Hey Mac, a new fashion column here. This is your time to learn about the newest high fashion trend without having to go over hundreds of pages of fashion ads and runway prints.

Snowstorms never stop people’s enthusiasm in fashion, at least not those in New York City. Last week, the New York Fashion Week marked the beginning of the 2014 Fall/Winter season for womenswear (the other three stops are London, Milan and Paris). Among the 46 designer brands that put on shows last week are well-known U.S. based ones such as Michael Kors, Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Oscar de la Renta, Donna Karan and my new favorite, Jason Wu (check out the designer’s womenswear collection for Hugo Boss in case you have not heard of him). Marc Jacobs closed the fashion week with its collection dominated by white and lightness (let us not forget Marc Jacobs’ last show for Louis Vuitton last fall that marked the end of the designer’s 16 years cooperation with the brand ).

Unlike Haute Couture (exclusive custom-fitted clothing, always constructed by hand) that has an impractical nature for college students, there is so much we could learn from the ready-to-wear collections to keep warm while stylish. Oscar de la Renta, Ralph Lauren and Michael Kors all pinpointed the key style of winter which we can follow easily: a solid color turtleneck sweater with a delicate skirt. Oscar de la Renta matched giant sweaters in bluebonnet (a vibrant while elegant blue color) and chocolate (yummy color!) with below-knee skirts with floral and stripe prints. Ralph Lauren put simple turtleneck sweater in powdery grey and pink together with high-slit silk maxi skirt in the same colors to create lightness and a feeling of sensual with elegance. Michael Kors paired jet-black sweaters with see-through below-knee patterned skirts.

So go dig in your closet: find a simple turtleneck solid-color sweater and a creative skirt and refresh your style in the last few weeks of winter (if you don’t have a creative skirt, go directly to create one on your own: beads, cuts and layers are sophisticated enough for a skirt). You should be careful though when you learn from the runway: don’t try below-knee skirts if you don’t have a pair of LONG legs like the models. Below-knee skirts make your legs look shorter easily, especially with middle-height boots.

The key to wearing dresses and skirts when it is ten degrees outside is very simple: tights, tights and more layers of tights. Ralph Lauren’s show offers another way to wear skirts in winter while keeping warm: thigh boots. White, gray or black slim over-knee boots can easily match your outfits without crashing the integrity of the style. One thing you should always be careful about though: DO NOT wear high heel boots when it is too icy outside, even on those special days like Valentine’s Day when you really want to wear heels. I tripped last week.