How fancy can I get at college before I get ostracized.

[Thebomb85019]

If you want to be dressier, look at doing the casual look like everyone else has been saying. A pair of lighter color khakis, chinos, etc and a button up (no tie). I love Phat Guido's weekend outfits and that is the style i typically wear to school everyday (need to have a business casual outfit because i work in a casual office).

I love wearing my suits, but I would laugh at anyone wearing a suit to class everyday.

 

[thizzface]

dress fancy, dont act fancy. you should be fine...

 

[Don Carlos]

Originally Posted by kuwisdelu

I just think it's silly to, as you put it, stay within your "safe harbor" zone in college. It's a time for self-exploration. How far is too far is for each person to decide on their own. I think saying with any degree of certainty that something will happen (e.g., being labelled a "weirdo") is ridiculous. Some people will think that sure, but except for pint-sized colleges, I really don't see that happen.

At my school, there are of course plenty of people who dress in pretty ridiculous things, as with every university. The only one that I can think of as having a label is "unicycle kid," which doesn't even have anything to do with clothes. Because, honestly, I can think of no one else on campus who rides a unicycle to class. But even so, does that make him a weirdo? I don't think so.

I only discuss because I find the logic that "if you dress this way, then you will necessarily be labelled this" to be, frankly, nonsense. At least when it comes for level of formality.

Let's consider, for a second, the definition of "abnormal."

adj. 1. not normal, average, typical, or usual; deviating from a standard: abnormal powers of concentration; an abnormal amount of snow; abnormal behavior. (emphasis mine)

It's a very reasonable conjecture that 99.99% of kids on any college campus in the United States will not be wearing a suit to class on a regular basis. Maybe a suit every now and then for formal events or interviews, but hardly often. Thus, you could call not wearing a suit the norm at college. I'm not passing any value judgments on this norm, mind you. It simply is a statistical norm -- no more, no less. It is neither inherently good nor bad. It simply is.

Now then. It's a simple fact of human psychology that people inherently, subconsciously distrust deviations from an accultured norm. If someone is used to dressing casually on campus, and seeing everyone else dressed casually, they will find someone wearing a suit every day (or riding a unicycle, or whatever) to be highly unusual. And they will be uncomfortable with it. The way they will mitigate that subconscious lack of comfort or familiarity is by taking refuge in their own normalcy, i.e., by commisserating about how strange the suit guy or the unicycle guy is.

Once again: I am neither condoning nor condemning this behavior. It is simply a fact of human psychology. I'm just stating a fact.

The point is: if you wear a suit to class every day, you will be behaving abnormally vis-a-vis the rest of your peers, and most of your peers will find you strange for doing so.

In summation:

a) Wear a suit to class every day and you will be deviating from a statistical norm
b) People will find your deviation unusual, and many will be uncomfortable with it
c) Many of those who are uncomfortable will not want to associate with you

...

d) How you choose to deal with that is ENTIRELY up to you. If you want to say "to hell with those conformists; I'm wearing a suit!" then wear the f'ing suit. Just be aware that you are going to be opening yourself up to a fair amount of ridicule -- whether or not it is ever overtly voiced to you -- if you choose to wear those suits.

The original poster in this thread wanted our advice as to whether or not we felt it was a good idea to wear the suits to class, because he was concerned about being ostracized. In many of our opinions, including my own, no. It is not a good idea. Not because we place some sort of high value on comformity (I mean, really, if we were conformists, we wouldn't be posting on this sort of forum in the first place) -- but because we're just offering our honest opinions, based on experience and/or observation of college life. He does not want to be ostracized, and as such, we recommend that he not wear a suit to class.

Whether you want to wear a suit every day or not wear a suit every day is up to you. Totally up to you. And whether you care or don't care about being labeled a weirdo is up to you. But it will happen, and one can say that with highly reasonable certainty. That's all I'm saying.

If you're still confused, I don't know what else to tell you. I've laid out this argument several dozen times, in increasing orders of magnitude of detail and articulation. I'm done.

 

[ramuman]

^ There's no point trying to convince the OP or kuwisdelu otherwise. If it gets them tail, perceived tail, or whatever they're going for then more power to them.

 

[Sam Hober]

Originally Posted by kuwisdelu

It depends completely on how you carry yourself, your personality, and how naturally you pull it off. This comes up all the time here, and most will tell you college is an inherently casual place. I say it's the place to be yourself. Dress in what you're comfortable with, be that a suit, sport coat, or pajamas, and don't let anyone get you down for it.
With one addition: Consider where you are located - I very strongly agree 100% with Kuwisdelu. The fact that you are studying business goes with wearing nice clothes. Getting to know brands, colors, fabrics through daily wear is a great part of your business education. I am sure that if you are taking an art class as one of your electives you will wear clothes that can get paint on them without a problem. Now back to your question about fitting in - Only you can decide based on where you are and how comfortable you feel.

