What to wear

[Chrissy3912]

So what is the "college style" I have read that it was BEBE and Express which is a big change from the highschool's A&F and A&E or are those cloths still popular? I dont kn ow if you understand what I am asking... Do you girls dress casual dressy or preppy? What are your fav. Name Brands. I know it varies just give your personal opinion. Please

[twinstars]

that will really really depend on what part of the country you're going to school in, and what type of school you choose. some colleges are really dressy--abercrombie in class wouldn't cut it. these are going to be expensive private colleges in the south. if you're looking at new england, people will be a bit more sporty... but everything's still expensive. lots of northface and stuff.

i'll tell you how it is at my school. i go to a private college in virginia, and normal "school clothes" are black pants (not 'sex pants,' the trouser-y ones), black boots, and a nice top. it is not strange to wear pearls to class. everyone has the jcrew peacoat or one of those trendy black leather jackets. yes, there is some bebe, but not as much express (it's kinda cheap and low quality). my favorite brand is ann taylor for school clothes and cocktail dresses. there's lots of jcrew, banana republic, etc. not so much gap, ae, and abercrombie. we try to look a bit "sharper" or more professional than that. i guess a good rule of thumb is that if an 8th grader might shop there, i wouldn't.

but all colleges are different, and you should visit and see what people wear to class and out at night before you go on a major shopping spree.

[This message has been edited by twinstars (edited November 25, 2000).]

[cash78mere]

twinstars----

i was just wondering what school you go to?

i went to a private school in VA and that description sounds a LOT like it.....email me if you want.

[juniorgrrl]

Ann Taylor for school? Wow! At LSU, if you go to class like that, people ask why you're so dressed up!

LSU has the dressy casual thing going, where girls wear expensive pea coats and diamond earrings with jeans or khakis. Its not unusual to see people at the rec center working out, looking all ratty, with diamond studs in and a Kate Spade bag next to their machine

A typical outfit for class is jeans, a party tshirt (or a nice shirt if you're not in a sorority) and a nice jacket if its cold. Everyone has the grey Adidias or New Balance sneakers, and a good pair of boots. We're a kind of mix abercrombie with bananna republic and kate spade campus

[33girl]

Don't carry a purse or everyone will know you're a freshman. That is still true, isn't it? (Please tell me yes or I will really feel like an old bat)

I went to a school in the Northeast where water in every form existed at all times -rain, snow, hail, mist you name it. And it was COLD. That is one thing you get over really quickly - you don't wear the cutest outfit, you wear the warmest one.

(stepping on soapbox) It kind of depresses me to see the "label" thing coming back. When I got to college, it was a relief that no one cared if I was wearing designer jeans (see, I told you I'm old) or not. Basically, whatever looked good on you was what you wore. Guess jeans were kinda big, but since they looked horrid on me, I skipped them and it didn't make me a social pariah. (stepping off soapbox)

It also depends where your school is located, if there's a decent mall near it or not. We would have had to travel 100 miles to get to an Ann Taylor!

[IowaHawkeye]

i find this topic so funny...
at iowa, don't be surpirised if you see people rolling out of bed and heading to class... of course there are the people who take a shower, blow dry their hair, put make up on and wear the cutest outfir everyday.. but i'm not one of them :-) i think what you wear to class just reflects more of your personality... and i have everything in my closet from bebe to gap to donna karan to target.. and its great :-)

[Dewgirl]

Wow, you guys all amaze me. I can't imagine going to a school like that!

Since we're way up here in backwoods Wisconsin, we are REALLY far away from anything other than walmarts and targets. So pretty much everyone wears sweaters and jeans every day. Seeing someone in anything other than that is a shock - I wore khaki pants the other day, and I couldn't beleive HOW MANY PEOPLE asked me, why are you so dressed up? Last I checked, khaki pants and a sweater don't equal dressed up!

As someone else said, there are SOOOO many people that don't even shower for class...just roll out of bed in their tee's and flannel pants, put on a few more layers to stay warm, and go to class...

Although I personally am a no-name jeans and sweater kind of girl, I could never go to school without showering, doing my hair, putting on makeup and jewelry etc. I think I'd just feel icky all day

[Dewgirl]

By the way, I go to a state school...that probably makes a difference in conjunction with the cold, wet weather!

[This message has been edited by Dewgirl (edited November 27, 2000).]

[IowaHawkeye]

Dewgirl...
i go to a state school too and soo many people just get up and throw a few more layers on and head to class here - its very common :-) i prefer to take showers at night, so what can you do? but i never wear make up or get really dressed up, 8:30 am comes around awfully quick and getting up to do that takes up to much of my time :-)

[juniorgrrl]

My first semester of college, I attended a private school (Tulane). For the amount of money most of the people have, they dressed a lot worse than they do at LSU. The campus was divided into the hippie crowd, who wore clothes that were barely clean, and then there was the preppie crowd, who wore nice jeans and sweaters with pearls.

