Styles and Trends
Boot Review: Wolverine 1000 Mile
Your dad wore them. Your grandfather wore them. Your grandfather's grandfather wore them. The boot has been a staple of a man's wardrobe since the concept of a wardrobe has been around. Every man needs a pair of solid boots no matter what style he prefers. Rugged red wings for a workwear look, duck boots for prep and a pair of sleek Chelseas or Jodhpurs for the saint laurent paris look. The best part about of boots is that the more they get beat up the better they look, and these boots have been beat here and back.
The boot:
The boots shown here are the wolverine 1000 mile addisons. They are made from a horween chromexcel leather with a stacked leather heel. The boots are also good year welted, which means the sole is stitched to leather upper, allowing the sole to be removed and re-soled.
After 1.5 years of wear:
This specific pair were purchased july of 2014 and have been worn approximately 200 times. The most common conditions these pairs would have faced would be concrete and the streets of Austin, but were used for the outdoors a handful of times. These shoes were also only conditioned once.
Pros:
Overall, I love these boots. They've held up spectacularly over the years and have only gotten better looking with age. The wingtip aspect of the boot is a little too dressy for my taste, but that allows it work in both a business casual setting and casual setting as well. In terms of sizing, I would recommend sizing a full size down from your regular size.
Cons:
In terms of leather quality, there are better companies for the price range of these boots. Plus, the high price tag is tough to swallow, and thus, these boots should only be for cheaper than MSRP. Also, the sole of the boot has zero traction whatsoever. Which means, this boot is basically useless in the rain or any slippery surfaces.
Final thoughts:
To style these boots, I'd recommend the basics. Go with dark, indigo jeans and simple tops. These shoes are pretty versatile and can go with about any sort of color combination on top.
Alison Elberger, Shafeen Qazi, Justin Smith
Styling Sweatpants from Drab to Fab
Whether you wake up late for class often or prefer dressing comfortably, sweatpants are an essential piece in a college student's closet. Although they are easy to pair with the first t-shirt and shoes in sight, they can also be dressed up and make a more put together look. Here are a few outfits to demonstrate how different clothing items can also be worn to style your everyday sweatpants.
This crop top and sweatpant duo is perfect for the girl who wants a look that's more chic and polished. Since sweatpants are usually baggy and consist of a lot of fabric, any crop top is perfect to break that fabric up. The flannel does the same thing as well and makes the look even less monotonous by having a pattern and more colors. The colorblock in the crop top works wonderfully with the flannel and Converse, since the white in the top brings out the white in the rest of the outfit and brightens up the entire look.
Joggers are the skinny jeans of sweatpants. They are fitted from top to bottom, making them easier to style. This outfit is casual and cute rather than chic. We kept it simple with a white tank top and black canvas shoes. Although the colors of this look are toned down, the army green jacket elevates the entire look. It brings the outfit together by adding texture with its intricate details. Since it is a more casual look, it can be topped off with a quick messy bun.
The last outfit demonstrates the versatility of sweatpants and the ease of styling them. If you do end up picking the first two things seen in your room, perhaps a gray v-neck and black sweatpants, just two additional items can make a huge difference and complete the look. The denim jacket and purple high-top Converse refine the style that the outfit gives off. If you were to choose a white leather jacket in place of the denim jacket, the look completely changes from casual to edgy. This exemplifies that just one quick adjustment or addition can completely elevate or modify the look you want to give off.
Caroline Rock, Veronica Boccardo, Christie Han
Yeezy Season 3
Kanye West knows how to put on a performance. Critics and fans alike know, when it comes to bizarre, polarizing behavior and powerful musical performances, Kanye West possesses an artistic showmanship that no one in pop culture can compete with. Is it genius? Maybe. Is it complete assholery? Probably. But we can't look away. His entrance into the fashion world in 2015 created a media stir like no other, as Yeezy Season 1 made its explosive NYFW debut. The rapper turned high fashion designer looked to create even more waves with this year's collection. Ye debuted his third installment of his fashion line AND dropped his long anticipated album, The Life of Pablo, at a packed Madison Square Garden creating the most extravagant Kanye West performance to date.
While the Yeezy collection may be a little too Kanye-crazy to rock in the real world, we can draw inspiration from the luxe street style aesthetic to create everyday looks of our own.
A big theme running through all of the Yeezy collections is the color palette, especially the use of warm beige tones and natural forest greens. Fits in the collection alternate from tight and structured to baggy and oversized, so an outfit like the first, with a flowy top and a fitted skirt play with those dimensions similarly. Almost all of the Yeezy outfits are topped off with a chunky, combat boot, in order to perfectly complement the edgy, military styled aesthetic.
