20 Simple Fall Outfits for College

Effort Required: ★★☆☆☆
Style:★★★★★

One glance out my window is all it takes to notice the rusty glow cast over everything. As the leaves cascade to the ground and the air becomes crisp, the time rolls around for a wardrobe change. 

As a first-year student at a university, I've been trying to adjust my wardrobe so that it is appropriate for walking to class in cooler weather. Unfortunately, there are many days when I intend on looking put together, but then I wake up for 8 AM calculus and I decide that I will just wear a sweatshirt and leggings because I don't want to get hypothermia as I make the trek across campus. 
I'm sure many other students have this problem and so I've compiled a handful of outfit ideas that are both cute, and practical for the brisk fall weather. With that being said, many of these outfits include basic pieces and comfortable shoes, perfect for life on campus.
One aspect of style that I find completely necessary in these fall months is layering. You'll see that many of these outfits feature layers, some which provide warmth, and others that don't. Incorporating layers adds texture and can make an outfit look more dynamic. I would highly recommend investing in a denim jacket, a vest, and/or cardigans in order to pull outfits together that look like they took a lot more effort than they actually did. 
Another piece to look at is the footwear. Shoes can make or break an outfit, but it is important to evaluate the comfort they provide, especially if you're like me and have to walk back and forth across campus all day. Booties are a great option for fall and are (generally speaking) easy to walk in. Sneakers of some type are also a staple piece that every girl should have in her closet. I just recently invested in a pair of bean boots and I would highly recommend purchasing some type of rain/weather-proof boot for those days where you don't feel like drowning your shoes in huge puddles. Remember, the idea behind these looks is to put forth minimal effort, but still look cute and comfortable.

https://www.brightontheday.com/vermont-road-trip-itinerary/

http://myfashavenue.com/2015/12/the-travel-bug/?crlt.pid=camp.6CBIAKUvMI2a

https://justmarvellous.com/article/10-catchy-summer-outfits-to-inspire-yourself-1

http://wachabuy.com/fall-outfits-2018-4/2/

http://stylishlist.com/22-inspiring-fall-winter-style-fashion-outfits-for-womens/16/

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/75/d4/d5/75d4d59b4c6aa88e09be43cdadf7e825.jpg

https://stylemepreppy.com/article/40-catchy-fall-outfits-to-wear-now-1#dFpieQGfBx

https://www.instagram.com/p/BmUlqRgAt4Z/

https://www.extrapetite.com/2015/10/join-me-at-anthropologie-san-francisco.html

https://www.southerncurlsandpearls.com/instagram-roundup-7/

https://stylemepreppy.com/article/100-flawless-winter-outfits-to-inspire-yourself-1#LMVcRGiKwx

https://www.liketoknow.it/taymbrown

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/e7/bc/82/e7bc820ee46baa137f66b8ed201502d2.jpg

https://flawlessoutfits.com/article/40-brilliant-fall-outfits-to-inspire-you-1#7B2ldeFamL

https://awwoutfit.com/outfit-ideas/what-to-wear-this-fall-30-perfect-outfit-ideas.html

Brenna G.

XOXO :)

I do not claim any of these pictures as my own and give total credit to the pages linked.

DIY Notebooks!

School. 
As much as we hate to admit it, it's right around the corner and its time to prepare ourselves for another year full of essays and notetaking. Whether you're homeschooled, cyberschooled, public schooled, or private schooled, you're gonna need notebooks of some type; and why not make them super cute? If there is anything that can make school more bearable, its cute school supplies (and lots of days off...) so here are three DIY notebooks that will hopefully make the back to school experience a little more pleasant for you. 

All three of these DIYs are very simple and require little to no artistic talent (I would know) so feel free to experiment with different ideas until you find something that matches your personality. :)

Notebook 1: Watermelon Watercolor Notebook

*I made these notebooks by attaching paper to the front of the actual notebook but it may be easier to paint or glue directly onto the notebook, just be sure to paint it white before adding watercolor.

1) The things you need will be:

• a notebook
• watercolor paint
• paper
• elmers glue
• scissors
• a black permanent marker
• water (obviously)

 2) The first step is to trace over your paper and cut it out to fit the cover of the notebook (this step is the same for all 3 DIYs)

3) Begin painting by adding dark green watercolor to about 1/4 of the paper.

