Welcome to the first installment of The Showroom, a new weekly fashion column through The Badger Herald! Starting off in a basic manner, this week is just an introduction as to who we are and our intentions for kick-starting The Showroom.

My name is Phebe Myers, and I am currently a junior at the University of Wisconsin studying journalism and international studies. Although my days are spent like most college students, drowning in work at the library, style is my escape. Fashion has been a creative outlet for me since my days of rocking Baby Gap. Though there have been some definite misses over the years (full disclosure: I used to own a matching purple tie-dye leather jacket and pants), style has been a constant love of mine.

I have experimented with a plethora of different styles. Fifth grade saw a punk stage, during which I donned black satin pants and leather cuffs (I promise it was short-lived). Currently my style is in a bit of a personal evolution, from Zooey Deschanel’s quirky-cute to Cara Delevingne’s street-style chic, currently it’s somewhere in the middle. I consistently rock leather mixed with thick sweaters and plaid. When it comes to jewelry: the bigger, the better. Nothing excites me more than the thrill of a new purchase, and all the promise for future outfit creations.

My name is Mekea Larson, and I’m a junior studying journalism and French, a combination which, in my mind, would take me to the dream job of Carine Roitfeld — Editor-in-Chief of Vogue Paris. My style has evolved from “goth” aspirations (sixth grade was an adventure) to considering the J. Crew style guide a “how-to” in the mornings. Following a semester studying abroad in Paris, I have gone through something of a style revolution as well and turned to what we’ll call “minimalism.” My go-to is the gray scale, and I would rather play with texture and line, leaving the color to the lipstick. I hope to bring this love of European fashion to this polar vortex that is our home.

Due to the miserable weather, fashion often takes a backseat. We wanted to give interested Badgers a weekly place to read up on and engage in fashion. Our column will have both online and in print articles, switching off weekly. The online selection will deal with every Badgers’ crises, from “What do I wear out to be cute and keep me from getting frostbite?” to “What are the newest trends for spring?” Our print articles will focus on the different aspects of fashion’s cultural hold. We look forward to ripping off the sweatpants and trading them in for, well, you’ll just have to wait and see.