College Fashion

When I left home and moved to this wonderland in the middle of nowhere named Chico, I was so happy to leave Madera, California – the place I lived for 18 years of my life. I was happy to get away from things that bored me at that point in my life and I was eager for a change. Throughout the months in Chico, it is no secret that the homesickness kicked in. I began looking for every opportunity to go home because with school and life adjustments kicking your ass, who wouldn’t want to take a little vacation? Free meals, free laundry, and a stress free environment is always a great way to get away from this college lifestyle that can eat you up alive. It is tough to take into account that I am now 4 hours away from home (original) and I must make plans weeks ahead to get home considering I do not have a car here. So what I usually do is take the Amtrak train home and this limits the amount of things I can take. I can usually only have room for a few outfits along with a pair or 2 or shoes in my luggage. I know I have clothes waiting for me at home but they are ll outdated and probably do not even fit. The clothes that I actively wear and love to show off usually do not make a spot in my luggage because they are all in my dorm closet. This makes me reflect a bummy college student and my family always makes fun of me for it. I do not mind because they know I am focused on big things and what I am wearing does not mean much. This just goes to show another struggle worth pointing out in the life of college students, especially those who have to travel hours to get home.

Culture is something that people take pride in, it is the very roots on who you are. There are a wide variety on cultures and this is due to different countries having different interests and a whole another way of living. This work will be focused on an interesting culture, and how it influences the fashion sense of those apart. This culture would be the college culture. Personal experiences have contributed to this piece and it is a large talking point with students as well. A big way to express yourself in college would be to dress in your own personal style. That is the particular point of interest in this news story and let us dive in on what challenges college students face on deciding what to wear everyday.

So, living on campus is a huge factor in the everyday wear of a typical college student. When you live right next to your classroom, it gives you plenty of time to prepare yourself a nice outfit. Well that is not always the case. When you pack your bags, leave your hometown, and move away alone from your family there are going to be substantial changes in your life. For those who never did laundry in their lives, they must now do this on their own and learn to be independent. Sometimes when papers, group projects, and study time are loaded onto your plate, there is no time to do laundry and next thing you know you are out of clean clothes. Adjustments must be made in the life of this young adolescent to keep things going smooth.

For those who do not have a problem doing laundry, fashion can be used to make a statement, but does this prove to get old?  Lately, studies have shown that the fashion on campuses are becoming more identical with each other. Youngin Bangh of Emerald Insight explains in her scholarly article from 2018 how a “one style fits all”  mentality has been implemented into many college campuses. This could very well be due to the marketing of certain brands such as Patagonia or The North Face. These brands put a dent in your wallet but that is just another part of this culture. You cannot go to college and not have some extra money to play with because classes are not free. But with everyone almost looking identical everyday, is it time for more students to show more creativity?

Now with time management playing a key role in these college lives, student athletes must have the most filled schedules. These students come to college with leniency towards their tuitions to perform well for their respective sport. They wake up at 6 to intense workouts and do homework until 11 at night. They do not have time to plan outfits and get up extra early to get ready because their schedules conflict with it. It is overwhelming and it is no secret that these athletes wish they had more time for things such as wearing different outfits everyday. This is the small price they pay to continue their education and sporting careers at the levels they do. With a campus educating about 17,000 students is present, there is bound to be every single type of fashion sense. With the creativity fading, it is important to admire the rare ones who maintain their creative wardrobe while living alone in the circumstances they live in. It is impressive enough to see outfits consistently planned, but to see how creative these outfits can get is what really catches the eye. I caught up with Chico State student Gerardo Ramos who is an expert in this field as he is an aspiring photographer with a creative sense of fashion. “It depends on their personality” says Ramos, “Everyone should try to explain who they are with what they wear.” He then goes on to explain on the issue of maintaining the creativity and not falling down the basic path. Hardworking students who are not afraid to express who they are, is the reason fashion is as important as it is today and why we analyze them in works such as this.

