Styled by Europe

When scrolling through my instagram feed, looking at photos of friends and peers abroad, I often find girls sporting styles and looks that I’ve never seen them wear before—from poofy, capped sleeves to uniquely styled chunky boots paired with feminine floral dresses. These are the looks of Elon girls who are or were traveling through Europe. 

As I was preparing for my semester abroad in Florence this past fall, one of the crucial items on my checklist was buying half a new wardrobe. I was excited to dress up in a new outfit every day and express my fashion more than I do at Elon. However, upon arriving in Italy, I wished I had come with empty suitcases. 

Throughout my time in Europe, each trip I traveled on came with incredible new experiences and memories, accessorized with a new dress or pair of boots. The fashion and trends I encountered in Europe stand superior to anything we have in the US. Even the European Urban Outfitters blew me away in comparison to one of my all time favorite US stores.

These Urban Outfitters stores displayed cropped sweaters with blue flames on them, chic black mini dresses with cutouts and details, and floral blouses with trendy, volume sleeves. The styles are a step ahead of the US—as we base a lot of our fashion off of European styles, we remain a few months behind the trend.

The prices of clothing in Europe also lean toward the cheaper side in comparison to US clothing. In many of the stores I walked through, there were copious amounts of unique styles on sale. In the US, sale styles tend to be the rejects, but this didn’t seem to be the case in Europe. 

Since my return to the US, I have continuously turned to my European styles when looking through my closet. I have also placed multiple orders from UK Urban Outfitters, instead of the US one, forfeiting extra money to pay for international shipping.

My advice to anyone going abroad in Europe is to save up your money and some room in your suitcase because you’ll want to try these exciting new trends when abroad! Now, I often look to European style for inspiration, hoping to be half a step ahead of the trends.

We would love to see your abroad fits! Tag us @theedgemag or #ElonOOTD to be featured.