I went to one of those tiny expensive private colleges, but no one really dressed up except for Rush, social functions, etc. First off, more than half the school was on financial aid and had to put violin strings on their credit cards before A&F. Second, the school was in the Fox Cities area of northeastern Wisconsin, where it doesn't get above zero for the second two weeks in January (which is when Rush is...eeek!). Clothes were for surviving the cold, not looking fashionable
and even if you bought expensive pants and shoes they were probably just going to get ruined in the slush and salt. The closest Kate Spade purse and MAC counter were 175 miles away in Chicago...not so easily accessible. Honestly, almost no one cared about dressing up. As long as you had clothes on, you were ok.