There are many things that college students have differences in, such as the ay we live, what we eat, and also how we dress. But one thing I think I can vouch for all of us college students on is that music is a very important aspect of our lives. You see, most of us here at my campus moved out of our homes and packed our bags to come here and live new lives. This includes leaving our families and friends to come and find new beginnings. One of the only things that stays by your side throughout this interesting transition in our lives is the music that flows through your ears. Is it just me or do certain songs remind you of certain times in your life? I have a set playlist of songs that were repeated in my ears the first weeks of school that will forever remind me of this time. I also have songs in my head from the 6 weeks I pledged my fraternity and these will do the same in reminding me of this important time of my life. This is the influence music artists have by creating music that soothes the ear. This leads to these artists putting together a creative team to create merchandise for their music. With the massive fan bases they have, much of the clothing will be sold and the music band, group, solo or whatever it may be can spread their message through fashion. Some artists even have their own clothing label such as OVO with Drake and GOLF from Tyler, the Creator. It is easy to see if someone is a fan if they are wearing a t shirt with their face or some lyrics on it. Artists love it as well because it brings them a heavy paycheck. So next time you see someone on campus with a T-Shirt with Travis Scott’s latest album on it, do not hesitate to determine that they are a Travis Scott fan.  

Now correct me if I am wrong but school spirit is super important right? At my school it sure is and this school spirit thing has been in my blood since I was sporting a Lincoln Lions t-shirt to represent my elementary school in my youthful years. Now I go to college 4 hours away from there and find myself screaming “GO WILDCATS” all the time. No, I do not go to the same school as the one in High School Musical but yes our mascots are the same. So why does all of this matter and where does it tie-in? Because I cannot walk to a single one of my classes on campus without seeing 10-15 people wearing Chico State apparel on their heads, shirts, and even pants. You can even see pins attached to backpacks to show the world where their current stomping grounds are. Here at California State University, Chico we may not have a football team, but we still have more school spirit than yours with one. I mean look at how we express how much we love our college with all of the festivities week in and out. Before I moved here I knew I would need to pick up a t least 1 piece of clothing to show I would keep represent school spirit and I ended up now at the end of my freshmen year with countless. I thought my highschool had a high level of school spirit until I came to college where the bar was raised many levels. I hope to collect more and more Chico State apparel in my years to come at this glorious school. It also feels good to show where i am receiving my education in my hometown by wearing the clothes in public. It is a great topic of discussion and it always makes my family proud when they see that I am getting a higher education.

To be quite honest, I did not understand the photography scene in its true from until I came to college here in Chico. The amount of aspiring photographers and people who just take pictures as a hobby is very large, and the creativity this produces rubs off on many aspects in everyday life. The one that caught my eye was the fashion ideas that come from these people who take pictures and how they want them to come out. I thought this would be a perfect point of discussion for this blog as it relates to the overall topic of my blog being college fashion. So how does someones outfit change the overall tone and meaning to a picture. Well there are a few things that can explain this. For one, if someone is using a camera with a high contrast and brightness they are going to want their subject to have darker clothes on and vice versa. Another key aspect is the setting of the photo shoot and what landscape is captured along with the subject. If a photographer wants to take some pictures in a nature-filled area, they might want you to express some freedom with loose clothes and colors to match the scenery. Pictures that are taken at night have a darker tone to them, so a photographer can edit them after taking them to enhance the quality. There are some creative designers and models who wear clothes to display their setting. Fashion shows have backgrounds and props while these models wear clothes to match this. This is why you probably see countless photographers at catwalk model shows because the planning of the venue and wardrobe behind it is what photographers dream for. I personally love for my friends who have expensive cameras and love to shoot to capture some unique flicks of me. This is a way I can display my fashion sense to the world.

Believe it or not, as much as you would expect the weather to influence fashion on campus, it actually does not really. I mean of course when it rains you’re going to grab a hoodie or when it is scorching hot you will wear some shorts. But truth be told, I have seen countless times where it was a cold breezy day and people wear shorts. It can be the complete opposite with another person, and on the same day they will wear pants and a hoodie. Or on a hot day I see someone wearing shorts and a tank top, and turn to see someone else wearing pants and a long sleeve. So how do they do it? Why do they do it? I would like to believe that where they are from affects this significantly. People who are from colder weather such as the beach have a tolerance for this cold weather. They can wear shorts and a long sleeve in very breezy weather. These people who are “cold-prone” usually have low sensitivity to hot weather and will really wear the bare minimum in these conditions. On the other hand, you have people who are from hotter areas that resemble deserts and they are the complete opposite. They are willing to wear clothes that are exposed to hot weather with ease. But once it turns to mid-70 degree weather, they are the first ones who put on a hoodie with sweats. My beach people would probably laugh and make fun of them, but it was just how they were brought up in their habitat. All of this is noticeable on my college campus and it is very interesting to note who wears what and where they are from. That just goes to show the diversity of cities that students at Chico State come from.

