College Fashion

Yesterday, my Twitter Feed and Facebook News Feed were full of college move-in pictures.  It brought me back to that day many years ago (notice I'm not saying HOW many years ago) that I moved into my dorm room in Barrett Hall at The College of William and Mary.  The next several days were a whirlwind - getting to know your roommate and hall mates, registering for classes, finding your way around, deciding if you wanted to rush a sorority.  And, of course, deciding what you wanted to wear to your first official day of classes as a college student!

Of course, we all felt quite grown up (or we pretended to be, anyway).  A few weeks into our tenure, as a group of us were walking back to the dorm from the dining hall, some upperclassmen fell in with us and started talking to us.  "You're Freshman, aren't you?", they said.  "Uh, yes," we replied.  "How could you tell?"  Laughing, they said to us "Well, first off, you all carry purses.  No one carries purses beyond the first month of their freshman year.  And you actually look as if you care about what you are wearing.  You'll be in sweatpants and sweatshirts within a couple months."

Our bubble burst, we considered their words.  We WERE all carrying purses.  (I was carrying this one. And yes, I had multiple covers that could be interchanged).  And we weren't wearing sweats.  I'm not kidding, I think we all ditched our purses that very evening.

We were not your typical Southern Football School.  We didn't dress up for football games.  I once had a date to a UVA game where I dressed to the nines, including a hat.  But a W&M Football game found us in shorts and t-shirts.  What I see on the UGA campus when I attend games in Athens looks like a fashion show!  

I often wonder, how do Freshmen women (and college women in general) dress on campus?  And can you pick out a Freshman girl from the way she dresses?  And is it regional?  Do women dress differently in different parts of the country?