Fall Fashion

This season’s fashion trends are the following: leopard print, draped furs, velvet, towering hats, pantsuits, the leather dress and anything that makes you look like you ride horses.

So, what are you waiting for?

The September issue of Vogue, aka the sacred text of your seasonal style, is witness to these peaking and recurring trends.

Yet you question them? How dare you. Are you poor? Do you hate horses or something?

I am here to tell you that you do not have to wear leopard prints to be up with the trend.

The sad reality is that too many women and men refer to this autumnal bible in a “don’t question it, just do it” sorta way, but when equestrian attire and giant fur accessories are at stake, it’s important to step back and prioritize and personalize the trends poking through this season.

What makes me an authority? Absolutely nothing. I am a boy who wears boys’ and girls’ clothes. I have been voted “Best Dressed” in a few superlatives.

I’ve been reading fashion magazines since I was a closeted tweenie who could hide them under his bed. I’m relatively ordinary.

But what validates my viewpoint here is that I am a college student with a utilitarian, comfortable and cheap approach to fashion.     

This means I (and probably you) will not be buying mink scarves or riding trousers.

This means the demographic I’m seeking to read this are those who value the designs we see in the media and are willing to be innovative in making them work fiscally.

Quickly, ladies and gentlemen (that’s right, you too, gentlemen), here are a few things to think about this fall.

Minimalism is subsiding. With big embellishments, golden embroideries and designs that remind me of antique carpets, do not shy away from patterns this season. I mean head-to-toe sometimes, if you find a good one. Go about it counterintuitively, in the sense that you want to think less about coordinating and more about clashing strategically. Just as long as it isn’t plaid.

Speaking of patterns: leopard. Because of its risky, trashy and cheap implications, you cannot go into it shyly. Wear the cat confidently or steer clear.

For those of you who are faint of heart, use little ways to make an impression without
committing to the extremities.

Ladies, stick with a cool sheath. That way a statement collar — meaning a collar of an unusual pattern, embellishment, or studs — can maneuver the outfit.

I hear they even have detachable collars as accessories these days, if you wanted to sneakily tuck it into a sweater.

The bags and murses — as big as ever — can also bring up your style. “You speak softly and carry a loud bag,” as a J. Crew advertisement put it. My favorite trend, however, is equestrian.

Specifically thinking about silhouette, big floppy hips are in. Lady Gaga flaunts the large, Ursula-like hips on the cover of this month’s Vogue.

This sounds unappealing, but focusing on high-waisted pants or loose chino jeans paired with a high boot will bring this idea to the college-level playing field.

Girls, invest in the peplum blouse or dress. Guys can go especially bold by thinking about their waistlines rising higher and higher.

There are three trends I’m willing to ignore for the sake of our age and budgets, but you don’t have to: velvet, leather pants and stupid, stupid hats.
Marc Jacobs made it all about mad hatters this winter, and I’m thinking we should mellow out.

To end on fur, however, is important, because while we all can’t afford real furs, nor pull off the full mink trench coat suggested by many runways, there is a means of modernizing what seems like an old-lady genre of clothes.

Why fur, you say?

Because reenergizing old marvels is what fashion is about. While seductresses in film noir sported these great coats, 2012 constructs fur in a way that’s tributary to the mysterious, powerful woman. Fur can be an accent — a trapper hat, a fuzzy bag or wrap.

Or in my case, a strip of faux bought at Jo-Ann Fabrics and buttoned once to put over my trench coat.

By Francisco Tirado