Five Trends for Fall/Winter 2016

Better late than never. It took me a hot second to round up some of my favorite trends for this fall and winter, but they're here and vague as ever. Honestly, I take trends with a grain of salt. They're fun to follow and a lot of interesting pieces come out during the seasons, but they're generally fleeting and tend to just be timely trends rather than ever-lasting staples. Still, they're fun to indulge in and watch at the seasons diverge. Plus, you can do what you want with trends. You can wear velvet in tops, pants, dresses, skirts, shoes, whatever you might please. You can take trends and make them your own, tailoring them to your style and comfort level.

1. Relaxed fit denim

Give me skinny jeans or give me death, but honestly...sometimes my legs just want to breathe. Swap out a pair of your skin tight denim for a more relaxed feel. Rock a pair of simple boyfriend jeans, rip some holes in the knee, glue some faux pearls down the front, hell, rock a color blocked pair with a massive stripe down the side. Enjoy the freedom of not having denim constricting your every move, even if just for a day

2. Velvet

You can do whatever you want with this trend. Want to rock a pair of velvet hot pants? Go for it and ass a nice flowy white blouse. Want to rock a pair of velvet booties? Tuck in your favorite part of black skinnies and pop on a bright red lip for a more holiday feel. Rock a velvet choker, a crushed velvet babydoll dress...the possibilities are endless.

3. Statement rings

Jewelry is something that I always forget exists, but that doesn't mean you should forget it too! Take a page out of Harry Styles' book and just pile on #AllTheRings. Seriously. Mix and match metals, vary up the sizes, put them on all of your fingers...don't feel limited to just one finger on your right hand to rock some sick jewelry.


4. Juxtapositions

Sometimes you just have to throw sartorial caution to the wind and do some good old mixing and matching. Want to wear a military-inspired utilitarian jacket? Pop it over a frilly, more feminine dress. Rocking a pair of destroyed and distressed-to-the-max denim? Wear a more "formal" blouse (bonus points if it has a pussybow) or style them with a pair of pointed toe pumps. Try to find the polar opposites to the pieces you want to wear and don't be afraid to try make them work together. Experimentation is key and not everything might work. That's life!

5. Leopard

Jenna Lyons once wisely said "As far as I'm concerned, leopard is a neutral." Truer words have never been spoken and my life has been changed ever since I heard this wise, wise statement. Leopard goes with more than you think it does and I swear, it is always in style. It's on the trend forecast what seems like every season, but it's everywhere this year. I swear, every September issue I read had some mention of leopard in some capacity, some even dedicating entire pages and collages to the trend. So, rock those leopard booties with your favorite pair of denim or be more daring and channel your inner Trendy Gal by layer a leopard coat over your ensemble of the day.