Fall fashion is setting in as temperatures begin to drop in the Pioneer Valley. Classes are ramping up with midterms, yet the fashionable spunk of campus hasn’t seemed to fade. Students are layering and keeping things practical for long treks in the gusty wind, while making time to add their own fashionable twist.

On Wednesday Oct. 12, the high in Amherst was a warm 73 degrees. The sun was out, and so were the colors, as fall was finally in full force. Ayva Holden, a sophomore political science major, was sporting white Air Max 90s. “They’re very dirty, but I think they kind of add [some] flair,” said Holden, pointing out the now off-white tone.

Low rise jeans are at their prime, and Holden styled them perfectly. “I have these Levi’s jeans on that I thrifted at the Salvation Army right in [Hadley].” The Levi’s were a rinsed dark wash, with vintage details. Her cropped blouse complimented the dark tones. “I thrifted this top, it’s definitely the top to a two-piece dress set,” said Holden. The potential dress coordinate was a square line string-strap blouse in forest green mesh, with stitched on mesh details of black leaves. . “It’s from the Salvation Army in Brooklyn,” said Holden. “Salvation Army has my heart.”

Holden accessorized to the nines. She pulled out all the jewelry, an immaculate combination of gold and silver. “We have all the rings,” she began to count. “One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven- I have eleven rings on … because why would you not ever have eleven rings on?”

Outside of People’s Market, Heeralakshmi, a sophomore double major in psychology and STPEC, was walking with intention. She had places to be — a buzzing pop-up thrift shop to be more specific. Her outfit happened to be all by chance.

 “I literally woke up in a bad mood, and couldn’t think of anything else to wear, so I just picked out the first two things I saw,” Heeralakshmi said. The coordination was amazing. Her funky pants were the statement piece. “I’m wearing carpenter pants from PacSun, they’re green and have corduroy patchwork,” said Heeralakshmi. The pants tied together perfectly with her green and bright pink Nike Dunk Low’s.

On top, the pieces grew even more colorful. Heeralakshmi sported a sunset orange zip up hoodie. “It’s from Zara,” Heeralakshmi added.

The accessorizing was simple yet bold. “My headphones are like the only piece of jewelry that I’m wearing,” Heeralakshmi said, holding her black Sony headphones that rested around her neck. The last accessory was her neon green translucent watch, which instantly added retro flair. Fall is for retro, of course, and Heeralakshmi delivered .

Arsema Kifle, a sophomore political science major, was not too far from the thrift, and she was more than ready to share her taste. “Today I’m wearing just a comfy, neutral, earth tone fit.” Fall would not be complete without earth tones, but Kifle gave the pieces just enough thought to fit into the oddly warm weather as well.

 Starting from the top, Kifle had on dark tones that contrasted with from her bright gold jewelry impeccably. “I have on a jacket that’s thrifted, and a crop top from Walmart I think,” Kifle said, gesturing to a chocolate brown ribbed tank, parted with a v-notch. Moving down the outfit, Kifle donned medium light wash jeans from none other than American Eagle. But the real staple of the outfit was her shoes.

Kifle pulled out the designer camoflauge colored BAPE Adidas Superstars for today. The browns tied in perfectly with the crop top, and the outfit complimented itself from top to bottom.

For accessories, Kifle tied together the greens on bottom with the browns on top with a jade waist bead, whose muted hues split the difference, and the accessories were just beginning. Her jewelry was standard, which was a high standard.

“I wear the same jewelry I wear every single day,” which has significance. “My necklace is from where I’m from, you know, the mother land,” she said holding a gold chain map necklace with the country Eritrea attached to it. She added spunk with two curvy nose piercings, but of course the balance of practicality and fashion, intersect once more. The last accessory? “My eyeglasses so I can see.”

Running the pop-up thrift was Amanda Diaz, a sophomore psychology major, who was wearing a captivating intricate lettuce trim top. She stopped her work and debriefed the fit once and for all.

“I’m wearing a top from [the] Urban Outfitters sales rack,” said Diaz, gesturing to an Urban Renewal Remade knit tank, filled with square hems of different geometric patterns.

The colors were vibrant, yet dark enough to signal the autumn  air. “I thrifted these on the Depop app,” she added, moving down to a low-rise pair of cream-colored cargo pants. The simplicity of the pants made the statement top more eye-catching.

Her shoes were white Reebok Club C’s, but most importantly, the whole fit was for a cause. “I thought if I’m doing this, I might as well look cute in it.” Cute was an understatement, the outfit was flawless. All the proceeds of the thrift pop-up are going to hurricane relief in Puerto Rico.

Unpredictable New England weather didn’t stop these students from serving their favorite fall looks.

Ava Neely can be reached at [email protected].