Kesha may wake up in the morning feeling like P. Diddy, but I wake up feeling like Anna Wintour. Ok, I am neither the editor-in-chief of what is the greatest magazine in America nor a modern female powerhouse like her, but I do love fashion as much as she does. From bold skyscrapers (heels, not buildings) to shoulder pads, nothing is too daunting to wear. While I love the diverse styles here at UCSB, I cannot help but cringe every time someone wears too-tight clothes or inappropriate seasonal attire. To avoid those mishaps, here are four basic do’s and don’ts of everyday styling.

1.  DO wear seasonal clothes.
As previously mentioned, wearing the wrong clothes in the wrong season is just wrong. The biggest offense? Sporting Ugg boots in the summer. Ladies, how can you not realize your feet look like tree stumps trudging on the sidewalk? Don’t even make me think about the intense pool of sweat sloshing around inside. From what I can see, your feet are thirty degrees below freezing while everything else is burning under the desert sun; if that’s not how you (and your feet!) feel, then let those Uggs hibernate ‘til winter. Each season has its own set of clothes to wear. Go outside that box — Bro tanks or shorts in the dead of winter — and you will just end up getting the “What-were-you-thinking?” look.

2. DON’T wear sizes too small or too big for you.
There is not a single day that goes by without seeing a guy wearing sweats two sizes too big or a girl wearing a shirt that should belong to a ten-year old. It’s one thing to feel comfortable in loose-fitting layers, but drowning in a sea of cotton is hardly anyone’s idea of comfort. If you’re a medium, wear a medium. However, most companies size differently from others, so don’t stubbornly believe you are a size 4 across the board; you can range anywhere from a 2 to a 6. As long as your clothes fit, you don’t need to worry about whether your outfit is too tight or baggy.

3. DO cover up to class.
My friend recently saw a girl walk into his writing class in a super low-cut shirt that he described as “only fitting for a cheap, broke prostitute.” Now, he doesn’t have the best taste in style (or women, for that matter), but even he knows when too much skin is too much to handle. Unless you are blatantly telling the world, “I’m hooking up with my professor to get that C+,” cover up. As for guys, what is going on with those tanks with extra low armholes? Wearing them to the gym? Great! Wearing them in broad daylight? It’s as if the regular tanks were too constricting, so you cut the sides until the shirt practically consists of a front and back flap held together by a thread. Why wear a shirt at all then?

4. DON’T squeeze into every trend.
Whenever we see celebrities wearing the latest trends, most of us follow suit. What we all need to ingrain in our heads is that not every trend looks good on us. Animal print on me? No thanks; I’d rather save that for Halloween. Skinny jeans are exactly what their name entitles: skinny. So if you have bigger thighs, wearing these makes you resemble a barrel (sorry to disappoint, but leggings are also in the same skinny category). Instead, slim straight or straight leg will give you a leaner look. Harem pants? Save those for the Aladdin cast. Wear what looks good on your body, not what you think looks good based on images of celebrities.
Daily Nexus fashion columnist Claire Wei realizes that Ugg is just short for ugly.

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