Central Michigan Life

Issue date: 11/7/07 Section: Lifeline

Media Credit: Krista Mayo Belleville freshman Jamie Tarhanich, left, and Southfield senior Najah Floyd, model the hottest fall fashions. Tarhanich is dressed in a black snap buckle military jacket from Target, $44.99. Floyd is wearing a pink fleece lined hooded jacket from Deb, $29.99. [Click to enlarge]

Winter coats are hitting stores and making a sizzling appearance with new textures, shapes and colors.

Red, dark gray and black seem to be winter's most prominent colors, while hounds tooth, plaid and check are the top patterns.

"I've noticed that plaid is in style, along with red and khaki colors," said Washington junior Brandi Kimball.

Many of this season's coat lengths are hitting at the waist and being cinched with a belt, while other styles are double-breasted and falling to about the knees.

"Wool coats seem to be popular this winter," said Human Environmental Studies instructor Amy VanAuken. "Not all of the coats are one consistent length."

Target, 4097 E. Bluegrass Road, has an assortment of coats that combine the two styles and offer a rainbow of colors. In addition to traditional colors, the store also offers colors such as green, plum and different shades of blue.

Coats this winter also have a military feel to them, with brass buttons and pocket chains. Maurice's, 2221 S. Mission St., has a variety of military style coats in various colors.

While Northface, Columbia and Patagonia fleece jackets continue to be popular on campus, these jackets are more tailored.

"Northface's are warm, casual and can go with anything," Kimball said. "You can put it on and go out the door."

Another winter trend are fingerless mittens. These mittens can be worn when working outdoors in the cold while also allowing for simple finger accessibility - convenient for writing or quickly changing the song on a music player.

"I recently saw this guy who had thumbless mittens so that he could change the song on his iPod and not have to take his entire hand out of his mitten," said Deckerville sophomore Ashley Grabitz.

While many styles of scarves and hats come in basic colors, metallic, multicolors and prints also are being shown. Maurice's, Target and Old Navy, 4170 E. Bluegrass Road, all offer an array of hats, gloves and scarves.

Coats in spring-like pastel colors are acceptable when paired with black pieces. To be a stand out amongst a sea of darker colors, try a jacket in a cobalt blue or jade green.

"I think it's nice to have colors in the winter since everything is all brown and it stands out," Grabitz said.



lifeline@cm-life.com

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