 

[kuwisdelu]

Originally Posted by Arrogant Bastard

Let's consider, for a second, the definition of "abnormal." ... a) Wear a suit to class every day and you will be deviating from a statistical norm b) People will find your deviation unusual, and many will be uncomfortable with it c) Many of those who are uncomfortable will not want to associate with you ...
As a statistician, I strongly suggest you reconsider your argument and take into a parameter called "variance." As it stands, your argument doesn't hold up logically or in my experience. I'll accept (a). Maybe even (b). But (c) does not follow. Show me your data.

Originally Posted by ramuman

^ There's no point trying to convince the OP or kuwisdelu otherwise. If it gets them tail, perceived tail, or whatever they're going for then more power to them.
I wasn't aware anyone was trying to convince me of anything.

I'm merely pointing out what I perceive as ludicrous generalizations. P.S. Regardless of whatever impression I may have given, I don't wear a suit to class every day.

 

[oscarthewild]

Wearing a toga around campus is another option that you may not have considered.

 

[Sam Hober]

Originally Posted by kuwisdelu

As a statistician, I strongly suggest you reconsider your argument and take into a parameter called "variance." As it stands, your argument doesn't hold up logically or in my experience. I'll accept (a). Maybe even (b). But (c) does not follow. Show me your data.

I wasn't aware anyone was trying to convince me of anything.

I'm merely pointing out what I perceive as ludicrous generalizations. P.S. Regardless of whatever impression I may have given, I don't wear a suit to class every day.

Kuwisdelu, I barely survived statistics in grad school - you must be very smart. Although now I wish that I had taken a few more stat classes. One other variable to consider is under graduate vs graduate programs. When I went to business school suits/jacket & ties were the norm as most students already were in the real work world. Granted it was graduate school with older students. I did not wear suits to college but I wore ties/jackets and I felt comfortable doing so and no one ever commented negatively even once. I live in Thailand now and it is the norm for students to wear uniforms and ties starting in nursery school. I am not joking, my 3 year old daughter wears a tie and uniform. The norm here is to look formal. There is an interesting argument to be made that wearing uniforms helps with studies. Think suits, ties, jackets equal a type of uniform. I have no studies to quote but mnay people feel this way. Again if you are not comfortable with ties and nice shirts & jackets it may hurt your education.

 

[kuwisdelu]

Originally Posted by Sam Hober

One other variable to consider is under graduate vs graduate programs. When I went to business school suits/jacket & ties were the norm as most students already were in the real work world. Granted it was graduate school with older students. I did not wear suits to college but I wore ties/jackets and I felt comfortable doing so and no one ever commented negatively even once.
A true distinction. It seems undergraduates comment on my clothes more (usually positively), while graduate students rarely do. Also, while I my research is currently doing statistical consultation in the engineering department, I'm taking some graduate literature courses for my own enjoyment. The engineering graduate students are very casual and find me somewhat out-of-the-ordinary (though apparently they now think this is how all statisticians dress--I can see one now coming up to an iGent on the street one day to ask about a t-test.) The graduate students in English, by contrast... nice slacks, v-neck sweaters, button-downs, and ties are the norm for the young gentlemen, with the girls either in dresses, skirts, or suits themselves. The strangest comment I've gotten on campus, however, has been "are you a dance major?" I was quite thrown. When I replied no and inquired why he thought I might be, he said "you're dressed like a dance major." I was wearing blue chinos, cotton charcoal vest, and a tie... ??? Maybe it was the monkstraps?

 

[Don Carlos]

Originally Posted by kuwisdelu

As a statistician, I strongly suggest you reconsider your argument and take into a parameter called "variance." As it stands, your argument doesn't hold up logically or in my experience. I'll accept (a). Maybe even (b). But (c) does not follow. Show me your data.

Cute, but please don't feel the need to condescend here. Especially when you're putting forth such a ridiculous and potentially harmful (more on that in a second) position in this thread.

Variance among college campuses is quite low in the US. Visit a few dozen of them, as I do every year when recruiting for interns. Almost nobody wears suits and ties on a daily basis. I can say that with lots of confidence, as can -- and have -- many others on this thread. I'd be so precious as to give a confidence interval, but well, your being a statistician and all, I'm sure you get the point.

That point, once again, is this: wearing suits every day in an undergraduate setting in almost any school in this country will be abnormal. Trying to argue to the contrary is the height of ignorance, be it willful or unintentional. Even you have admitted that the students you interact with are dressed casually from day to day. How can you even think, for one second, that there's a single undergraduate college campus in the US where kids wear suits every day? In what bizarre parallel universe or era does this occur?

Now then. About my earlier point in calling your arguments dangerous. The original poster posed the question, and I quote the title of this thread, "How fancy can I get at college before I get ostracized?" From that question we can infer that he does not want to be ostracized, and as such, we should be giving him advice about how far he can go without risking social abnormalcy. Your suggestion that he "be himself" and wear a suit every day, if he so pleases, is an honorable one. Noble, even. But it's unrealistic in today's college environment. If he does not want to risk being ostracized, then he shouldn't wear suits to class every day. Period. This isn't about whether you personally would ostracize him or not. This is about whether or not there is a significant risk of college kids' ostracizing him. And anyone with half a brain and a modicum of recent college experience would argue that he risks being ostracized if he wears suits.

