Fashion is on everyone’s mind with summer coming up. Inspiration for what’s hot and what’s not comes from many places — fashion blogs, magazines, boutiques and even Coachella can teach us a thing or two about how to dress to impress this coming season.

Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival is the place to see and be seen, especially for the fashion world. This year’s festival produced a wide variety of styles, from bohemian-chic to rockstar-queen, and self-expression was the driving force for most of the outfits. Both weekends of the festival showcased fashion trends that cannot be found anywhere else. There were feathered headdresses paired with bathing suit tops and palazzo pants, the classic jean overalls with a hipster spin to them and of course lots of tie-dye and floral.

Ally Metzger, a retail and consumer science senior, took note of the fashion trends during the second weekend of Coachella.
“The summer Coachella-inspired outfit would be high-waisted shorts paired with booties and a top of floral, crochet, lace or fringe design,” Metzger said.

A popular place to grab the bohemian-styled essentials is Free People, which has a blog highlighting the latest fashions and where to get them before summer.

Fashion icon Courtney Kerr also has a blog to showcase her love for fashion and her eye for cute combinations. Her focus for the summer is on vibrant colors and fashionable accessories. The newest trend seems to be patterned shorts. Kerr rocks a pair of aztec-printed shorts in her latest blog post, and you can find all different types of patterned shorts at boutiques like Swindlers, Collette and Grand Central Clothing.

The patterned short is a great way to dress up on any given day, yet still be casual and comfortable enough to enjoy a daytime activity like bike riding or walking around the city. The shorts can be paired with any type of top as well, such as a simple flowy top for the daytime or a dressier crop top to bring the outfit a touch of sexy for a night out. A colorful pair of strappy sandals, some bangles and a side bag can give the final touches for the perfect summertime outfit.

A great summer wardrobe is not complete without the perfect sundress. Winter is gone, and these sunny days are the perfect opportunity to rock the breezy dress of your dreams.

Being fashion-forward is not always an easy task, but with a little help, your closet can be turned from drab to fab.

@CamilleAnne7