Fashion is an art. Actually, I think I have to rephrase that. Fashion can be an art. As I walked around campus today with this idea in mind, I realized that the majority of students do not take advantage of fashion as an art form. On a normal day, the people who stand out to me are those who are dressed well and that obviously embrace fashion as a means of expression. Today, I noticed more Hunter boots, leggings, and sweatshirts than I’ve seen Pizza House boxes on a Saturday night – and soon winter will come around and bring flurries of Uggs and North Faces. I know it’s rainy, snowy, freezing, cold, windy, or a combination of any number of these at any given moment. We live in a mitten that is far less comfortable than a mitten, but you can’t blame a lack of style on the weather. We all have those days, especially if, like me, you have a 9:00 on Fridays, (an 8:00 is just unthinkable), but not everyday has to be sweatpants and t-shirt ridden.
There’s always a lot of maize and blue sported around campus, and that is perfect for those days but apparently, if you’re a UM athlete you have no clothes besides the maize and blue sweats (of different varieties) that you wear every single day. It’s completely possible that you could open an athlete’s closet and just find multiples of the same things, something my friend Ellen would call “Doug Funnie syndrome.” School spirit is amazing, but you don’t have to forfeit your style to have it.
 As corny as it sounds, I would just love to see more people around campus expressing themselves through their clothing. And, in no way does this mean that I would love for people to spend more money on their clothes. That’s another point, your J Brand jeans and Michael Kors watch do not give you style. So many people have become walking billboards because they think that name brands are style, but style is something that money can’t buy, and name brands are nothing unless they’re put together well.
Fashion is such a valuable art form. Not only can it be aesthetically pleasing and reflective of your personality, or even mood, but it can also build confidence. At least for me, when I’m wearing an outfit that I like I feel better about myself and that confidence can lead to success. It’s all a matter of opinion when it comes to “good style,” but just knowing what flatters your body and makes you feel good about yourself is all it takes. Everyone has different tastes in clothing, and that’s what makes fashion so awesome. Take advantage of the flexibility of it and start treating fashion as the art that it deserves to be!   Â
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