As a chill creeps over the Willamette campus, fashionistas everywhere are forced to cover up their outfits. Baby tees are hidden under chunky sweaters, miniskirts are traded out for sweatpants, and puffy coats overtake all which lay beneath them. However, for those who still intend to make a statement other than, “I’m cold,” students around campus have advice on staying glamorous in glacial temperatures.
Itzel Garibay (’25, left) and Jennifer Cabrera (’25, right) combined comfort and style with large colorful scarves. Garibay’s outfit also featured a trench coat and bag charms.
Both mentioned their European fashion inspirations, having spent a previous semester in Spain. “I moved out of sweatpants and hoodies,” Cabrera said. “I think I’m more sophisticated,” Garibay agreed. “It was a lot of dress pants and business casual over there.” They also suggested looking to New York Fashion Week and social media for inspiration.
Grace Garver’s (’26) outfit also featured a scarf, but in a darker color palette for a more alternative look. She paired the scarf with a cotton vest, plaid wool skirt, fur boots and a leather jacket. “I’m trying to lean more into 80s goth, with big maxi skirts, because I feel like there’s so much layering I can do with that,” Garver explained.
Garver gets most of her clothing thrifted, but lately she’s been trying to cut back on her shopping and prioritize clothes she already owns. For people who want to create new looks without consumption, she recommends sewing. “If I have an old graphic tee I want to get rid of, I'll cut the design out and sew it onto something else,” she said. “Then it's a new thing.”
Sam Barrett (’26) added some color to a cloudy day with a green sweatshirt emblazoned with a rainbow design and a bright teal Trader Joe’s sardines bag, as well as some silver jewelry from his mom and a sun tarot card necklace.
It wasn’t always easy for Sam to express himself through his clothes. “As someone who's always been kind of heavy and tall, it's always been difficult for me to find fashion that I feel is mine,” Barrett said. “A lot of fat guy clothes have kind of racist undertones, which is not a great look.”
Now, Sam gets a lot of his clothes, including his green sweatshirt, from shirtz.cool. “I was really excited when I found this brand. It gave me an opportunity to express that I'm having fun and we can be a little imaginative and a little creative with our outfits, even if we don't fit the mold.”
Armando Valdez (’27) wore a pair of sepia brown pants and a cream-colored argyle sweater, with blue and brown accents. “I really like the way that the top of my sweater matches with my shoes. I like sandwiching my layers of clothes,” Valdez said. “I try to wear a maximum of three colors. If it's any more than that, I think the outfit gets kind of ruined.”
Although the fashion found around campus is very unique, many students recommended the same tips for finding clothes and staying warm. Layering, knitwear and scarves were the most popular recommendations for staying fashionable despite frigid weather, while thrifting was where most students found their clothes.
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