3)Following the dark green, add light green watercolor to create a sort of ombre effect.

4) Begin on the opposite side of the paper and add red/pink watercolor, slowly fading, making it less opaque. Be sure to leave some white space between the red and the greens to make it look like a real watermelon.

 

5) Time to add seeds! Wait for the watercolor to dry, then, use a black sharpie to add rain drop shaped seeds to the watermelon.

It's OK if your seeds aren't perfectly identical! It's more realistic that way! 

6) The last step is to use elmers glue to attach your watermelon watercolor to the notebook. After my glue dried, I taped over my notebook cover with clear masking tape just to make sure that the cover would never fall off. (This is why it may be easier to paint directly on the notebook.)I repeated this step with all the different notebooks

Et Voila!

Notebook 2: Magazine Scales Notebook

*Once again, I attached a paper to my notebook, but you could glue directly onto it.
















1) The things you will need are: 

• Magazines (preferably with lots of color)
• paper
• a notebook
• glue (a stick or elmers)
• scissors

 2) Use an extra piece of paper to trace the shape of a scale, and this other shape (which will be the rest of the scales). Cut out the two stencils with scissors and begin by tracing the larger, full scale shape onto the bottom of your paper like so. (I like to start by hanging it off the page a little bit) 

 3) After tracing the first line of scales, use the second stencil to create more scales above the original ones. Be sure to leave some white space between each scale in order to create contrast.

This is what it should look like when you're finished---->>

4) Find some cool pictures in your magazines, trace your stencils onto them and cut them out. Be sure to cut out both shapes of scales. (I tried to use pages that had blue or purple in them to stick with the summery, ocean theme.)

5) Use glue (I used a glue stick) to attach your magazine clippings to where you traced the stencils on the paper. Lastly, attach your notebook cover to the notebook the same way as you did with the first DIY.

This is what it should look like when you're done!-->

2/3 Notebooks done!

Notebook 3: Navajo inspired Notebook 

*This notebook is super open to interpretation so you can do whatever you want with it. I ran out of string so I couldn't go too far with the threading part so I decided to add the cactus design, but feel free to do whatever you want!

1) The things you will need are:

• paper (I used some with a brownish tint)
• different colors of string or thread
• a thumbtack, needle, or something to poke holes in the paper with
• (opt.) Watercolor supplies

2) Use a thumbtack or a needle to poke holes into the edge of the paper in a line. I began by folding the paper where I wanted to put the holes in order to make sure that they stayed in a straight line. My first line of holes were about a centimeter or so apart. 

This is what it should look like when you're done-->>

*I also used a pencil tip to make the holes a bit bigger in order to fit my string through them

3)Poke your string through the first hole. Be careful, as you are working with paper, which tends to rip a bit more easily than fabric. 

Tie a knot in your string to secure it in the paper. I, being me, accidentally ripped the paper and ended up having to used tape to secure the string, so just don't do that and you'll be fine :)

4) Thread the string back through the next hole in the paper. Continue doing this all the way across the paper and tie another knot after the last hole to secure the string.

 

 5) Follow the same steps with a second color of string. Stagger the holes to spice it up a bit.

6) For the last row of string, I created a sort of cross stitch thing. Start by poking 4 holes in the paper like so. (At this point, I had run out of string colors so I decided to use blue wire, which was significantly harder to thread through the paper.) Thread the string through the holes, creating an x shape and continue doing this all the way across the page. 

In the end, you should have something that looks a little like this.

7) At this point, you can continue doing different "stitches" with the string or you can add a bit of watercolor! I chose to do a little cactus design with the remaining space on the paper and this is how it came out: 

I found a notebook that has a sleeve in the front of it so I decided to stick my cover in there and here is the final product:

So there you go! Three, easy, DIY notebook ideas for back to school. I'd love it if you'd leave me a comment telling me what you think or how you would improve any one of the DIYs. I'd also love to hear any suggestions you have for another DIY to do. :)

Thanks for reading! 

Until next time, 

Brenna G.

XOXO :)