Remember 3 things

Molly has that quirky mix of spunk and punk. How does she do it? Well, she's not really sure. But she did share the three things she keeps in mind. Want to know what they are? Watch the video below.

Ahoy from no-pants land!

The other day, I walked in to my apartment to find my roommate in the living room playing with her dog and not wearing any pants.
I stopped and gave her a quizzical glance. "I know," she said. "But I'm so comfortable!" Turns out she returned home after a full day, wearing tights under her jeans, sweater tunic and snow-boot outfit, and just ripped her jeans off in a hurry for for the fastest comfortable possible. And then put her boots back on?
"Well, my feet were cold." And, she explains in her typical scholarly tone: "Well, I was also really trying to understand what makes people dress this way."
Well, I must say, she has a point: While it doesn't make much sense that the colder it gets outside, the more I see girls walking around with no pants on in the sweater-dress and leggings getup, it does make sense that it's one of the most snuggly outfits fashion has seen lately. And Columbia Fashion Watch is about watching fashion, and the truth is there are a whole lot more no-pantsers to watch than there used to be.
And I'm not making fun! Seriously, the getup is really comfortable. And once I'm no longer working in the newsroom, where I must dress "business casual, not campus casual," I'll probably employ the look myself.
And, I'll probably be really cold.


*This chick in the photo is not my roommate, but she nicely exemplifies the no-pants look, and the happily comfortable cheer that often accessorizes it.

Winter sparkle- and nope, we're not talking about snow

In contrast to the spring-y Kaitlyn, Kelsi definitely looks like she's set for winter wear. But I just loved how the whole outfit gave a little glam to what can be a drab cold weather routine (Sweater.Boots.Scarf.Repeat). A shiny necklace coordinated nicely with knit boots, since the whole outfit is in the same kind of color palette-- something I'd classify as jewel-tone neutral, maybe? What else could you call the winning combination of gray, metallic accents, jeans, and plum? Whatever the classification, she certainly impressed. Below, she shares with us how she managed to stick out so subtly.

Parlez-vou Franglais? Frenglish fashion tips

An ensemble of light blue pants, a cream cardigan, a lilac shirt, black nylons, red shoes and a teal scarf kind of sounds like the perfect recipe for fashion faux pas. But if you take a look at the smiling Kaitlyn here, you'll see that the combination gives a cool, artsy feel even in December. It's probably because the rather cool Kaitlyn minored in art during her undergraduate studies. So while she looks like she just breezed in from Paris, the rest of us look like we were blown in by a blizzard. Is it that certain je ne sais quoi that the rest of us mere mortals lack? Thankfully, Kaitlyn was kind enough to explain her style in plain English.

Forecast: An increased chance of vv-vvv-vvv with a slight risk of BRRRRR!!!!!

At 8 o clock this morning, it was 8 degrees outside. Cold weather is officially in the building, folks. But this doesn’t necessarily mean that the response is dreary; in fact, if you take a look at the fashion around you, things seem especially cheery.
Candy-colored scarves, fairisle mittens, and thick knit hats popped nicely with color against the crisp morning sky. And there were some surprising trends too: both aviator sunglasses and shorts were spotted as people hustled to work in downtown Columbia or to class at Mizzou. But there was a winter flair to the summer wear. Aviators are surprisingly chic when paired with long, flowy scarves. And shorts (or even short skirts) look cozy when paired with thick tights, tall boots, and knit socks that peek out at the knee.
This is all way to great a photo opportunity to pass up. This young lady to the left said she brought over her style from Scotland. When she lived there, shorts with tights was the style, so she kept doing it here.
See more wintry goodness in the slideshow above.

Lessons in vitality

Tracy is probably the most honest fashionista that CFW has covered. Are you ready?

She’s 47, and makes no bones about it. She also has two fashion philosophies, and she makes no bones about them:

“Cover up flaws, and [have] one noticeable garment. Like earrings or your scarf. That way you can look at one thing and feel okay about your outfit even if the rest of it sucks. Or if you have one jacket you really like—just dress around it.”

She’s been spotted in lots of black. What gives?

“Black is very grounding to me, which probably you could analyze, or my shrink could analyze,” she laughs. “I really do have so much that goes with black. Every now and then I pull out a brown and I can’t even function. I have black on every day.”

Black also serves another function for Tracy:

“If you have a tendency to feel big…black makes you feel smaller.” But she’s not… big. “I know, but there’s always that feeling. I had twins in utero and I can’t get past that feeling. I gained 70 pounds, so there’s always that feeling.”

Even though she’s a mom, and that has affected how she looks, she refuses to give up on her appearance. 70 pounds gained and lost, children to raise, and nearing 50, she won’t let herself blend into the sweatshirt-slugging mom masses.

“A lot of people I know are like that… where my kids go to school there are these moms and they have kindergarteners, and they’re full on gray.” And she’s not talking about hair: “It’s like they are gray. They’re done. Where’s that coming from?”