It's reckless and irresponsible of you to claim that it won't be odd, or that people won't consider him weird, if he dresses in suits on a college campus. Bear in mind that his question wasn't "can I wear suits if I want to?" -- but rather "how far can I go before being judged?" You're answering a question he didn't ask.

If you really think my claim that most college campuses are casual is a "ludicrous generalization," you need to get out more. Go visit some campuses. If there is any variance whatsoever among how students dress -- both within each campus and among all campuses -- it's minimal. And those who do dress differently have chosen to set themselves apart. Some of them are clearly okay with the consequences of doing so. I'm interpreting that the original poster on this thread would not find the consequences acceptable. Otherwise he would not have asked about being ostracized.

Originally Posted by Sam Hober

One other variable to consider is under graduate vs graduate programs. When I went to business school suits/jacket & ties were the norm as most students already were in the real work world.

I don't mean to be rude, so please don't interpet this question as such. But how recently did you attend bschool? I graduated about two years ago, and back then (and now), pretty much everyone was dressed casually on a daily basis. The only exceptions were for recruiting and interviews, which were a mix of business casual or business attire. But nobody was wearing suits or ties to class on a daily basis. I am not old enough to tell you whether that has always been the case, and I imagine it wasn't the case a few decades ago. But it is the case today.

 

[kuwisdelu]

Originally Posted by Arrogant Bastard

Now then. About my earlier point in calling your arguments dangerous. The original poster posed the question, and I quote the title of this thread, "How fancy can I get at college before I get ostracized?" From that question we can infer that he does not want to be ostracized, and as such, we should be giving him advice about how far he can go without risking social abnormalcy. Your suggestion that he "be himself" and wear a suit every day, if he so pleases, is an honorable one. Noble, even. But it's unrealistic in today's college environment. If he does not want to risk being ostracized, then he shouldn't wear suits to class every day. Period. This isn't about whether you personally would ostracize him or not. This is about whether or not there is a significant risk of college kids' ostracizing him. And anyone with half a brain and a modicum of recent college experience would argue that he risks being ostracized if he wears suits.

It's reckless and irresponsible of you to claim that it won't be odd, or that people won't consider him weird, if he dresses in suits on a college campus. Bear in mind that his question wasn't "can I wear suits if I want to?" -- but rather "how far can I go before being judged?" You're answering a question he didn't ask.

You've got to be kidding me. Now you're the one changing the question. It wasn't how far can you go being being judged. I've certainly admitted that wearing a suit will lead to judgment, and I've never once claimed that wearing a suit to class is common or the norm anywhere (so stop trying to say that I did). The question was how far can one go before being ostracized, and in college, I'd say that's pretty damn far.

If you really think my claim that most college campuses are casual is a "ludicrous generalization," you need to get out more. Go visit some campuses. If there is any variance whatsoever among how students dress -- both within each campus and among all campuses -- it's minimal. And those who do dress differently have chosen to set themselves apart. Some of them are clearly okay with the consequences of doing so. I'm interpreting that the original poster on this thread would not find the consequences acceptable. Otherwise he would not have asked about being ostracized.

I never said college campuses being mostly casual was a ludicrous generalization. I was referring to the idea that wearing a suit to class will doom one to being a social outcast is a ludicrous generalization.

 

[voxsartoria]

- B

 

[kuwisdelu]

^^^

The true way to rock uni'

 

[Rosenberg]

Originally Posted by voxsartoria

- B

holy **** out of all the times ive seen this pic i just noticed his socks

 

[Sam Hober]

Originally Posted by Arrogant Bastard

........I don't mean to be rude, so please don't interpet this question as such. But how recently did you attend bschool? I graduated about two years ago, and back then (and now), pretty much everyone was dressed casually on a daily basis. The only exceptions were for recruiting and interviews, which were a mix of business casual or business attire. But nobody was wearing suits or ties to class on a daily basis. I am not old enough to tell you whether that has always been the case, and I imagine it wasn't the case a few decades ago. But it is the case today.
Arrogant Bastard, I am very easy going no offense taken. I went to business school awhile ago although it doesn't seem that long ago... But more importantly, I did not get a MBA, I got a Masters degree in Taxation which means that my student peers were almost without exception already CPAs and attorneys who were all in the work world. As a side note we considered MBA classes as fun classes that were quite easy - smiling. Personally, I often wore ties and jackets as an undergraduate but not suits, and never once for a second was there a problem. However, I was in the SF Bay area which may be different than other parts of the country - I do not know. Also growing up in Marin County you got the sense that you can wear what you like whether it was a suit and tie or T-shirt and jeans. Quite seriously in the end you need to pick you you want to be friends with and if someone is going to be so judgemental as to not be your friend because you are dressed well, then perhaps students need to think about new friends? Next, people will judge based on numerous other qualities (the reader can fill in the blanks) that is not good. Now, keep in mind that I am strongly biased towards nice clothes as I grew up in the fashion business....