Desperately Seeking Fashion in Farmville

The Longwood Look: Desperately Seeking Fashion in Farmville
Jenni Schweitzer & Amy Jackson

Every Farmville fashionista mourned the loss of the Dressing Room; it was the premiere distributor of clothing with labels that you would be proud to flaunt in our humble college town. (It was even mentioned in a featured article in Glamour about little black dresses.) So what’s a well-dressed girl to do? We have some pretty creative and economical ideas that don’t involve lassoing your girlfriends and hitting the open trail.

-Buy in Belk. Get it? It’s the only department store this side of the Appomattox. They’re well-stocked with an array of interesting pieces, especially flattering tops and mountains of boots. Their collection of accessories polishes the bejeweled gamut of different tastes, from pearl necklaces to python rings. We manage to find a great deal every time we go there – they often have sales up to 80 % off apparel, Pfaltzgraff, and toaster-ovens. Jenni recently scored two scarves for $5 each, both marked down from $40. You may have to search around for pieces that suit your style, because their stock mostly caters to working, professional women and their trend-tastic daughters. That’s not a bad thing at all, it just makes you work harder to avoid those jelly-filled ballet flats.

-Cato is located to the left of Wal-Mart off Main Street. Despite its moderately large size, you may not have noticed it thanks to the giant Wal-Mart. Cato specializes in clothing for the working woman, but mixed into their pantsuits and pencil skirts are some spicy items. Leather jackets, bright heels, and bras that look like they were meant for the Victoria’s Secret runway? Yes please! When these bras are ten dollars a pop, it’s completely justifiable to buy five of them in one visit. To us, anyway.

-Guinea Creek Crafts: don’t know where it is? That’s why we're here. It’s on Main Street across from Charley’s, one salon down from Penelope’s. Among beautiful woodwork and baskets, they have candles, holiday décor, and our favorite, earrings. Their earrings are all different, interesting, and a dollar fifty each. At a price like that, you can buy a pair for everyone who loyally follows your Twitter feed as a thank-you gift. For those of you who can have candles, this is the perfect resource, and if you like to decorate for Halloween, be sure to pick up a ghostly gourd or just browse the Halloween/Christmas room.

-Goodwill hunting: you have to search to find buried treasure. It’s located in the shopping center with Buffalo Wild Wings and Rite Aid. Among all the ridiculous 80’s windbreakers there are some real gems. Sometimes a little bit of quirkiness from Goodwill is the perfect thing to pull a boring outfit out of dullsville. For example, Amy recently found a nautical striped blouse complete with shoulder buttons for about three bucks. Jenni found a bright striped blouse with a ruffle, which she dubbed "Circus-chic". On our last journey, we also found books, belts, and got mugs for free with our purchases.



For those of you that haven’t had three to four years of exploring Farmville, we hope this is a helpful guide for your adventures in style.

Last Week's Articles

Sorry these are kind of late! Both of these written by Megan Flynn and Jenni Schweitzer.

Warm for the Wear

Guess what? It’s cold. There’s no reason for us to see you wearing a tank top in D-hall, because it’s just way too chilly for you to look anything but ridiculous doing it. Even out on the weekends, we see girls dressed up like they’re going clubbing in August. Showing off a lot of skin isn’t the only way to be sexy, and especially not during the winter. We’re tired of seeing people dress for the beach when the ocean is frozen. There are tons of cute ways to be warm without wearing a sleeping bag.



Let’s talk about layers. We’ll allow your tank top as long as it’s long and covered with some form of a sleeved shirt, and preferably paired with a scarf and a sweater or jacket. Pretend like you live in Virginia and it’s February. Perfect! Leggings or skinny jeans with boots, long shirts worn over longer shirts, cardigans, scarves, hats—so many of our favorite things are exclusively made for cold weather. Why not take advantage of them? It’ll make spring come much faster.



Try on some confidence and realize that there are other, classier ways to look sexy. We don’t know you, but we’re pretty sure you’ve got more to offer than just cleavage.


Big Girl Underpants

Have you ever seen a girl wearing a white tee with a black bra? That’s the sort of behavior we don’t condone. Trust us, with the sheer amount of clothing we have we completely understand laundry day, but we’ve managed several solutions to avoiding this ‘peek-a-boob’ problem.

To achieve your most beautiful silhouette, you need to start with a good foundation which includes bras that fit you well. If you want to go to a professional to be fitted, more power to you, but once you have this coveted information, use it responsibly. That ruffled-zebra-printed-zippers-for-straps contraption that you’re debating should probably be considered nocturnal. Your best bet is a bra which is close to your skin tone and has a limited amount of wiring, because it will make a smoother, more natural shape.



We don’t know much about shape wear, like Spanx, but we aren’t that convinced that you need it for everyday wear. Why buy something if you have to buy something else to wear it? It’s not worth it. Furthermore, imagine you’re on a date and in your desperation to look five ounces thinner, you wear something impossible to remove. This could pose a problem. However, if you’re an athlete and you rely on garments that keep you at your aerodynamic best, go for it. A slinky gown might also require shape wear, just for extra insurance. Obviously, it should be a naked color.



Perhaps the most frequently committed fashion sin is visible panty line, or when everyone knows that you’re wearing your cupcake-printed boy-shorts because your pants are so tight. If you’re so desperate for everyone to know how great your legs are, just don’t wear pants.