There’s a dress code for female college students at the University of Tennessee Knoxville. No, it isn’t administered by UTK officials. It seems comfort reigns with the female college student at UTK. Her Campus has the rundown on why we choose leggings over jeans, practical shoes over designer stilettos and comfort over anything else.
Leggings as pants
This phenomenon is in full stride on UTK’s campus. “I remember hating wearing those things when I was a kid. But now I wear them all the time,” says sophomore Megan Owens. Today the legging is no longer used only as a short skirt safety, but is now worn proudly and freely on its own. Campus fashionistas commonly wear leggings with either a t-shirt or extra-long sweatshirt, depending on the weather. The form fitting fabric leaves little of the female anatomy to the imagination. The most resounding justification for this somewhat revealing fashion choice is usually the same answer. “It’s comfortable,” says Aimee Costa, senior Kinesiology major. Indeed, leggings are free from many of the annoyances of jeans and sweatpants. There are no annoying and easy to forget zippers or puncturing buttons that dig into your stomach and sides, nor are there sagging areas due to wear. The actual comfort level of this trend varies depending on the individual’s confidence in wearing the form fitting “pants” out in public.
Practical shoes
Sperry, Chacos, Toms and Uggs might as well pay tuition at the university, as these brands of shoes dominate the campus female shoe-wear. In fact, a fun game would be to pick one of the listed styles and count how many times you see a female student wearing that brand of shoes. Each season has its popular brand. In winter, the Ugg is king. In spring and summer, Toms and Chacos are everywhere. “I absolutely love my Toms and Sperrys. I think they’re the perfect shoe to wear on campus because they’re fashionable and don’t hurt my feet,” says Kayla Cater, senior Journalism and Electronic Media major. Sperrys usually start to make their appearance around fall term.
Running shorts
Nothing is easier than throwing on a clean shirt, running shorts and tennis shoes after rolling out of bed, and this has become the go-to outfit for most female students. “I go through the same thought process whenever I wake up in the mornings and get ready for class,” says Morgan McCann, senior aerospace engineering major. “My thought process is usually if I’m going to class that day. If I am, then I check my phone to see if I have time to get ready. If I don’t, I instantly head for my running shorts, t-shirt and Nikes. Most days I end up wearing what I don’t mind sitting in class all day in.”
When you add these three trends together, which many women do, you have the unofficial UTK dress code for female students. The rules are not written down, nor are they really discussed in length, but the trends are visible all over UTK. Fashion designer Coca Chanel once said, “I don’t understand how a woman can leave the house without fixing herself up a little- if only out of politeness. And then, you never know, maybe that is the day she has a date with destiny. And it’s best to look as pretty as possible for destiny.” Sorry Chanel. But today’s UTK female students have comfort on their minds instead of dates with destiny.