Grace Smith – CollegeFashionista

STYLE ADVICE OF THE WEEK: I Can’t Get Over Over-the-Knee Boots

Fall is in full swing and so is the fashion. As the weeks grow colder our outfits become more layered and in my opinion, more stylish. One of my favorite things about the best season of the year has always been the clothes. It’s cold enough to wear scarves and boots but not too cold to have to be zipped up in an unflattering puffer coat and ski mask. There are so many outfit possibilities when you get to add layers to your morning routine. From scarves to capes to everything in between—the opportunities are endless in the fall!

One of my all time favorite cooler weather trends is over-the-knee boots. Although they have been around for quite a while, they have really become a hit this season Almost every celebrity has been sporting them and now they can be found in pretty much any store that carries boots. They can be dressed up or down, and make any outfit look instantly more chic.

This Fashionista styled her boots with a turtleneck, plaid cape and olive suede skirt; a perfect fall ensemble. Her outfit is comfy and functional so it works for strolling through campus, but it’s definitely cute enough for an important event like Thanksgiving! Another great thing about these boots is that they are an awesome transition piece. They can be worn with a dress or skirt on the warmer fall days or over jeans when it starts to get too cold for bare skin. The opportunities are practically endless, which is why these over-the-knee boots should be a staple piece in every Fashionista’s closet this year!

WHAT TO WEAR: Football in the South

Well as most of you should know, football season is back and in full swing! Fall is pretty much the most important time of the year for us Tennesseans. This can be explained with one simple word—football. Down in the south, we take our games pretty seriously, which means you never know who you’re going to see and you always need to be dressed to impress. Our university may not be an SEC school, but that doesn’t mean we don’t know how to get dressed up and cheer on our team!

This Fashionista was spotted on campus during homecoming week and I immediately thought her look screamed fall tailgate in the south. Layering is the best way to make simple pieces in your wardrobe stand out and this is a perfect example of how to do so effortlessly. She wore an oversized cream tank over a grey lace bralette. Our colors are purple and gold which she incorporated nicely with her purple destroyed skinny jeans and mustard scarf. To spice up her outfit she added a long grey necklace, purple and gold bangles and suede booties. This Fashionista shows us that football games do not require university T-shirts or oversized jerseys. Game day outfits can actually be chic and appropriate for daily wear.

What I love about this ensemble is that it’s not your typical tailgate style. Usually we see a ton of purple dresses and cowboy boots every game day so it’s refreshing to see a Fashionista who knows how to shake things up a little bit. All of her pieces can pretty much be found anywhere in any town so this look is a breeze to recreate! Just grab some tattered jeans, a comfy tee, booties and some school colored accessories and you’re good to go! This outfit has the perfect amount of purple pride while still being fashion forward. Happy tailgating Fashionistas!

STYLE GURU BIO: Grace Smith

Hey there! Well for starters, my name is Gracie Smith and I’m a senior merchandising and design student at Tennessee Tech University. This will be my first semester as a Style Guru for CollegeFashionista and I’m looking forward to all of the cool stuff I am going to be working on in the upcoming months. Growing up, I loved anything artsy or creative which I thought would lead me to becoming a painter. Instead, I ended up loving to paint, but wanting to pursue a career in fashion.

I started off as a fine arts student at my school, but knew it was time for a change when I realized I couldn’t wear the clothes I wanted without getting paint all over them. I discovered my school had a merchandising and design program and knew it would be the best of both worlds. I was able to be creative while still looking cute. Although I am no longer in the studio with a brush every day, I still find myself painting a new canvas each morning. The only difference is now the canvas is me! I see all of my clothes as different mediums and my outfits as mini works of art. I have to make sure all of the colors work well together and that the whole mood I am trying to portray comes across the way I want it to.

To me, style is the best way to express yourself, especially the way you’re feeling on a particular day. This midi dress was a boutique find and one of my very favorites, but my closet has anything in it from Dunder Mifflin T-shirts to cheetah print stilettos. There’s no certain genre you have to fit into. One day you can be preppy, the next you can be boho and so on and so forth. You don’t have to confine yourself to one particular style. You may have a go-to look, but that doesn’t mean you can’t change it up whenever you want. That’s the beauty of fashion, you get to make it whatever you want it to be.

I can’t wait for all of the new experiences CollegeFashionista is going to bring. Here’s to a stylish semester.