Trends on Campus: It's all in the [colored skinny] jeans

By Brittney Xu     9/21/11 7:00pm

With classes gaining speed, Rice students are more concerned about problem sets than they are about preparing complex outfits.

For the student that still wants to make a splash, colorful skinny jeans are easy to pull on during the morning rush and still manage to make a bold fashion statement.

Jeans have been around since 1873, and they were the basis of workers' uniforms during World War II. In the 1950s, James Dean's denim from the movie Rebel Without a Cause turned jeans into the symbol of rebellion and passionate youth. Skinny jeans became popular during the 1970s when tighter jeans were introduced and teenagers even used safety pins to keep them snug around the ankle.

---

---

The rise of the colorful skinny can also be traced to the 1980s penchant for psychedelic colors. However, it was not until the early 2000s that skinny jeans exploded into the mainstream fashion scene once again, with Stella McCartney and Rock & Republic showing skinny jeans in their runway shows. Combined with the new term "color-blocking," colorful skinny jeans became a new way to layer bright colors.

Will Rice College junior Andrea Rubio has paired her purple skinnies with a casual printed shirt and flats. Her simple-yet-peppy outfit can be picked out even in the groggy minutes before a 9 a.m. class.

Bright skinny jeans can help draw the eyes away from potential signs of tiredness and add life to pieces already in a student's wardrobe. Because the pants are so attention-grabbing, the rest of the elements in Andrea's look can be muted.

To get Andrea's look, choose a bold color of skinny jeans. Colors like red, purple and teal blue are chic for fall weather. Add a shirt of a contrasting color, or even of a neutral color, and some metallic flats that are easy to pair with anything.

---