Layers is also a key aspect in Yeezy's collection. Try adding a simple military jacket to a neutral toned outfit. To give it that extra Kanye feel, add french braids to the look.
Rochelle Friedewald, Adrienne Coats, Tatianna Roberts
Kanye West Style Profile
Bottoms:
There are only a few things that really go into what kanye wears when it comes to pants. It mostly revolves around light wash and black jeans, either distressed or not. However, the way he separates himself is through the way his pants fit him. You'll rarely catch Kanye cuffing his pants; instead, he lets his pants stack around his legs. These stacks are achieved by buying pants that are skinny, with a small leg opening and with an inseam much greater than yours. For example, despite being five foot eight inches, Ye's collab with A.P.C. produced pants that had a 37 inch inseam. By keeping these stacks, you add an interesting visual aspect to your overall outfit.
Shoes/Footwear:
This is probably the easiest way to copy Kanye's style, and there is something here for everyone. Shoes are the most important part of an outfit and it's vital to keep a diverse and stylish supply, and Kanye does this in spades. His shoe choices basically fall into three categories: sneakers, boots and moccasins. His most worn aspect of his footwear collection is his sneakers, which range from Jordans to Yeezys. Ye wears some of the rarer and more difficult to get sneakers, such as Bred 1s and literally any pair of yeezys (which resell for well over four times their retail price, some even going for twenty grand), but he wears some general release sneakers as well. Staples of his wardrobe include the Adidas Stan Smiths and the Adidas Ultra Boost, which both are easily found for retail. Next comes his boots, which are much easier to find, albeit are also expensive. Ye either wears tan and brown suede Chelseas for a minimalist, high fashion flair, or combat boots for a more rugged twist. He usually rocks either Saint Laurent paris or Bottega Veneta Chelseas, but his combat boots can be found from a military surplus supplier, Rothco. Remember, when in doubt, Timbs never fail. Finally in the footwear roundup comes the moccasins, which are exclusively from Visvim. While no brand really makes anything similar to Visvim's pricey footwear, it is possible to get these kicks for less than retail through second hand markets in near pristine conditions.
The man, the myth, and the legend, rapper Kanye West has evolved from a hip-hop sensation to the greatest style icon of the last several years. West's style has evolved year to year moving from pink polos and backpacks, to Saint Laurent, to his own fashion line. While West's style has evolved, one thing has remained the same; Ye's influence in the fashion world has been overwhelming and all consuming.
While Kanye has always been a student of the fashion world, in the past few years he's become a master too, and his style has synthesized several different aesthetics into something uniquely Kanye. Here follows some of the pieces that Kanye utilizes in his fashion, broken down by category, from the top down.
Outerwear:
Kanye's outerwear really boils down into three separate categories: bombers, parkas and topcoats. His style involves a very rugged, military aesthetic and conversely a much more refined, high fashion aesthetic. The bomber and parkas fall under the former, while the topcoats fall into the later. For parkas and bombers, colors to look out for include olive, black and beige. These articles can be paired with more rugged and military-esque piece , such as olive pants, grey and white tops and combat boots. For topcoats, colors to look out for include camel, black and grey. These pieces can be paired with more basic minimalist pieces such as black or light wash jeans and Chelsea boots. Also, parkas and bombers can be used with more minimalist pieces as well.
Tops:
This is probably the simplest place to to emulate Ye's style on a budget due to the simplicity of his shirts and tee shirts. He wears an assortment of sweaters, t-shirts and button downs in very simple colors. If you want to cosplay as Kanye, then you should be looking at slim fitting button downs in white and light blue, and when it comes to t-shirts look for oversized shirts in neutral grays, navys, beiges, black, white and olives. Sweaters should also be oversized and also be in the same colors as the t-shirts.
Styling tips:
There are a few final things that one should consider when styling these articles of clothing is that Kanye wears them oversized and baggy on the top, but wears his pants very slim. Also, when looking to the articles of clothing, you should look for clothes that have unique and interesting textures and cuts. These outfits are also pretty translatable from a girl to a guy, so Kanye's style is pretty universal.
Final thoughts:
In the end, the one thing that one should keep in mind is that Kanye's outfits are not really influenced by trends and utilize pieces that are versatile and possibly even timeless. Kanye doesn't follow trends, he sets them, and thus, your outfits should follow suit.
