UNC fall fashion trends, post-Labor Day weekend

It is that time of year — the awkward clothing transition period between summer and fall when North Carolina weather can be very unpredictable.

Many students find themselves standing in front of their closets with the same exact thought: “What am I going to wear to class today? It’s 75 degrees right now, but it will be 90 degrees in four hours.”

While it’s hard to resist the T-shirt and Nike shorts phenomenon at UNC, it’s still possible.

With fall less than two weeks away, there are a handful of upcoming trends.

Ben Daughtry, Rumors Boutique sales associate, said he is beginning to see a really high demand for ‘90s-themed clothing.

“Denim jackets are big. It’s very ‘90s kind of throwback fashion. For girls — the dELiA*s style, ‘90s, bright colors, chokers and stuff of that kind.”

For men’s fashion, Daughtry said it’s harder to pinpoint where the trends are heading.

“For men — it’s hard because I feel like guys are all over the place. There’s a lot of the streetwear stuff, a lot of those cool brands, but then also just the really basic baggier button downs,” he said. “It’s about that time of year where we’re stocking up so we have about three racks of just flannels.”

Daughtry said he sees a lot of the trends from summer sticking around, and that there’s a lot of customized, DIY, distressed clothing that will carry over into the fall.

Carly Drake, the assistant manager at Uniquities, has noticed a huge trend in the ‘I just rolled out of bed, but a little bit more glammed up’ look among UNC women.

“The number one thing that we get requests for is high-waisted denim and high-waisted shorts. A lot of people are doing the high-waisted denim with crop tops or really boho flowy tops with the bell sleeves,” she said.

And her predictions for the fall? A return to hippie fashion.

“Bell sleeves are going to be huge,” she said. “Also over-the-knee boots are going to be bigger than booties this year.”

Drake said that people are more hesitant to wear white after Labor Day, yet it’s key to an effortless seasonal transition. Try wearing white denim with a big sweater because the “don’t wear white after Labor Day” days are over.

Karis Battle, Bluetique sales associate, said that she foresees flowy, boho-style trends, steering away from clothing that is form-fitted while incorporating a lot of fall colors — olive, cranberry wine and dusty pink. Battle mentioned that flannels, two-pieces and cold shoulder tops tend to be the most popular among UNC students.

“Because we had such a hot summer and I feel that our fall is not going to be as cold, we will be able to do a lot of transition pieces,” she said.

“We will be able to take a lot of summer pieces and add a cardigan, a denim jacket or a vest to transition that piece into the fall.”

swerve@dailytarheel.com