Warm weather and a season change opens up possibilities for all wardrobes. Some might choose to keep wearing their sweatshirts and jeans. But people like me will be saying goodbye to our three favorite hoodies and one heavy jacket and hello to our seven favorite t-shirts.
I spoke to five UO students about what they’re expecting for spring fashion this year. Here’s what they had to say:
“I want to see the death of neutrals, I want exciting patterns and I want bright colors,” Kelly Kleinberg, junior family and human services student, said.
Bright colors and interesting patterns — especially floral — are synonymous with spring and summer. Something about the weather heating up makes a flowy floral shirt sound more appealing.
“I expect it and want it. It’s gonna be sunny out, I think a lot of people are just gonna relax,” Jacob Shaprio, senior political science student, said. Shapiro likes to style his own outfits with, “A lot of bathing suits and a lot of floral shirts.”
A staple in my spring wardrobe — and many other unquestionably-fashionable geniuses’ — continues to be jean shorts, commonly known as “jorts.” This season might be a victory lap for jorts more than anything. Few revived relics remain in popularity as long as they have, so savor their reign before it comes to an end.
“I want to see people’s craziest jorts coming out,” Wesley Feldman, junior studio art student, said.
An educated guess could tell you many young people love jorts. So much so it can jort-circuit their brain.
“Hella jorts. Hella jorts,” Max Martin, freshman finance student, said.
Shorter clothing from head to toe opens up additional possibilities for accessorizing, and not only with jewelry. Often the undersung hero of an outfit, belts get their time to shine in spring. Laiah Dizaiy, junior neuroscience student, said she likes to style her warm weather outfits “with belts, jewelry and fun hair.”
And why shouldn’t belts get the credit for a good spring outfit? Something has to hold up those oversized jorts.
“I want to mix match patterns and I want the Uggs to go away,” Dizaiy said. Uggs are the boots of jorts. Trendy, then hideous and trendy again — except maybe Uggs were never that cool from the start.
Besides, there are plenty of footwear options that look good with shorter clothing. A personal addition to my spring 2024 wardrobe: cowboy boots to go with my beat-up Birkenstocks. Kleinberg said she likes to style her spring wear with her Blundstones, also known as Chelsea boots.
An undermentioned warm weather garment is the white tank top. The white tank top is frequently seen as nothing more than an undershirt, but for my wardrobe, it might be the premier shirt. Who wants to see a chest when they unbutton their floral shirts anyways?
Surprisingly, nobody I spoke to thought to say anything about baseball hats, positive or negative. For sunny days their utility comes second only to their timeless look. I will be wearing a lot of white tank tops, short-sleeved, open button-up shirts and Birkenstocks with my LA Dodgers hat this spring. And, of course, my favorite 40” waisted jorts. Think: modernized Dr. Gonzo from “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,” by Hunter S. Thompson.