Photos: found on fashion bean
https://www.fashionbeans.com/2015/style-profile-kanye-west/
Also in this imgur album
Shafeen Qazi, Alison Elberger, Justin Smith
Spring 2016 Lookbook
With spring right around the corner and the Texas heat making an appearance in early February, it's time to put away the fur coats and pull out the lighter pieces--no matter what your personal style is. We've created four spring looks for four different personal styles.
Edgy:
This is for the girl who can rock leather day or night and who is always ahead of the trends.
Tailored Chic:
For the girl who loves Kate Spade and channels Jackie O whenever possible.
The Minimalist:
The minimalist is a girl who appreciates simple pieces but styles them in a unique way that fits her personality and mood.
The Bohemian:
The feminine girl who loves mixing patterns and flowy silhouettes.
Lindsey Peet, Carloine Tsai, Becky Phung
How to Wear Monochrome
Monochromatic outfits are one of this season's most trendy looks, but they can be intimidating to try and put together by yourself. It is challenging to try and look more like a sleek Olivia Pope than a dreary Morticia Addams, but it can be done. You don't have to have a huge budget or a sharp sense of style to rock the monochrome look; you just have to know what works together. We have compiled a list of three easy tips to make your monochromatic looks go from drab to fab!
It's all in the Details
When dressing in monochrome, the little details are extremely important to make your outfit unique. We chose our own details by adding a bralette that had criss cross detailing on the neckline. It added a nice touch to an otherwise ordinary top. We also went with a black top with lace detailing to add personality and girliness to an all black ensemble.
Mix your Textures
In order to bring life to a monochrome outfit, mixing textures is essential. Since you will be wearing all one color, it can be a little dull if every piece has the same type of fabric. Show your personal style by pairing leather with your sweater, lace with suede, or something sheer with denim. The combinations are endless. In this all black outfit, leather boots and lace detailing on the shirt are paired with ripped jeans to bring interest to this dark color. Jean shorts and a ribbed top add intrigue to this summery combo. Play it cool with the color but be bold in the textures that you use.
Less is More
Monochrome is a recent trend that strives to look equally simple and sleek while making a statement at the same time. In order to really achieve this, minimalism is often best. There's no need for many accessories, and a simple solid colored t-shirt can go a long way. If you do accessorize go for pieces that are classy and not too flashy. Stick to simple silver or gold pieces that don't make too large of a statement, that way you aren't detracting from the simple look that you're going for. If you do happen to have statement pieces on your mind though, make sure you stick to the color of your outfit to keep the monochrome look unbroken. It may seem dull to strive for a no frills look, but if done right you can still look as though you've walked straight off of the runway!
Marissa McKenna, Molly Curington, Sydney Harklau
Spring Forward in the Winter Heat
Whether or not you agree with the theory of climate change, you must recognize it is time for a style change. 82 degrees in February? No problem. The key is to incorporate spring elements into an outfit still fit for the winter that can handle Texas' bipolar temperature changes.
Start with a colorful top to center the outfit around. As with any typical spring outfit, pastels contribute nicely. Chloé is seen in a baby blue Topshop peplum tank that flows with the wind and is very breathable in the uncalled for heat. The spring touch of the pastel can still be toned down with proper styling. Its ballerina-esque style makes the look delicately sexy and pairs nicely with multiple types of bottoms. A light pastel pink tank can also pair well with this outfit, and it can be built off of the same way.
Choose tight but comfortable pants for the bottom. Pants are the best option because they do not imply summer like shorts do. White goes well with any pastel color. Another alternative can be a longer skirt that incorporates another muted pastel like baby pink.
Statement shoes. Chloé works nude snakeskin heels that add the perfect amount of flare. Snake skin is big right now, but other than that stay away from other animal prints for this type of spring outfit.
For jewelry, add beautiful rosette studs. The muted nude color keeps the color scale of the outfit still neutral around the pastel shirt, but contributes as an interesting accessory.
The makeup is arguably the most important part of creating a spring look that still fits in during the winter season. Choose a darker lip color that would match a typical winter outfit. This may seem unusual at first, but the dark red/purple shade Chloé pulls off matches well with the pastel blue shirt and tones down its otherwise pop of color. Deeper shades are in for the upcoming spring season, but they also work well with winter looks. Pair the lip with minimal eye makeup, but of course mascara to compliment the lashes.
Don't be discouraged to dress well in the ever-changing weather! Mixing elements from neighboring seasons is the best way to transition between them, hot or cold.
Chloé Gomez, Ethan Elkins, Hunter Tanem