By Mary Anne Panganiban and Ephraim Robinson
Many people think that fashion is frivolous–– and indeed most high fashion is fanciful. It comes and it quickly goes–– but clothing is important to our lives.
One fashion scholar, Adam Geczy said, “To be unfashionable is not to escape fashion; it merely exists as a modality of debasement.”
Carelessness with clothes does not make the way you dress unmeaningful–– it says that you do not care about clothes. A UD student looking around the Mall will see a great diversity of dress: jeans (Levi’s or Wranglers?), cottagecore dresses, chinos, rugby shirts (from the Student Foundation?), polos, coquette dresses from Urban Outfitters, crop tops, button-down shirts, all kinds of shoes and, of course, monastic habits (Cistercian, Dominican and Franciscan). What does this say about UD?
Many UD women, for example, prefer dresses over pants. To wear a dress is to have a simple way to dress well for class or regular day-to-day activity, all while providing a fun pop of color to one’s day!
Some UD men might shrink from wearing jeans to class–– they have defined an academic standard of dress. This academic standard might lead some to wear a tie like a bolo tie, for instance. However, some might still incorporate jeans into their style of dress as a part of their own academic standard of dress.
UD is a Catholic college, and it is sometimes reflected in the way that students dress. In looking around the Mall, one may see a multitude of different dress styles, as students express themselves to face a day of hard academics and the stress of everyday life!