On the sunlit surfaces of Chapman University, you can see plenty of the classic sundresses, shorts, and sandals being worn around campus. Chapman is located in Southern California, after all. But if you look a little closer, you might find some distinct and new trends popping up around campus.

The 90’s have been coming back into style in a major way, and they are more popular than ever these days. All sorts of clips compliment everyone’s hairstyles, and can range from classic colorful clips to even classic butterfly clips.

Another once popular 90’s trend that has gained major popularity is animal print. Everywhere you look, you can see a whole zoo of animals on a variety of clothing. The classic leopard and cheetah are popular, but new patterns such as snakeskin, cow print, and zebra print have also become more fashionable.

Dressing in all black is out, and bright colors and patterns are definitely a spring trend to look out for. One of those trends is gingham, the picnic blanket of the fashion world. You can’t look on instagram or walk around Chapman without seeing this trend. Gingham can be worn in a variety of colors and sizes, but red is the most popular color by far.

Coordinates are one of the biggest trends of 2018, and have no sign of stopping in 2019. What are coordinates you ask? Any set that has a matching top and bottom, it can be a skirt, shorts, or pants, it just has to match! While it has been a trend over the decades, it really gained popularity in the 90’s with movies like Clueless.  This is by far the biggest trend on campus because it is so versatile.

Everyone at Chapman has their own style, weaving different unique components into their personal fashion choices. But we can all agree that we love a good gingham dress or butterfly hair clip to rock on the warm, breezy campus.

In a world dominated by online shopping and fast fashion, it’s easy to forget that there are great local stores just under our nose. While Chapman University has made online shopping easier than ever with their new Amazon Lockers, there are many wonderful stores that are in walking distance from Chapman. We’re going to tell you about the five best stores within walking distance from Chapman.

Let’s start out with the closest store to our campus, Casa Teresa. Just a few steps down from Bruxie, Casa Teresa offers secondhand and vintage clothing at low prices and often has even cheaper sidewalk sales. All of the proceeds collected from Casa Teresa go to supporting low-income pregnant women and help provide housing for them. While you may have to dig through a few piles of clothing, you may come across rare vintage for a fraction of the original cost.

The most recent addition to the Orange circle is Deelux, a second-hand store that buys and sells gently used clothing. You can often find vintage or trendy brands for less than half the original cost. You can also trade in clothing you don’t wear anymore and get cash or store credit. Deelux is constantly getting new arrivals of clothing so you’ll see something new every time you’re there and it is conveniently located next to the Orange Antique Mall.

Located across from Urth Cafe, Elsewhere and Joyride vintage are two stores that are connected in more ways than one. Elsewhere and Joyride are vintage stores owned by a couple who have spent years carefully curating an impressive collection of men and women’s vintage clothing from the 1930s to the 1980s. Joyride even has a haberdashery where they can custom make any hat for you. You’ll feel like you’ve stepped back in time when you walk into either of these stores, and if you’re lucky, you might get to meet the two pitbulls that spend most of their days there.

Last but not least, we have the oldest and perhaps most well-loved thrift store in Orange,  The Orange Antique Mall. While the antique mall sells all sorts of knick-knacks and vintage items, there is a large selection of clothes for both men and women. The Antique mall boasts a large selection of women’s clothing from the 1940’s-1980’s and even newer items. The great thing about this mall is that each booth is privately owned, so you can find anything and everything you could imagine here, perfectly curated in petite cubicles. Just make sure you have enough time to explore all two stories of this enormous store!

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton