Winter Ball in Review: 2018’s Best Dressed

The “Christmas in New York” ball came with plenty of New York City-worthy outfits. Writers Danielle Crowley and Renée Hogan scanned the dance floor for the most unique looks in Rob Hall. After speaking with the wearers, they discovered Chris Pratt is the most ideal Winter Ball date and that lace and pearls were on-trend this year. Here is 2018’s Winter Ball in Review. 

Morganne Oliver

“I am wearing a pink ankle length dress [with] a cape and pearls. The idea for this outfit is a mix of my [high school] graduation dress and the outfit I wore to prom.”

Who do you think is the best dressed person on campus?
[Laughs] “Renée Hogan. I’m legit serious; I’m not just saying that”
[For the record, Renée Hogan did not pay her to say that.]

Patrick Rizzi

“I am wearing basically a full suit that’s like Christmas wrapping paper. I got it from Tar-shay. The story behind it? I saw it, I wanted it, I sent it to some friends and they all said I should get it. I wasn’t sure, but then I got a 20%-off coupon and I was like “man, God’s saying yes.” Why would I wear it? First off, because it’s awesome. Second, because it fits my personality a lot.”

How would you describe your day-to-day style in three words?
[Long pause] “Comfortable… maybe sometimes I lean a little bit hipster, a little bit sometimes… and practical.”

Sara Waits, Senior Editor

“I got this dress from a thrift store [CHKD] for $6. This year is my senior year, so I’m going for a whole funeral aesthetic. It has the black lace sleeves. You know when I go, the party dies.”

Who is your biggest fashion inspiration?
“Oh my gosh, this is going to be kind of embarrassing. Honestly, Taylor Swift is a big one and Ross Lynch, I’d wear anything he wears.”

Sue Shirley, Department Head Shelly’s Grandma

“[I’m wearing] black pants, a black top, and a sequined jacket. This was a gift from a friend of mine.”

How would you describe your personal style?
“Well, I like jeans. I have a pair of skinny jeans, which my daughter gave me. I don’t wear them very often because if I eat, they don’t fit.”

Oliva Shedd

“I actually got my dress at Macy’s when all their prom dresses went on sale. I got it because it was a good price – that was my original inspiration. I wanted my last Winter Ball to go out with a bang, so I got the big florals. So that was my inspiration, not super profound. I also love big skirts because I love dancing and moving my skirt around.”

Describe your personal style.
“Day-to-day, a lot of color and I love bold prints. I found a shirt the other day that was rainbow stripes and I was like “I’m going to wear that.” My two favorite colors are black and pink, funny enough. So, I love wearing bright colors but I also love wearing all black. Anything that is super fun and stands out and is also classy.”

Who is the best dressed person on campus?
“Oh! Honestly, I would say Danielle [Crowley]; I legitimately love your style. I always want to copy the way you wear your skirts and stuff.” 
[Again, the Daily Runner staff did not pay the interviewees to say this.]

Adrian Bisson

“I got this jacket… where did I get my suit? I don’t even know. I got the shirt and tie off of Amazon because why not? With Amazon Prime, it’s fantastic. So it’s a floral navy blue shirt and a floral navy blue tie that ties in with her [Olivia Shedd’s] outfit. I love floral in general, so it just worked out.”

Who is your style icon?
“I love Justin Bieber! Does that work? Not the mustache, long hair, homeless look. The one before that, with the nicely combed hair and all that. Not the “Believe” Justin either, the one after that.”

Hailey England

“I’m actually wearing my old prom dress; I love it. It’s the first prom dress I tried on, and I was like ‘Oh I want this.’ So I had the opportunity to wear it again, and I was like yes. [I got it from] Barbie’s Boutique, which is interesting because I think it looks kind of like a Barbie dress. Most of the time my style is pretty plain, so this is out of the usual for me.

If you could take a celebrity to Winter Ball who would it be?
“Adam Levine!” [Laughs]

Amaris Babitz

“[My dress] is one of my friend’s; she was so nice to give it to me. So far everyone is saying I look like Snow White, so that is what I am going for.”

If you could bring any celebrity to Winter Ball who would it be? 
“Johnny Depp is kinda old, but I still really like Johnny Depp.” [consults sister] “… probably James Franco, he’s cute.”

Kayla Babitz

“I’m wearing a blue dress with a shimmery top. This was actually from a wedding – don’t tell anybody. I was a bridesmaid, but it was super cute.”

Which celebrity would you bring?
“Um, Tim Tebow. We already broke up, but I’d give him a second chance.”

Kayla, you’re an alum, what is it like being back at Winter Ball?
“It is really cool; I just want to people watch the whole time because everyone looks so different. I haven’t been here in a year!”

Searra Lippard

“I am wearing an ivory lace dress. I got it online for my senior pictures. I have a Victorian-vintage kind of style.”

If there were a cartoon character made of you, what would it be wearing?
“Dress pants, a t-shirt, and a blazer.”

What celebrity would you take to Winter Ball?
“Paul, from the Beatles.”

Hosanna High

“I am wearing a Mandarin-style vest. It’s all in ivory, and there is satin and linen paneling in a paisley design. It was actually a gift to me from a lady who had it when she was my age. She gave it to me because her daughters are more modern than this look. I loved it and decided this was a perfect evening to use it.”

Who is your style icon, and how would you describe your personal sense of style?
“Audrey Hepburn is definitely my style icon; she is so classy and so graceful. I love that she was the height of fashion but she was so classy.  I would describe my fashion sense as sort of eclectic because I love mixing and matching things. One of my favorite things to do when life is getting crazy is to mix and match many patterns together.”

Kate Lipscomb

“I am wearing a floor-length rose gold, sequined dress. It’s got a v-neck and a v-back. I got it from Amazon because I didn’t have time to go shopping, so Amazon it was!

How would you describe your personal style?
“I would categorize my style as what I want to wear; some days it’s chic, some days hipster, some days it’s just retro, and some days it’s my pajamas. It depends on the day!”

Jasmine Thompson

“I made a crown out of pine tree branches and LED lights and I’m wearing an embroidered dress, which makes me very happy because it’s all floral. That’s pretty much it, black tights and black shoes. The crown is why I was late; I made it because I was going to make a wreath and a little tree, so I went to a Christmas tree lot and was like, ‘Do you have extra branches?’ This was like weeks ago. So, I got a bunch of branches and they’ve been sitting in my car. I was going to a sweater party and I was like, ‘What if I made a little crown?’ I didn’t make it in time for the party, but I made it in time for Winter Ball.”

Who is your ideal celebrity Winter Ball date?
“Chris Pratt. Chris Pratt is my boy. He’s a beautiful human, very funny, Christian, what’s not to love?”

What were your writers wearing? Glad you asked!

Danielle Crowley, Dec. 2018. [Darvin Muentes]

Danielle: “I’m wearing a black a-line dress I got for $8 at Goodwill, and I altered it myself to have a different belt (that is actually a repurposed headband lol). I have pearl jewelry on, and my statement piece is my gloves, which were my grandmother’s prom gloves. My grandparents were high school sweethearts, they went to prom together, which makes the gloves extra special!”

December 15, 2018 [Luke Isbell]

Renée: “I got my dress at Best Thrift (clearly thrift stores are the way to go) for $6.99! My shoes are from Target; 5/8 of the girls in my gang wore the same ones. I felt like the dress deserved jewelry, so I went on a mad-frenzy 15-minute shopping spree at Charming Charlie’s after writing a paper in the mall. Also, my style icon is 100% Roger from the Bohemian Rhapsody movie (not the real guy though). My dream Winter Ball date would be Austin Butler during the Carrie Diaries days. Just saying.” 



Danielle Crowley is a staff writer for the Daily Runner.
Renée Hogan is a department head for the Daily Runner.

Renée Hogan

Renée Hogan

Renée Hogan is the Managing Editor of the Daily Runner.