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

[hedgehog]

Originally Posted by Dr Huh?

If you are better dressed than your teacher, you might want to try dressing down.

Haha. Most of my professors don't know how to dress at all. One of them wears totally random blazer/pants/shirt-combination, mostly with horrible shoes. Another used to wear a big, outwashed Bob Marley t-shirt and some horrible jeans from the mid-nineties.

As for the topic:
I agree to those saying that you should adjust somewhat to the environment. Wearing a suit would be way out of place at my school - that's something more reserved for the weirdo loners.

I'm mostly wearing some nice jeans and chinos once in a while, shirts, and different knitted sweaters or cardigans. If it's cold, I'll wear a 3/4 black woolen coat. I'm going to find a nice, casual sport coat, whenever I have the money for it.

Save the suits for occasions where wearing a suit makes sense. Or wear whatever you want, if you are willing to be known as "the weirdo who always wears a suit to school".

 

[KitAkira]

Originally Posted by Ryan Graber

I've been staying around the jeans + sportcoat, occasional slacks + sportcoat, but am curious how far I could go and not get looked at funny at college? Could I wear a suit? Can I wear a Tie with sportcoat and jeans? Thanks
Too late, start wearing Ed Hardy to balance it out. That or go full circle and wear a bespoke vicuña Brioni

 

[Ryan Graber]

I took two pictures of a sportcoat from etro with my webcam to try and get your opinion if this is casual enough to wear.
Where can I get a monocle that does not have a prescription in it?

 

[Scrumhalf]

The best way to distinguish yourself from the parka/hoodie/sneaker crowd in college in my opinion, is not to do the suit/sportcoat route which would immediately label you a dork, but to do crewneck sweaters with woolen peacoats and topcoats. Get a nice navy/black peacoat (Sterlingwear is great!) and a topcoat, have them tailored for a good fit, purchase some nice crewneck sweaters (you don't need $200 cashmere - LE has a sweater sale going on right now), and get some leather boots/chukkas and you are all set. Casual, yet stylish and will set you apart from the crowd...

 

[clintow]

As one who habitually overdresses for college classes, I would say you probably won't be ostracized for anything short of a full on suit or sportcoat with slacks and a tie. If you do it often and with conviction and confidence, people get used to how you dress pretty quickly. If your personality can pull it off, even a suit will only garner "wtfs" from the peanut gallery for the first day or so.

That said, however, the above comments that mention the other side of the coin are also quite correct. Although you probably won't get ostracized by anyone but strangers, being socially accepted is another matter entirely. The more you place yourself outside the group via your clothes, the more other people will place you outside their group. As has been mentioned, you quickly become "that guy with the yellow pants" or what-have-you.

Unfortunately, if you're anything like me, once you've begun thinking about all these things (aesthetics, how you like to dress, the social implications thereof, etc) it becomes virtually impossible to forget all that nonsense and just dress like everyone else again. Lord knows, there are days I wish I could go back to not caring again.

 

[Dr Huh?]

For me, going to college taking an art course made me realize that dressing up wasn't very practical as I'd be working with paint, glue, etc, and so wouldn't want my clothes to get dirty. So this might have clouded my opinion. Still, as a student you may find there's no time to put in the effort to get well dressed.

Not to single him out but you should check out Sterling Gillette's posts in the WAYWRN thread. I don't think he posts that often but he's a great example of someone who is young and well dressed yet able to make his appearance look casual. His outfits look well thought out, yet not to the point where it's obvious that he's trying to be well dressed. I think that's something I and a lot of us strive for. To look good without drawing attention to ourselves.

 

[amplifiedheat]

Originally Posted by DocHolliday

This is a good post. Rejecting the norm for your peer group sends a pretty clear message that you don't want to be part of that group. That's fine if you really don't care, or if you have a sufficiently magnetic personality that people want to be part of your group. But if you advertise to people that you are not like them, don't be surprised when they decide you aren't like them.

Dressing well tends to weed out the boring people. I've never seen any reason to hang out with non-eccentrics. As for the original question, a sportcoat and trousers is fine.

 

[DocHolliday]

Originally Posted by amplifiedheat

Dressing well tends to weed out the boring people. I've never seen any reason to hang out with non-eccentrics.

Life, sooner or later, tends to give you reasons.

I wear some crazy stuff but like to at least bear in mind how others will receive it. That, to me, is just common sense. Sometimes it's not just about what I want.

 

[BareSolid]

Originally Posted by Nereis

Wear it in an ironic way and you get points. Must have no shoulder pads, be loud/garishly checked, and worn with a **** you attitude. Shirt is untucked, no tie and skewn like you just woke up from a night out on the town. Bloodshot eyes are compulsory.

I'm so ******* tempted to do this.

 

[Dakota rube]

Originally Posted by ranker

You're not going to get ostracized based purely on the way you dress

To the OP: I'd say escalate your style incrementally. And then, when you start getting the **** beat out of you on a regular basis, go back one step.

 

[hedgehog]

Originally Posted by Nereis

Wear it in an ironic way and you get points. Must have no shoulder pads, be loud/garishly checked, and worn with a **** you attitude. Shirt is untucked, no tie and skewn like you just woke up from a night out on the town. Bloodshot eyes are compulsory.

Hangover chic is the new heroin chic.

 

[radicaldog]

You can get away with wearing a sportscoat if you wear it with panache, and in a streetwise way.

 

[Big Pun]

Depends if you want to dress how you really want, or do you want to seem approachable and normal.

 

[voxsartoria]

Originally Posted by radicaldog

You can get away with wearing a sportscoat if you wear it with panache, and in a streetwise way.

Like, with a switchblade in one hand?


- B

 

[BareSolid]

I can see myself wearing a cream linen/cotton suit and oxford button down collar shirt with brown shoes in the summertime and it not being seen as being overdressed. No tie, though.