Sophomore Chaney Nelson creates an outfit with newly purchased clothing pieces.
Chaney Nelson, a sophomore at Doane University, is heavily involved on campus and a student-athlete on the track team, but she also has a passion for fashion and curating outfits.
Nelson started to discover her style during her senior year in high school. She went through different phases and styles but finally decided she wanted people to be able to look at her and know her style. She began adjusting her wardrobe to be targeted toward one specific style.
She describes her current personal style as very feminine and girly. She loves to wear a fun patterned sweater with casual jeans or a fun colorful pair of bottoms with a plain shirt. Each day, she’ll put together a simple, staple outfit like plain jeans and a plain top to achieve more of a general everyday look for her, and then she’ll dress it up with accessories, shoes and a cool hairstyle.
Nelson’s favorite season to dress for is fall. Her favorite piece of clothing to wear during the chilly, brisk season is sweaters. They go with everything and are comfortable for her busy everyday lifestyle. Fall is the perfect time for some layering and she loves to try and add dimension and layers to her outfits.
Nelson doesn’t have a favorite fashion trend and tries her best not to follow them and to be herself; however, sometimes, she surrenders and follows the trends. She invests in staple pieces she knows will be in her closet for years, such as shoes and jeans.
She likes to focus on buying timeless pieces but will use pieces she already has to try out a trend. For example, a recent trend is cutting and modifying crewnecks. She took an older or less-worn crewneck that she already had and made it into something she would likely wear more often as she joined the trend. One of her go-to brands is Shein.
“I’m not ashamed that most of my clothes come from there,” Nelson said. “I spend a lot of time reading reviews and comparing similar items to make sure I get the best quality for a good price.”
Nelson breaks down the accompanying photo. She is excited for the weather feeling slightly like fall, so she created her outfit around that inspiration. She knew she wanted to wear a sweater and this was one of her new purchases that she had not worn.
Since it was still technically summer when she wore this outfit, she wore one of her lighter sweaters that she wouldn’t get too hot in. She originally planned on wearing jeans with it, but she decided she liked her linen pants better.
“I love how it made the outfit more comfy and relaxed looking,” Nelson said.
For accessories, she knew that she wanted to throw on a headband because it just “felt right.” To accessorize further, she added some bigger jewelry to make it a bit more dressy and make it seem like more of an intentional outfit.
