The wonderful new freshman Kristen Bennett is our style spotlight for this week’s edition of the College Street Style series. You may have seen a picture of her in our Sept. 12 paper. Hope you enjoyed that little sneak preview!
To those new to the column: The Chronicle’s new College Street Style series features students like you, who get to share their own personal style and recommendations with Chronicle readers. Each week you will hear from students answering a series of fun style questions.
Let’s get started with the second addition to the series with Kristen Bennett, a freshman studying fine arts with an emphasis in photography.
As-Seen-On
On the day asked about her style, she was wearing a long, flowy cream cardigan. Underneath she had on a floral tank top and black shorts. The lace-type cardigan was from the store Maurices and the top Forever 21. Her cardigan can easily be worn with multiple fun tank tops as it is a cream color. Bennett’s floral tank top was a perfect pair to the cardigan, adding a girly, summer vibe to the whole outfit.
What stood out the most was her unique denim backpack embellished with ironed-on patches and painted flowers. Her backpack gives you a glimpse into a bit about her and her major in fine art. Patches like the ones seen on her backpack have been repeatedly seen in the fashion world on jeans and denim jackets, to name just a few. If you want to take your backpack to a new level, use hers as inspiration and find patches or pins with personality to add on yours. To finish off the look, she went for a classic pair of sneakers. We all know how our feet get tired from walking on campus from class to class, and sneakers are a good choice to deal with that strain.
Shopping Tips
Bennet likes shops like Rue21, Maurices and Forever 21. These are known for being inexpensive and somewhat trendy stores, perfect for college students on a budget. Forever 21 has a wide selection separated by the style or trend that you’re going for. Her favorite pieces to wear include bracelets, Converse-style sneakers and especially beanies. But if she had to spend the most money on a certain item of style, she’d choose shoes.
One clothing item she usually tends to regret wearing to school are dresses, since the weather is sometimes unpredictable and most dresses certainly weren’t made with windy days in mind. If she had to describe her style in one word, it’d be hipster. “I’m pretty chill about what I wear, and it’s kind of hippyish, and in my high school I got voted most hipster,” she said.
Inspiration
As for style inspiration, Bennett didn’t seem to have any since she is naturally creative. “I just usually go into a store and pick out what I like, I don’t really look at anything,” she explained. That individuality is clear just from looking at her style.
Campus Trends
She has noticed a trend on campus within the few weeks of fall semester. “[I’ve seen] a lot of ripped jeans and white t-shirts,” she said. You’d be surprised what trends you’ll notice if you start to look around.
@casualcolie