Fashion changes with the seasons, and even more so with the weather. Staying in fashion and still warm can take some thought, according to Weber State University professor Desiree Cooper’s fashion merchandising class.
“What I really like about winter — and is a trend and something you can keep for a couple years; it really doesn’t go out of style — is like the big, heavy jackets,” said Noelle Maldomado, WSU sophomore. “You get your money’s worth because you continue to wear them. Also . . . some have fur, and I feel like it’s a fashion statement and perfect for the cold because it keeps you warm.”
Shelby Hansen, a WSU junior studying technical sales, suggested a different kind of jacket. She said that layering blazers, long sleeves and scarves is a stylized way to stay warm and look professional.
“I think right now, for girls,” said Alec Ammon, a WSU junior, “you can wear a lot of different kinds of scarves . . . You can pair it with something black and plain to kind of spice it up a little bit and stay warm at the same time.”
Ammon said men can also wear scarves to keep fashionably warm this winter, but that women have a little more freedom with the color of scarves.
“I love tights,” said Piper Wahlin, a WSU junior. “I think they can look really fun and youthful, but can look really professional as well.”
Wahlin said that, with all the combinations of coats and layering, students will still be warm wearing tights. Maldomado said she recommends wearing a thick pair of socks with tights to ensure warm feet.
WSU sophomore Olivia Bitner said two-piece suits are best when dressing professionally, “especially for women, because men wear them year-round, but I think, in the winter, women can utilize that more.”
Bitner said to layer up a two-piece suit with long sleeves, boots and socks to stay extra warm in the snow as well as look professional.
“Right now, I think, in Utah, boots are really in,” said Robynn Alder, WSU freshman. “And you can wear boots in many different ways. You can dress them up and you can dress them down. That way, your feet are able to stay dry, but you still look classy.”
Alder and the other students agreed that boots are a fashionable winter shoe that is helpful to navigate the weather. Macey Johnson, WSU freshman, said to dress up a boot with leg-warmers.
“They come in all different colors and styles,” Johnson said. “It keeps your leg warm and looks very stylish and fashionable too.”
Some accessories the class suggested were gloves, hats and even earmuffs.
“Earmuffs are coming in,” Ammon said. “They are smaller, but still cover the ear, but they are in like pink and red and all these different colors.”
Johnson said the knitted headbands that look like and act as earmuffs are a big fashion right now. Wahlin also said wearing hats, like beanies, can help fight the winter bite. Maldomado said she wears her hair down in the winter to help keep her face and ears warm.
Ammon said gloves are coming back in as well, especially touch-screen gloves designed to help students still use their smartphones and keep their fingers warm.
“They (gloves) are an accessory,” Cooper said. “But they are adding to what normally just used to be used for like working or the weather in your environment, and now they are becoming such an accessory it’s becoming part of an outfit, whether you need them or not.”
On the subject of men’s winter fashion, Ammon said boots and pea coats are what men should have on for Utah weather.
“I think with men, like, we kind of have to wear the basic, but we can also make that fashionable with having it more of a tailored look, more close to our bodies,” Ammon said.
When it comes to picking winter attire, Maldomado said, having a strong resilient fabric and shoe is important.
“Something that I’ve noticed a lot too, with the snow and the salt and everything, some of my pairs of shoes have gotten ruined,” she said. “Do not wear an expensive pair of shoes if you’re going to be walking outside and there is a possibility they could get damaged.”
When it comes to being in a professional or office setting, Maldomado said, it is OK to pack stylized shoes and change into those at the office, but if a student is navigating the campus, a comfortable shoe is the better option.
“Most important is to have your own style,” Cooper said.
