By Erica Howard
Hello everyone! My name is Erica Howard and I wanted to talk about some of my favorite outfits. With fashion details, here are my top five:
1. The black top has 70's inspired sleeves, a floral print and is from rue21 for ~$15. I'm such a sucker for clothes from rue21and clothes inspired from the past decades' fashions. With the top the sleeves with the more openness at the ends is inspired from the sleeves in the 1970's. I also love the floral print against the black background. The top can be worn as an everyday outfit at college or dressed-up for a live theatre performance. The black leggings, in this outfit, are from Wal-Mart for ~$5. Leggings are a staple in my life, so the cheaper I can get them the better. Black leggings are comfortable and they can be made to be wore for more formal events or worn casually with a t-shirt. Together the top and the leggings are just my combination of clothes. I recently wore these outfit to a show of The Book of Mormon in Cleveland.
2. Next is a light blue diamond patterned romper that is also from rue21, which I got for ~$12. I bought this romper two summers ago for my trip to New York City. I specifically bought that romper for my day trip to NYC, which coincidentally was the same day as The Tony Awards that year. The material of the romper was very breathable, which helped survive the heat of New York in June. Didn't sweat that much throughout that day. A romper is such a typical outfit for the summer. The only inconvenience is that you have to undress completely to use the toilet. But I found it to be worth it to survive the heat of summer. I still find reasons to wear that romper through the summer.
3. This outfit consists of three items: a red & black flannel, a maroon undershirt, and a pair of jean shorts. The flannel is from Wal-Mart for $10, the maroon undershirt is from rue21 & it came with a shirt, and the shorts are from Wal-Mart for $10. A flannel with a plain t-shirt or camisole are the perfect combination for a fall ensemble. Now, typically I usually pair that combo with a pair of blue jeans but this photo was taken during an unusually warm day for September, so shorts were necessary for not overheating. And surprisingly I found this outfit to be perfect because it caused me to combine fall and summer fashions in one single outfit that perfectly represented the warm start to the autumn season.
4. This outfit is the first Slippery Rock shirt I got at the campus bookstore when I first visited back in the spring of my Junior year of high school. From the moment I first stepped foot on campus I knew this was the school for me. My mom went to SRU as a freshman but had to go to a school closer to town because of money issues. So, she was excited when I got accepted and officially decided to attend school here. We have connected more since I started going here. I feel like I'm carrying on an unfinished journey for my mom.
5. Finally, there is a romper-dress also from rue21. I think it's fair to say most of my closet is from rue21. This dress I bought for my trip to Disney World in Florida this past summer. In the wind the skirt part of the dress would act as a cape and made me feel like I was in a photoshoot. Also, the way the skirt was allowed me to tie it up, like in the first picture of it. That day at Epcot, it had rained and the dress isn't short so it was getting wet, so I just tied it up. Now, I wore the brown sandals shown in the first pic but I preferred to be barefoot, like in the second picture. The rose print and that it was yellow reminded me of Belle from Beauty & the Beast. She is my favorite Disney princess and I have always want to wear her infamous yellow ball gown from the animated movie.
Those are my favorite outfits from my closet. This show the range of my style. So, I say go out & embrace your own style even if it doesn't fit into a specific fashion category. Personal fashion doesn't have to fit into one box; it can fit into multiple categories.
Erica Howard