What to do for clothes at college/university?

I want to go to college and dress like an 80's prep/jock, little tennis shorts and all.

you'd be surprised at the number of ppl who actually do that in my uni, especially during summer

Don't be afraid to stand out. This isn't a job where fitting might help you get promoted. As long as you don't stand out by wearing clashing day-glo colors or safety-pins in your eyes or jeans so tight that people can see the hairs on your balls, it's good to have some individuality.

I wear a blazer of some sort to class almost every single day. People notice, yeah - and 95% positive. Of course, some will judge you for overdressing or trying to hard - but you're on a STYLEFORUM....do you want to know those people anyways?? Of course, a blazer and button-up may not be your thing - rock whatever it is you like; but also what you look good in. Some people can't pull of some looks, and it's good to know that.

My personal suggestions - get some nice boots to wear with jeans, chelseas or chukkas. Get two nice blazers so you can rotate. Get some quality denim - raw or well-distressed. Not all jeans MUST be raw, contrary to some posters here. There are plenty of cool washes out there with effects you can't get from raw denim. Red-cast or green-cast denim can go well with whole palettes that look weird with indigo.

But most important - watch your $$$$$! Clothes can become a serious addiction and unless you are independently wealthy, you don't have enough money as a student, nor enough time to work, to be buying Edward Green shoes or $500 Japanese denim or bespoke suits. Crawl ebay, check your local thrifts, and don't be ashamed to keep an eye out for J. Crew, Banana Rep., and Express stuff on sale - they do make cool things and you can get it for good prices. Don't get into debt and don't make yourself work 30 hrs/week with 5 classes to pay for your purchases - BELIEVE ME.

Originally Posted by Gilead

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Dress nice but not a) costumey and over the top or b) in all dior or some ****, as long as you carry yourself well you'll just look like a dude with good dress sense.

exactly...and you'll probably give into the not caring in the morning thing a couple times-especially in the winter. the vast majority of people who dress 'nicely' (at many colleges) wear khaki's and one (or two) collared shirts with a white polo hat. granted, i may be biased as i grew up in columbus and was surrounded by OSU kids, but it seems to ring true at the school i've attended for the last 3 years (wittenberg) as well. people have no sense of style here and it is somewhat funny to see some kids look as if they're about to go to the yacht club.

I go to an Ivy League University, where money is not the factor when it comes to fashion for most people and I can tell you that most people are trend-whores. And not in the good way like most of us are. 85% of girls wear TR or 7FAM jeans, and like the same percent of guys wear diesel jeans. The damn lacoste and RL polos are everywhere too. Most people seem to care more about perception than anything else and that's not unique to an Ivy, but every school.

So what you should wear isn't what we are telling you to wear but what you feel comfortable and confident in. Because the clothes should wear you, you should wear the clothes and what you want people to see isn't the exposed selvage seam of your $300 Japanese Denim but your confidence when you wear them. One thing that is important are comfortable shoes, you will be doing a lot of walking and shoes are a great way to show off personal style and have fun

Every time I'm down by Marquette, students are dressed just like they are anywhere else. There may be a few more kids dressed up because it's a pretty expensive school and there is some money there, but you still see all types of clothing being worn.

Where are you from originally?

Im in university (dont live on campus though, that doesnt really exist in sweden since most of the universitys are so old) and dress as seen in the wdywt thread.

I think its more about if you want to fit in with the crowd that study the same thing as you (law and economics people tend to dress a bit more formal for example). I study psychology and its pretty diverse how people look and dress, and i dont botter trying to fit in with any look.

First of all, thanks for all the advice everyone. I know I won't have to worry about getting into debt or anything, as my parents are paying for my college. And no, I'm not one of those guys that takes money for granted, I took it into account when I was picking colleges, and my dad said "Don't let tuition costs affect your decision. I'd rather invest in an education." So I'm not a spoiled brat or anything, my parents just have a good amount of cash.

