If you think you can rock it, you probably can.
I put together the most bizarre combinations of clothing and, somehow, it works. I am absolutely convinced that I have started many of the current-day trends. If guessing what will be in style two years from now were a job, I'd be a millionaire.
In my fashion column, I'll give step-by-step ways to piece together a funky, cool and trendy look. This column will focus on nightlife attire so you know just what will get all the guys at The U, The Steer, Chippewa Street, fraternity basements and Slice of Italy (because let's be real, that's where the majority of people see most of our nightly outfits).
This week's advice: wear orange lipstick. It will be in style within the next few months, and I promise you'll want to be the first wearing it before it gets old.
Here's a glimpse of what I wore this past weekend:
Try to rock the baggy. It may seem out of style because so many people are into the crop-tops and loose bottoms, but layering loose clothing looks sophisticated and trendy - especially with an open back so you're still showing a little bit of skin.
Breaking down the outfit
Top: Tribal pattern tank from Mystique Boutique - $17.99
Skirt: Boutique in Tel Aviv - $6.99
Heels: Leather Jeffrey Campbell - $154.00
Necklace: Mixology - $20.00
About the columnist
It's kind of hard not to be creative and resourceful when you were raised wearing clothing from the 99-cent store. My mom thought she was saving money by shopping for my bellbottom jeans and bedazzled t-shirts that said "Angel Girl" from the same place she bought her half-priced dish-washing soap and Q-tips.
On a good day, she'd take me shopping at The Children's Place, where I could pick anything I wanted - as long as it was on the sale rack labeled "broken zipper," "tear in armpit" or "stained."
It's fine - I'm glad she was able to save her money while simultaneously limiting my ability to ever make friends. It didn't help that she wanted to save money on my haircuts as well, so she chopped off half of my hair.
I started attending sleep-away camp and all my friends were wearing training bras and cool outfits. I, on the other hand, rocked the pointy look. My denim skirts were significantly longer than everyone else's, and my mesh shirts that attached to undershirts did not compare to the cool layering everyone else was doing. My Harry Potter glasses and caterpillar of an eyebrow definitely did not help my look, either.
I had yet to learn the art of sharing clothing with my friends - maybe because I didn't have any.
When eighth grade rolled around and my dad started to sneakily give me money behind my mom's back so I could go to the mall and shop for myself, things started looking up for me.
I went crazy and would spend $80 on graphic tees that said things like, "Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, shop my life away" and polo shirts that had the Hollister bird all over them - in every color. I started buying short denim skirts, even if they weren't my size, because I desperately wanted to be cool and wear what everyone else was wearing.
Once high school rolled around and I realized I had spent an unnecessary amount of money on clothing that made me look like I was a preppy girl with thunder thighs, I realized it was time to create a style for myself. Though at first my friends laughed at my combat boots and large-framed glasses, they eventually accepted my funky style.
I learned that confidence and a smile completes every quirky outfit.
Email: keren.baruch@ubspectrum.com
