USU-Eastern: what not to wear

This archived article was written by: Benoni Sowah

What you wear is who you are. The first impression you make is from your appearance and then what you do and say adds to it. With this in mind, clothing and style should be something that college students should take a look at.
It will make no sense if we have all the degrees, but not able to represent ourselves with what we wear. I don’t know of anyone who will employ an applicant who shows up for an interview in flip-flops and sweat pants. Their impression will be that he or she is not taking the job seriously. Try it and tell me what happens. There is what we think should happen and there is also a reality.
College students do not have extra money, that does not mean it’s okay to wear bad clothes. Believe you me; what you choose to wear affects you psychologically. I have realized that when I dress professionally, I feel good about myself and I walk around confidently. When I dress casual, I want to behave as such. Some people have decided to close their eyes to what is going on around them. Others like what is going on, but don’t know how to go about it. Others are afraid to embrace it because of what others will think of them. Just as we keep up with technology so must we keep up with fashion of the day.
Being fashionable sounds expensive. You can be cheap and trendy. Please don’t think that I am asking you to start spending loads of money on clothes. I will tell you how you can look good, but spend less.
Firstly there is no body type that is ideal. There are some clothes that skinny people can pull off and there are those that chubby people can pull off. Know your body type and dress accordingly. Don’t follow fashion blindly. Just because it is on TV and someone is wearing it does not mean you can also wear it.
Your age is also a factor to consider. It will be absurd to see a 60-year-old man in skinny jeans and tight T-shirt. It is not what we expect to see of a guy that age. But at the same time, it does mean that growing old means a fade out in fashion. Dress according to your age. Don’t wear those clothes you wore when you were young. Personally I think Disney character clothes are for young people. It is okay to wear them at home as work clothes and pajamas.
Thirdly embrace who you are. Accept the flaws you have and come to terms that you cannot change them. We all have one or more of those. Plastic surgery may sometime make these corrections worse. Just deal with it. I love my receding hairline. I think it makes me unique.
John Fairchild said, “Style is an expression of individualism mixed with charisma. Fashion is something that comes after style.”
Develop your style. You may love western (cowboy), modern or whatever style you feel for and that will determine the kinds of clothes you buy. Try to be unique. Even if you copy someone’s style, add your own touch to it.
Here are some tips to buying clothes for less. T-shirts, dress shirts and pants are always the same at anytime of the year. So my suggestion is to shop for summer clothes towards the beginning of fall. Most retails stores try to get rid of their stock to make way for the next season’ stock. It is the same when shopping for the fall, buy in the spring.
Take advantage of coupons and discounts. Ask for it anytime you buy, even if they don’t have a sign saying that. The secret to getting these discount is being friendly with the cashiers. They know what to do when it comes to discounts. I think as college students, the most we should be willing to spend on a cloth is $20. Except in cases where we have they money and that shirt is worth paying more for. My mantra for buying clothes is “ it better be cheap or on sale”
Don’t close your eyes to the Deseret Industies. I hope I did not confuse you with the name. I am talking about D.I. Although we know they sell used stuff, some of the things they have are brand new. Take time to buy from this store, examine what they have first.
Black Friday, post Christmas is another time to shop for clothes. Just don’t buy because it is cheap and comfy. Make sure you love it and its trendy. Buying one thing at a time is good; money may not always be available so just a shirt or pant at a shopping is okay. Eventually you will build a good wardrobe.
It is also important to know color coordination. Fashion has some rule, these rules can be broken, but you need to know it first and if you decide to break the rule then break it well. Here are a few of the rules:
Shoes and belts must always match. Never ever wear sunglass in a building. If it’s a sunglass, then it should be worn in the sun.
If your hat is not part your paraphernalia take it off when you enter a building, it is sign of respect to your professor and those around you, I think our generation lacks some of this common etiquettes.
Don’t forget your hair and personal hygiene. It will make no sense if you dress well, but stink or look unkempt. Give your body some attention. And please avoid disfiguring it with tattoo and piercing. I think many people are getting tattoos and piercings because they think it is cool. I think some of them don’t look at the future before they do them.
Take good care of your clothes. Avoid excessive washing. To keep my clothes looking new, I have decided to wash ones a month, so I do 12 laundries in a year. I was my underwear’s every week.
Last of all, what you wear means nothing if you don’t have a good character to compliment that nice outfit. Have some confidence in yourself. Walk with your head high. Believe in yourself because if you don’t, no one would. And ask if you don’t know what to wear. There is nothing wrong in asking for help.
Don’t use college as your reason to dress shabbily. Come to think of it, there won’t be a time to enjoy our self but now, when we leave college the struggle is not going to be any easier. Take advantage of your youth. Let your grandchildren look at your college pictures and say, “ wow grandma was a hottie” or grandpa had a style.