Also, I'm not really a clothing whore, I just like to dress well. I dress well by my school's standards, not at all by styleforum's standards though. Basically, everyone here wears Hollister/AE/Abercrombie and other brands with print and branding all over them. I'm usually dressed in decent jeans and a basic outfit--button down shirt, plain t-shirt, occasionally a nice v-neck sweater. I wear stuff that fits and stuff with no visible branding, unlike most guys at my school. Most of my clothes come from Gap/Banana Republic/Guess/Express/and occasionally some nice designer stuff. So like I said, I'm dressed well by my school's standards, but styleforum would probably laugh at my poorly constructed clothes .

Originally Posted by VMan

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Every time I'm down by Marquette, students are dressed just like they are anywhere else. There may be a few more kids dressed up because it's a pretty expensive school and there is some money there, but you still see all types of clothing being worn.

Where are you from originally?

I'm from a small town of about 12,000 people. Hartford, to be exact--it's about 45 minutes from Milwaukee.

I'm in college, as well. To me, being a student is like having a blank check to dress however you damn well please and get away with it. If you're a sperry, polo and chino shorts kind of guy, wear that. If you want to wear vans, a pair of skulls and a cool hoodie, then do that. If you want to dress like a field worker in levi's and a flannel, you should do that. It's probably the only time in your life that you will be able to dress *exactly* as you'd like and not be told to do otherwise. Superbobo always looks awesome because he looks so incredibly comfortable in what he is wearing. He perfectly defines himself. Ayn/Cheap/LA Guy are all the same. Find out who you are and... um, adorn yourself accordingly

I was trying to be hilarious and link you to a thread from some board (Fedora Lounge? It was some eldercreep board) where a prospective college student was all about bowties and raccoon coats and extremely wide-legged pants, but I have failed to locate it.

Originally Posted by GoSurface

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I go to GW in DC, and everyone thinks theyre dressing to the nines everyday. A fair amount of people pull off semi-respectable ensembles, but it's mainly Jappies and their Chanel bags alongside douchebag preps in their radioactive polo's. Anyway, dress how you want.

oh god jappies...but you forgot all the prep kids in their multiple popped collar polos...i wouldn't be surprised if gw's famous for this kind of madness

OT: I think that as long as you look consistently decent, then you shouldn't have a problem.

Originally Posted by heyleroy

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exactly...and you'll probably give into the not caring in the morning thing a couple times-especially in the winter. the vast majority of people who dress 'nicely' (at many colleges) wear khaki's and one (or two) collared shirts with a white polo hat. granted, i may be biased as i grew up in columbus and was surrounded by OSU kids, but it seems to ring true at the school i've attended for the last 3 years (wittenberg) as well. people have no sense of style here and it is somewhat funny to see some kids look as if they're about to go to the yacht club.

Wittenberg, huh? I'm working at WSU right now and starting grad school at UD this fall.

EDIT: Also, I'm probably one of those yacht club kids.

I go to Penn State and yesterday night while I was out i saw some guy going to a bar in mesh gym shorts. Sad...

Originally Posted by soonami

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I go to an Ivy League University, where money is not the factor when it comes to fashion for most people and I can tell you that most people are trend-whores. And not in the good way like most of us are. 85% of girls wear TR or 7FAM jeans, and like the same percent of guys wear diesel jeans. The damn lacoste and RL polos are everywhere too. Most people seem to care more about perception than anything else and that's not unique to an Ivy, but every school.

So what you should wear isn't what we are telling you to wear but what you feel comfortable and confident in. Because the clothes should wear you, you should wear the clothes and what you want people to see isn't the exposed selvage seam of your $300 Japanese Denim but your confidence when you wear them. One thing that is important are comfortable shoes, you will be doing a lot of walking and shoes are a great way to show off personal style and have fun

Confidence when you wear $300 dollar jeans? I think he should worry about confidence if he is wearing a pair of 40 dollar jeans that look like **** and feel like ****. You must be buying $1000 pairs of jeans if you speak of confidence when wearing $300 dollar ones.

Not to be a kill-joy or anything, but who are you dressing up for? If it's for yourself, dress however you want. College is so full of diverse people that almost any style is accepted as being fairly normal. Goth, preps, caped-crusaders, it's all pretty unsurprising by your 3rd week. If it's for the ladies... well, I hate to disappoint, but 90% of the girls you will meet will think that a lacoste polo and seven jeans are the hottest outfit since the juicy tracksuit.

And don't expect anyone to understand why the red line on your denim's outseam means anything at all.