Another huge factor in the fashion of college students is the fraternity and sorority affairs on campus. The reason for this is the amount of pride that these young students take in the fraternity or sorority they are in. So, how does this relate to what they wear? Look, every young man knows its a dream to be in an excellent fraternity and especially at a school like Chico State. These young men go through many hardships while they are pledging their respective fraternity and they do this for one main reason, being able to represent the Greek letters on their clothing while they walk around school. There are times where I see a string of 5 or 6 friend groups only wearing greek letters. They want to show the school what they are about and this could only be a great feeling. From personal experience, I have been going through this very process, and most fraternity men I see represent their letters, sometimes everyday. On the other hand, the women of their respective sorority will wear their Greek letters sometimes more than the men. When the freshmen girls join, they are allowed to represent their letters right away. These girls can be found hanging out in their sorority house that have the same letters showing on the front of their house. At a school like Chico State University where social life is massive, joining sorority and fraternity affairs is a huge step into becoming the person you want to be. It is up to you to see where you fit. So next time you see someone on campus wearing their Greek letters, just think about them having to earn them. And if you, my reader, make that decision and ever get to represent a fraternity you better wear those letters almost everyday. Take pride.

There is a lot of debate on who is allowed to wear what clothes. Me personally do not care what anyone wears because everyone has their own personal taste. Some people just take this topic way too serious. For example, there are athletes who might be offended when a non athlete wears sportswear. They might especially be upset when they wear the particular team they play on. Yes this might sound ridiculous but think about where are coming from. These collegiate athletes put in countless hours into their craft and barely have time for anything social. If one day they see someone who is nt apart of their family repping the team that they worked hard for, then they might take offense. This leads me to my next controversial topic about skatewear. We all know that skaters have a sense of fashion that accommodates their skill while looking nice at the same time. They wear baggy and long clothes so if they take a fall, they will not be injured badly. Popular clothing lines such as Thrasher and Diamond Supply have blown up for skaters and their clothing is very attractive as well. So, are there only skaters that wear these clothes? The answer is no. These companies have started to make their profits from non skaters because the clothing is suitable and attractive. Thrasher in particular blew up for teenage girls because a trend came around where the hoodies were being purchased at a rapid rate. So how do the skaters feel about this? I asked one of my good friend Michael who lives here in Chico with me. He says that he does not personally have a problem with the skater fashion of non-skaters but he also believes that the skate community has mixed feelings about this. Only time will tell where this great but non-important debate will take us.

Let me start this blog post with a question to you, my audience. How far ahead do you plan an outfit to wear? Is it a week in advance? Maybe a day at least? I can tell you from personal experience, that living on campus of a University will influence that decision almost everyday. So, why does this have such an impact on what we wear and why we wear it? Timing. Students typically wake up about 30 minutes to an hour before class. That leaves them that same amount of time to get their day started and get some breakfast. This does not give them lots of time to put in enough effort into a nice outfit because they need to get to class. People who REALLY let their sleeping schedule influence their everyday wear will probably go to class in whatever they slept in. I mean sleep is important, and when you live on campus you value your sleep which makes decisions easy to weigh out. But what about those who care about how they look day in and day out? Some people who live in the dorms plan outfits days in advance. They will wake up extra early just to put in that extra effort into their outfit. These are the people who really want to make an impression, or they might even want to please themselves because hey, you feel good you play good. From personal experience again, these certain people are usually more creative and have a statement to make with each outfit. Another key factor is the timing of classes. If you really care about how you look but you have an 8AM, then you must improvise and sacrifice. Witnessing both ends of the spectrum has definitely been an interesting topic and I cannot wait until I see what my next years have in store.