It is that time of the year! If you have an 8 a.m. class, you have probably seen campus glittering with blankets of frost recently. With all the winter wonders, you may find yourself wanting to join in on the glam, but after checking your phone and discovering that it is 11 degrees outside, you might feel more than inclined to hop back in bed and wrap yourself in a blanket. Need some inspiration for styling your outfit to embrace the winter fashion season? We interviewed students around Rand to discover the latest trends this winter!
Warmth is essential for functional fashion during the winter months. A great way to achieve comfort and style is layering your pieces. To elevate your layering, you can choose a fun color palette or even take a monochrome approach to highlight your hues.
“I like to layer up on cold days and like vibrant colors for my wardrobe,” sophomore Aditya Bhatt said in a text to The Hustler, describing how he created his layered, earth-toned look from just wanting to stay warm and comfy. Bhatt’s outfit makes tasteful use of a neutral palette with a pop of green as an accent color, adding liveliness to the layers.
Looking to be more intentional about what little details you feature in your outfit? Try accessorizing by adding a necklace to your ensemble. Jewelry can be a fun way to add a metallic flash or complement the colors in your outfit.
“I’m drawn to color and lighter pieces,” junior Isabella Dietrich wrote in an email to The Hustler. “I don’t like to be weighed down by heavy jewelry so I like it when pieces are unique but also a bit daintier. My friends know I love cool jewelry so they have gifted me some of my favorite pieces. I’m also lucky that my Nana and Mom are big fans of giving me some of their beloved items which have rounded out my collection.”
Sometimes, it can be difficult to find ways to add flare to your winter outfits. A pop of color, a unique patch or detailed embroidery can help add some character to your outfit — maybe even all three! Junior Theo Perl shared the story behind his outfit, which was inspired by his character’s wardrobe in the new Vanderbilt student-produced short film “Cupid.”
“When [coming up with the] costumes for all the characters in the Cupid short, we had the most struggle imagining what [his character] Loverboy would wear,” Perl wrote in an email to The Hustler. “After working side by side with our insanely talented costume director, Madelina Huffman, and my directing team, Gus Boettcher and Ford Cowan, we settled on a sleek 3-piece black suit with embroidered themes from the poem stitched on the suit—these include the red heart, a luna moth, the moon cycles and Psyche’s dagger.”
Perl shared more about his love for embroidered details and the story behind his lavender jeans.
“Lavender has been my favorite color and scent for years,” Perl wrote. “One day I saw an Instagram ad for these jeans and sent the pants to my sister. She encouraged me to buy them, but the price tag deterred me. On my birthday those pants were sitting on my bed — yes, my sister is awesome.”
Sticking to the theme of artistic expression in winter fashion, sophomore Aaliya Ramakrishnan shared where she goes to find the pieces that are unique to her.
“I’m from Mumbai, India which is warm all year round so I initially hated dressing for the cold, but I’ve started having fun with layers and experimenting a bit more,” Ramakrishnan wrote in an email to The Hustler. “I like funky jackets and prints and mixing and matching pieces from different aesthetics.”
Many Vanderbilt students have echoed this sentiment about adapting their wardrobe to the Nashville climate since our student body comes from so many different places around the world. For some, this provides an opportunity to share popular styles from their hometown, as well as to try out new ones.
“When I’m home, I love to shop from local artisans because India has so many incredible artistic traditions,” Ramakrishnan wrote. “I also steal a lot of my mom and dad’s old clothes! And in Nashville, I like to go to vintage stores.”
Looking for new clothes is a fun way to spend time with friends and loved ones. A good shopping trip includes letting the people you bring along style you in an outfit of their choice. Who knows, you might even end up sharing a staple piece of clothing, like senior and leading figure in the Melodores, Arjun Menon. One of Arjun Menon’s favorite clothing items is a large, brown, corduroy coat he shares with his girlfriend. He recalls the day they found it while at a Forever 21.
“On one of our first dates, my now-girlfriend and I went to Menlo Park Mall near where she lives in Edison, N.J.,” Menon wrote in an email to The Hustler. “We wandered into Forever 21 and didn’t like anything we saw, but when we were walking out we saw this big puffy jacket. It was a cold December day and I had forgotten to wear a jacket so I put it on, it fit perfectly, and I immediately wanted it. Then when I took it off to check out, Shailja, my girlfriend, put it on and it looked even better on her, but she swore it looked better on me. Whenever we visit each other in our long-distance relationship now, we hand off the jacket so we can share the drip.”
Just by taking a walk around Rand, it is apparent that the cold cannot stop the style of students on campus. Their outfits reflect the uniqueness of each individual. They can tell a story about one’s background, taste and things that they cherish. Talking to students about their fashion showed more than just the ensembles themselves. It allowed me to step into the lives and backgrounds of other peoples’ stories, bringing warmth into the winter air.
