Fashion

Our Back-to-School Fashion and Beauty Resolutions

Leaves are tinged with gold, pink-cheeked five-year-olds are sharpening their very first pencils, and even though the majority of Bustle writers and editors have left academia behind us, we still get the urge, come autumn, to better ourselves. We put down our summer beach reads and pick up the Russian authors. We abandon long brunches for crisp walks by the river (at least in theory). And, so help us, we will master the smoky eye.

by Tori Telfer

Leaves are tinged with gold, pink-cheeked five-year-olds are sharpening their very first pencils, and even though the majority of Bustle writers and editors have left academia behind us, we still get the urge, come autumn, to better ourselves. We put down our summer beach reads and pick up the Russian authors. We abandon long brunches for crisp walks by the river (at least in theory). And, so help us, we will master the smoky eye.

The Jean

"I resolve to find jeans that actually fit me. This might prove to be as impossible as making the Canadian tuxedo popular again, but, dammit, I'm going to try to find a pair that's not too long, too short, too tight, too loose, too boot-legged, too straight-legged, too high-waisted, or too low-waisted. And if that doesn't work, I guess I resolve to try to make pajama pants fashionable."

Kate Ward

The Lip

"This fall, I plan to get much better at wearing a bold lip. A bright lip color always makes you look so much more put together, but I never really wear lipstick because it always comes off within the hour. A beauty editor friend of mine recently told me the trick to long-lasting lip color is to apply lip liner in a matching shade first. I plan to try this trick — with a number of different fall colors!"

Hayley Saltzman

The Hair

"I am trying to grow out my pixie cut, but the process is as frustrating and awkward as puberty. I'm resolving to not cut my hair for a solid six months and instead throw in a headband or two, or perhaps dye it, while I wait and pray for a bob."

Claire Luchette

The Wardrobe

"My fall fashion resolution is to transition some of my favorite summer staples into chic outfits appropriate for the chillier months. Right now, I'm layering dark-colored tights, boots and a warm sweater over a brightly-patterned summer dress."

Lane Florsheim

The Eye Cream

"I'm confronting my own mortality (at 22) and promising myself to put on eye cream every night. I already wear an SPF 50 every day (glow-in-the-dark pale girls, holla!), but your undereyes are one of the first places to show signs of aging, so I'd like to put that off for as long as possible."

Caitlin Van Horn

The Black Pant

"My resolution: to finally find a pair of plus-size, well-made black pants that don't look like they were cut for my Great Aunt Eugenia."

Amy McCarthy

The French Scarf

"Francophilia has re-emerged this year at the top of my food/fashion/fabulousness scale (although, honestly, how far down does it ever drop?). Having neither the free time nor the funds to play the flaneur in the streets of Paris, I'm hoping to bring a little of that je ne sais quois stateside. Male or female, rain or shine, Parisians swear by their staple accessory, the scarf. This September, as the air gets a touch more brisk and the days a touch darker, I hope a scarf a day will provide a pop of color and keep the chill at bay."

Lara Southern

The Scissors

"I'm going to put away my haircutting scissors — for a long time I was a 'Trim your own damn ends & bangs!' evangelist, but now that I'm growing out a Big Chop, I need to resolve to fork over some cash and leave it to the professionals."

Caitlin Van Horn

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