Hello and welcome back Etown fashionistas! I hope your semesters have started off on the right foot, preferably in an adorable, sequined ballet flat found on clearance at your favorite store. I’m back for another great year to discover street style on campus, and the welcome back events that took place the first week provided plenty of opportunities for everyone to dress up way more than usual.

For the first issue, I decided to attend the annual Convocation and picnic to scope out what trends the campus would be embracing for the fall season. Ladies, you did not disappoint. Maxi skirts and sun dresses surrounded me as I enjoyed my lemonade in the twilight sunshine, and I couldn’t approach people quickly enough to interview them. Seriously, there were so many trendily dressed Jays out there. Keep up the good work and my job of finding chic students will be much easier than expected!

Now, on to the fashion profiles: I was originally attracted to sophomore psychology major Maggie Krauss’ lace-paneled sundress because of the country chic, red cowboy boots she chose to pair with it. After writing this column last semester and being hyper aware of fashion on a daily basis, I can tell you that you won’t see shoes like this in Etown, like, ever. (Aside: It’s only on these special days that people bring out their knockout pieces, which I think is just bunk. Wear your beautiful things every day and I guarantee you will feel better.) Anyway, back to the boots. The best part about them? They’re eco-chic, having been purchased from a thrift store. This begs the question: why can I never find things besides dirty sweaters and dated dresses?! Anyway, to keep the look from becoming too kitschy, Krauss paired the dress and boots with simple, yet elegant silver jewelry including hoop earrings and a statement watch from one of my favorite department stores, Kohl’s. Red lipstick and natural looking, bouncy curls polished off the ensemble. Overall, Krauss’ outfit exhibited how an otherwise simple dress or pair of cowboy boots can be paired together and make one super sweet, 100 percent charming outfit.

Another sophomore, Ellyn Frisch, absolutely killed the bohemian look. I felt like I should have been listening to Jefferson Airplane or watching “Hair” just by looking at this outfit. The skirt, a Forever 21 find, was perfection. The deep red color and handkerchief hem toned down the traditional length of a maxi, and therefore showed off her oh-so-perfectly worn-in leather sandals, also inexpensive from a Skechers outlet. I didn’t even know they still made shoes, much less super hippy leather ones! Her simple, white tank allowed the statement skirt to take center stage and provided the ideal backdrop for her accessories. These included a gold and pearl necklace that was once her grandmother’s, a personalized touch that made her outfit so much more endearing to me. A skinny belt defined her waist and connected the leather elements of the look, creating an overall relaxed, effortless vibe.

After seeing all of the stylishness that everyone brought back this fall, I am super excited to continue profiling the daily class and charm I know will be exhibited. So keep your fashion game up my fellow students, and I’ll keep an eye out for any and every fashionable Blue Jay to feature in my next column, which will appear in the Sept. 20 issue!