out the striped ones in colourful patterns and combine them with dull solid coloured shirts and dark denims and voila! You are all set to be the best dressed student around. As I mentioned earlier, like the girls, you too should try out warmer materials for trousers in the cold weather. If you like to wear light coloured shirts like white, pale blue or beige, choose dark coloured (not always black) corduroy trousers to complete a perfect look. If you want to keep a bit warmer, on the few very cold days, then invest in a neutral coloured muffler or even better a 'snood'. Snoods are basically 'closed' mufflers that look like a big ring of cloth that you put your head through and place on the neck. It's a fairly new fashion item to come into the local scene and might be a little hard to get, however if you know how to wear the muffler without looking like the 80 s Bollywood actors, then you are all good without the snood.

The flannel shirts in colourful chequered prints are back this year, so get funky and get yourself all the greens and blues and even the reds this semester and they will take you through to spring. They have to be the most practical and stylish shirts ever designed for youngsters. Just refrain from combining them with matching shoes! The idea always is to use your instincts and know what goes best with what and what doesn't.

So have a fun semester all of you and look your best while you are at it. Cheers!