It’s easy to see how Tracy would have a hard time understanding where they’re coming from. She’s continuing her education at Missouri’s Journalism School, even after an already-successful journalism career. Tracy is the kind of woman that will probably be learning Mandarin when she’s 75. She’s not the kind to burn out, or fade away. But she knows you have to work at keeping yourself going.

“It’s awkward to say my age, but in a way it’s not,” she says. “Because what are you going to do? When I’m 57 I’ll go, gol, 47 was really young!” she laughs. “And there are people who are 67 and doing really great things. Why not?”

There’s another reason, too. A more painful one. “Part of it is, my mom died just over 50. And she was in bed from the time she was 40. So… part of it is probably from that bad experience.”

She recalls a movie, Finding Forrester. “There’s a line where Sean Connery says, ‘Who knows why some people live and some people don’t.’ You can look at that on a superficial level, but in a broader sense I think he means why not just live, versus not live?”

EVENT! Weavers and Spinners Guild craft show

Craft shows are always a great place to pick up funky items to wear. But if the term "craft show" conjures up images of quilts and baby booties, check out this Columbia Missourian article here that calls the show "sophisticated and diverse." It has info about featured artists and what they make --everything from bowls to necklaces to blankets.

The important stuff to know is:

Where: Boone County Historical Museum, 3801 Ponderosa Road
When: Today 6-9, Friday 9am - 4pm, Saturday & Sunday from 11-4
Cost: FREE!

These craft shows are always a good place to find original Christmas gifts too, for those of us who think about these things early!

Halloween: Scary, slutty, and everything in between

If fashion is just a costume, then there's no better holiday than Halloween.

A quick survey at Ragtag gives us a glimpse at the most popular costumes in Columbia:
Men dressed in drag was a big one, as evidenced by the plethora of men in wigs and mom wear; Zelda and Marilyn Monroe had some manly proportions last night. You could also see celebrities, such as two Kurt Cobains, Groucho Marx, Liz Lemon, Kid Rock, and John Cusak in Say Anything. Two Ghandis were spotted chatting with one another. Some others sported truly original creations, like the Absinthe fairy (complete with green hair, green eyelashes, and a huge sparkling sugar cube), what looked like a "rocket man," and a "bunny taking a crap on me" getup. The female pope gyrating against another woman was just one of many examples of blasphemy. And of course, there was everyone's favorite-- the non-costume "less is more" look-- which made the normally respectable streets of Columbia look like a brothel convention. Of course, that getup (or lack thereof) is the whole reason for the last category of popular costumes: creepy old men dressed as creepy old men.

So who needs the sugary stuff that will rot your teeth when there's eye candy all around? See the slideshow on the right to ogle some more.

Rainy Day

With magenta lips and an undeniably English accent, Patricia confesses: "I'm studying journalism, but I'm very interested in fashion. I'd love working on a fashion magazine someday."

Even if she's a couple years away from a fashion journalism career, she sure knows how to dress the part. She's shown here wearing a loose black dress ("It was rainy and I feel black dresses are cool on rainy days") brown leggings, black heels, a Louis Vuitton bag, a gold peace sign necklace, and a bright orange scarf tied to her braid that she got from her mom.

Such careful selection just goes to show how "I try and find my own style and not copy." It takes time, though: "I search in every little store for pieces that I actually like," she says, "not just go to the big ones and wear what everybody wears."

So the next time it's raining, it might be fun pull a Patricia. Instead of blending in with all of the hoodies and rainboots hiding under umbrellas, why not don a little black dress?

"I like the nightlife, I like to boogie"

Who said guys don't care about
what they wear?
These two clearly know how to accessorize.

Wishbone? Fishbone!

Lindsay Ray's hairstyle looks like a braid, but not quite: it's called a fishbone. She says, "It's basically like a French braid, but it starts lower, and there's only two strands used instead of two." She found more detailed instructions at this wiki page. Here, she shows us the look, and then she shows how it's done.

Floral skirts & kid's shirts

A petite Columbian talks about her style.

Paisley from Texas

Brianna’s crazy dress came from Austin, Texas in a used clothing store. She says the wide collar and funky mix of paisley, floral and geometric patterns gives it a 70s feel. The halter dress also has some deep cut-outs along the sides, but she’s covering them with a sweatshirt since she’s in the workplace. “But after I leave here, this comes off,” she assures me. 

Classic with a twist

Jenny Rogers calls her style “updated classic.” “I don’t like overly trendy clothes,” she says. “I’ve been wearing navy and white stripes my whole life, just like my mom.”

Her classic look of boot-cut jeans, a white tee and a navy striped cardigan is updated with bright red flats and a co

ol tote that she got for free while working at a Florida college. (Who knew there was such thing as a Citrus major?)

What also stands out is an oversized watch. Jenny says she most likes men’s-style watches, because “I don’t think men’s watches ever go out of style.”

Her best accessory, however, is her refreshing fashion attitude: “I don’t think fashion is shallow,” she says. Instead—as per the CFW mantra—it’s a legitimate and very interesting way of expressing oneself.