With Mardi Gras season in full swing, LSU students are scouring local boutiques, thrift stores and online websites for their perfect parade day outfits. From sequins and metallics to budget-friendly finds, here’s where students are shopping and what styles they’re looking for.
What’s trending this year?
This year’s Mardi Gras trends combine the classic festive statement pieces with a modern twist. More cold-weather outfits are popping up on social media, like leather and denim jackets, due to the decrease in temperatures. Fringe is also showing up on everything from boots to dresses, and students are experimenting with new silhouettes like puff sleeves and bubble skirts while still embracing the form-fitting maxi dresses that can often be seen up and down Bourbon Street.
This year also marks a resurgence of 2010s fashion influence, with handmade beaded tops and chunky gold jewelry paired with basic T-shirts. Patterns like polka dots and deer print are also this winter’s newest fashion fixation.
Shopping local
Most LSU students say their first choice is online shopping, where they can find inexpensive options and choose from an endless selection. But for the last minute shopper, local boutiques offer a wide range of curated pieces that no one else will be wearing.
With two locations in Baton Rouge, Frock Candy offers the classic Mardi Gras color palette in countless styles. The boutique’s selection ranges from purple checkered pants to bright green cowboy boots, plus accessories like sequin earrings, belts and hats. Frock Candy is also known for carrying the Queen of Sparkles Mardi Gras collection, which is the envy of any parade. With prices ranging from low to high, there’s something for every budget.
Just steps off LSU’s campus, Rodéo Boutique has you covered head to toe. For more subdued colors and high end pieces designed to make you stand out, Rodéo is the place to shop. The store’s inventory includes fringed skirts and leather jackets that you could easily pair with any basic. If you’re looking for clothes that won’t sit in your closet all year, these pieces are worth their price.
From sweaters to jeweled bodysuits, Bella Bella offers festive looks for every age. Located on Perkins Road, they have a huge selection of colored denim sets, jackets, gloves and hats to survive the colder temperatures we’re seeing this season. Offering a modern take on the classic Mardi Gras style, Bella Bella is mixing pastels and Louisiana-inspired prints into its wide inventory.
Thrifting and DIY
Although you’ll be sure to stand out in pieces from local boutiques, LSU junior and finance student Taylor Friedrich takes it one step further by creating her own outfits for the season. Friedrich, who owns her own sustainable clothing line called T’s Bikinis, has been sewing and designing her own outfits for game days and Mardi Gras since last year.
She said her routine involves searching thrift stores to find clothes that have dated designs hidden in quality fabrics, then going home and making something completely new.
“I like going out and knowing someone won’t be wearing the same thing as me,” Friedrich said.
This year, she’ll be wearing a matching top and skirt set she made from a pair of Tommy Hilfiger pants she found at The Purple Cow, a thrift store in Baton Rouge.
How much are students spending?
Friedrich said she spends around $90 for all the materials and clothes she buys at the thrift stores, but spends around 20 hours sewing and creating her outfits.
In the same price range, Carolina Mehaffie, a sophomore marketing student, said she pays for a monthly clothing rental service called Nuuly. It allows her to choose six styles from its selection for $92 a month. She said she’s already picked out the outfits she plans to wear for Mardi Gras.
Yelise Otero, a marketing student with a fashion merchandising minor, said she bought a matching set for $100 that she plans to spruce up with items she already owns. She said she sees other students do the same, buying one or two new outfits for Mardi Gras and combining them with items they already own to keep costs down.
Whether wearing clothes you already own or splurging on a statement piece, Mardi Gras fashion comes down to showing off your own style and personal expression while enjoying the celebration.
