Fall Fashion 101

Fall Fashion 101

Bailey Chauner

Autumn is my favorite time of year in Missoula. The air is crisp and I swear the smell of pumpkin lingers in the air. The golden leaves float off the trees almost hinting toward the snowflakes soon to fall. My scarves make their way forward from the back of my closet and my peep-toe wedges are swapped for knee high boots. However this fall, it’s camo, denim vests, and fur. A few months ago, the thought of these pieces made me cringe. Fast forward to October, and they’re hanging in my closet. So, what gives? A cool breeze rolled in bringing new fall fashion!

Photos by Turk Ismail

Our first trend is camouflage. While this trend may have made me fear the introduction of hunting gear as fashion, don’t be scared! Camo is chic. Kelsi embraces this trend casually with camouflage pants with a white tee, cardigan and ankle boots

Denim vests have made a huge comeback from the grungy nineties. A denim vest is a great piece because it adds interest to your outfit and can be dressed up or down.  I chose to dress up my denim vest with a long cream sweater, leggings, and a wide brimmed felt hat.

Leggings revolutionized modern fashion and now they are being updated! The latest leggings are patterned with flowers, tribal prints, camo and leather.  Michelle styled her floral leggings for a daytime and evening look.  She paired her leggings with a casual sweater and beanie for a cozy daytime look.  For evening, Michelle used her floral leggings to create interest when paired with a simple denim vest and black leather jacket.

Love or hate it, fur graced the runways this fall. And while real fur can be an ethical issue, faux fur is a perfect solution.  Fur is fashioned into vests, coats, and the lining on hoods and gloves to give an upscale accent to your outfit.  












This Fall, Pinterest pages are covered with over sized sweaters, especially with an tribal design. Over sized sweaters are extremely versatile with your autumn apparel.  The large knitted pieces can be worn casually with leggings or dressed up with a skirt. Aurora finds the perfect happy medium.  She chose to pair her over sized dolman sleeved sweater with a skirt and tights for a feminine look. Aurora makes this outfit applicable for everyday life with a pair of comfortable combat boots.

Jocelyn is wearing a thick, knitted, loose aztec printed cardigan.  This fall you can’t open a magazine without seeing this new style.  Again, this sweater is easy to style and very comfortable. Match this warm sweater with jeans, boots, or some leather leggings and you will be Vogue worthy!

In Montana, jackets are required to keep us from freezing.  However, just because our outfit might be covered, this doesn't mean we can't look fashionable. Yoko is wearing a wrap around trench coat.  This style is great because the coat is stylish, comfortable, and warm.

Wide brimmed hats are topping off lady’s outfits everywhere this fall. Made of suede, these sun hat inspired accessories can cover up any bad hair day or give your look a unique finishing touch

Turk gives us the only male look sporting a forest green button up and leather vest.  Leather is an undeniable trend this fall.  The material infiltrated fall fashion and shows up in entire pieces, such as this vest, or as small accents.

Autumn is a fantastic opportunity to experiment with fashion. The cool weather allows for your summer, autumn, and winter wardrobe to work together. With a touch of fur, a splash of pattern on your leggings, or a wide brimmed hat, your look is refreshed and guaranteed to be the envy of any fashionista.

Thrifty Shopping

Thrifty Shopping

Bailey Chauner

Most of us have used the phrase “broke college student” to describe our place in life.  Tuition, loans, food, rent, and gas accumulate to make list of never-ending expenses that stress out even the thriftiest of finance majors.  As students, we try to balance out these unavoidable expenses by getting minimum wage jobs. But even these jobs don’t seem to make a dent. Those of you who are lucky enough to obtain highly-appraised internships may even feel hopeless. We often find ourselves relying on an aunt sending a holiday card or mom sympathizing with a break up to get a little extra cash.  As students, we want this money to stretch as far and for as long as possible.  We want the two for one drinks on Thursday and the new blouse--so that maybe we can get those drinks for free.  How do we get both?

Thrift shopping is our answer. The Macklemore hit blasted from all of our cars at some point or another, but now it’s time to take his lyrics literally.  Missoula is a goldmine for thrift shopping.  With a simple Google search, a map of Missoula becomes sporadically spotted with numerous thrift shop locations.  And, with all the stylish people of Missoula, there are bound to be some secondhand fashionable finds.

As students, where do we even begin?  How can a person begin to sift through everything? Aurora, a thrifting junkie and member of Trendsetters at The U, helped me create a set of tips to help students search for stylish bargains to find success.

1) Take Your Time. Before going thrift shopping, make sure you have time to shop.  Thrift stores are overflowing with items and being in a rush won’t allow you the time to adequately sift and search.  Be able to pace yourself when shopping to look through the racks at individual pieces.  Finding the right item for you requires patience and time to look through all that’s offered at a thrift store.

2) Look in every size. Often times thrift stores can become unorganized and size smalls infiltrate the mediums and mediums land in the large section. Previous owners may have dried and shrank their clothes making the labeled “large” shirt actually a medium. Keeping a lookout for misplaced sizes or mislabeled items allows you to find the perfect fit regardless of the label on the rack or tag.

3) Try the Opposite Gender Section. If you're female, try out the male section. The male section is a great resource for oversized sweaters or flannel button ups. Oversized sweaters are trending this fall and you can find a ton of cute, stylish pieces for cheap. Men, you might be afraid to wander into the womens section, but, that XXL white crew neck tee shirt may be just the right fit...

4) Check out the accessories.  For the finishing touches of your outfit check out the accessories, especially belts. Belts from the thrift store to cinch skirts and dresses come in tons of great textures, metals,sizes and are exceptionally cheaper than a new belt at the mall. Thrift stores can be the jackpot for modern and vintage jewelry, scarves, and purses.

5) Try it On. Many thrifters are hesitant to try on an article of clothing.  Maybe they're afraid of the last person who wore the item or think fitting rooms in a thrift store are too strange.  Regardless, we encourage you to try on the clothes! This will ensure getting the right value for the money you’re spending. This will also guarantee you will arrive home without discovering a hidden pair of shoulder pads! If you’re uncomfortable trying on thrift store clothing, wear a t-shirt, tank top, or leggings that can stay underneath your possible purchases.

As a team, our Trendsetters attempted to master thrift shopping this weekend. We explored, examined, rummaged, rejected, and purchased some previously owned treasures. We took our newly bought pieces, and paired them with our personal wardrobe. Our Trendsetter Team successfully created a stylish and affordable look after thrifting. This proves, that as college students we don’t need to sacrifice style due to insufficient funds! Let Macklemore’s song ring in your ears as you use the Trendsetters at the U’s tips to discover the joy of thrift shopping.

Kelsi- vintage Beatles tee and lace up oxfords.  (Secret Seconds)

Michelle- sparkle sweater (Goodwill)

Bailey- denim blouse (Goodwill) and purse ( Secret Seconds)

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