With the help of cold weather and final exams, it’s easy to slump right into leggings and an oversized sweatshirt. I‘m here to remind the female students at Sonoma State University that looking chic, trendy and put-together is not as difficult and tedious as it’s hyped up to be in students’ head. Clothing is a representation of how one would like to be portrayed at a first sight so swing by the local mall to pick up some items represented by my favorite winter trends.

All black everything has been trending for quite some time now. Towards the end of fall and beginning of winter, I find it socially acceptable to pair black items with other black items. Black merchandise always tends to pair well with one another. Whether it’s black leather and black suede or black silk and black denim, anything goes. This outfit may be a bit more formal than your everyday boyfriend jeans and flannel, but I love the elevated and elegant look of this dress with these shoes. Because it is a bit more brisk outside, I threw on a pair of tights for warmth.  This is a great day-to-night outfit. This dress is the perfect dress to wear to work with a pair of black booties and chunky scarf and can easily transition into an evening appropriate look. Just throw a favoriteleather jacket, and heels for your date downtown.  Accessories with an outfit make all of the difference to me. To top off this sleek look, I added a black and gold statement necklace to add some edge. Black on black is always an easy, chic and versatile look.

With this outfit, I went for a casual, yet trendy approach. Plaid is one of my favorite trends that can easily be dressed up or dressed down. When most think of plaid, it’s commonly affiliated with ripped jeans or leggings, but it can easily be elevated with a little bit of creativity. 

Here I am wearing black wax coated jeans that looks similar to a leather pant would. These high-rise black wax pants give this festive flannel more of an urban edge. To tie these pieces all together, I threw on a denim jacket and a pair of black booties. Plaid is always a go to- it’s cozy, colorful and comfortable. A plaid can add the perfect amount of pattern and warmth when it’s worn as a layering piece.

This outfit is simple yet trendy. Turtlenecks are one of my favorite trends to date. I took a simple black turtleneck sweater and “lazy tucked” the front end of the sweater into a pair of high wasted, maroon colored garment died skinny jeans. To top of this outfit, I chose to go with a simple black belt, a black beanie and a minimal gold necklace. This outfit is cozy, chic and comfortable. This outfit showcases two of my favorite winter trends right now- cozy sweaters and colored pants. I chose this outfit to demonstrate because the comeback of turtlenecks may be intimidating to some, so I decided to keep it simple. It’s hard to go wrong when pairing two of one’s favorite basic items together, so feel free to mix and match.  Great and inexpensive duplicates like these items can easily be found at any Forever 21, H&M, Zara, Nordstrom or Gap.