We don't have the extreme cold here, we have the exact opposite - extreme heat! In August, dressing up consists of wearing jeans with a tank top. At that time of year, people wear as few clothes as they can get away with. But they still accessorize! That's what I think is funniest about the fashion habits of LSU - no matter how grungy, you've got jewelry on.

Overall, I don't think private vs state school matters much. People are much better dressed at LSU ($1300 a year) than at Tulane ($20K+ a year)

[mgdzkm433]

Ok, college students dressing up for class? First, I've never heard of that, second, why? I don't understand why people feel it necessary to dress up for classes. At Shepherd, we did the same thing as Dewgirl, we hit the alarm clock rolled out of bed, put on our out of date glasses instead of putting in our contacts, pulled our hair back in a pony tail, threw on 2 pair of sweats, a t-shirt and sweatshirt, got our big bulky ski coat and some earmuffs and headed to class--still half asleep. If you saw someone in class before noon with their hair brushed it was a phenominon (sp?)!!!!!! Sure, it is West Virginia, but we are only an hour and a half from DC and not even that far from the Virginia border, and you could throw a rock and hit Maryland.

I just don't see the point. Neither did the students I attended college with. We used to joke that if someone was dressed up before noon, they were freshmen that wouldn't survive because they were too busy trying to look good instead of studying for class. The night time was the only time to dress up--and only thurs. thru sat. Dressing up didn't consist of a label either. Nobody cared who you were wearing. Everyone wore jeans and a nice top when they went out--and that was dressing up. Some girls wore the black pants with a pastel top, some guys wore kaki's, but pretty much everyone wore jeans. We had one bar in town, everyone went there, I was a bartender there, so I always wore jeans, a nice top--almost always black, and boots. That is about the extent of 'dressing up' where I went to school.

[bucutie02]

Wow, i think its crazy to hear that abercrombie is too low to wear to class. My freshman year i went to a private school that was very expensive (Baylor University) and I will say that yes you had those people who wore nice dresses or outfits to class, but mostly everyone just wore jeans and a t-shirts. Even the sorority girls. They would wear jeans and maybe like a crush tshirt or whatever. The frat guys were mainly the same except with an addition to wearing a cap. Although, i was always one to wake up early enough to take a shower, fix my hair, put on make-up and wear something nice. There were days though that i didnt really care what i was wearing. That started happening later on towards the year. Now i transferred schools and am attending a public school. Things are basically the same, some people dress up but on the average everyone just wears jeans and a top. Going to class shouldnt be a fashion runway. You are there to learn and thats it. MOST college people know that and arent petty about what you are wearing. You could say it depends on your school, but I have been at a private southern baptist university and now a public one- and things are really the same. You do start seeing cuter outfits at night when you go to clubs, or parties, but after all that does make sense- to wear nicer things to parties. You shouldnt have to dress like you are going to a big social gala when in fact you are going to accounting!! I am really fortunate i didnt and still dont go to a school where people are so shallow about what you wear or where you buy your clothes from.

[This message has been edited by bucutie02 (edited December 03, 2000).]

[shiplemw]

I might be a guy but on my campus Rose-hulman it seems as if people wear whatever works and usually that just goes fine with everyone else. As a guy it's nice to look nice but in the morning I usually roll out of bed, get a shower if I can and head to class, but usually I wake up with about 5 minutes till class but that's not bad since I only have to walk abuot 3 minutes, it's all good, take it easy,
mike

[Asia2000]

Ok, just killing time while studying for finals. thought I'd chime in.

I am one of the ones that "dresses up" for class. Not to the crazy extent that twinstars goes to. I am a college student -- don't have dough like that!

Jeans and greek shirts are common all over campus. People here dress casual, but dress nice. We take jeans and T-shirts to a whole new level. If it's jeans, it'll be SeanJohn jeans. If it's a t shirt, it's a BabyPhat baby-T, and, of course, a brand new pair of sneaks. I, the northerner, prefer Tims, myself.

Plus, there is A LOT of skin. It's Florida, tu sabe? When it's hot out here, booty shorts, tanks, and bare middriffs. Forget trying to look cute: it's HOT!! We have to walk across campus in this humidity - dress appropriately.

I go to campus for class, to see friends, to go to work. I live on campus. My big rule in life is: Don't be Sloppy. That goes for all aspects of life. Always look like you got your shit together! No matter what I'm wearing, you better believe my hair is done, my nails are neat, and my face and body are clean. I am representing my organization all the time - we don't need a reputation of bums!

Does everyone still borrow clothes from each other? I think I bought 2 formal dresses thru the 4 years of college and borrowed the rest - - saved a lot of $$!