it does not matter if your team is Bad, as long as you look good.
Although I will be specifically referring to UVA football, these tips can be applied to any UVA sporting event, whether that be supporting a friend on an intramural team (I personally try my best to look my best while cheering on my friends while they play Intramural Volleyball) or watching a riveting game of women’s soccer at Klöckner Stadium!
At UVA, the attire for football games has been debated about for years. The tradition had always been “guys in ties and girls in pearls,” meaning that men would wear polos or button-downs and women would wear blue and orange sundresses. There has been an attempt to “dress down” the football ensemble with more casual shirts and shorts (or jeans, depending on the weather), yet students still enjoy the opportunity to dress up. To the first home game of the UVA season against JMU, I wore an orange sundress with my cowboy booties!
- Find out the theme
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Most of the time, the football theme is announced via the UVA Football Social Media Accounts. The themes usually correspond to the team’s colors: ORANGE AND BLUE!! However, there are some exceptions, such as the October 7th game most likely being a “Pink Out” for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Make sure to check in with what the color or theme is so you know how to dress appropriately!
- Look at the weather
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This is a step that many people forget! Although some students still consider it summer in this transitional time, the evenings and low temperatures are colder than they often think! Often, I have planned out a super cute outfit, whether it be a skirt and a top or a dress, and seen that it is too cold to wear the outfit. Although it is discouraging to find the outfit unacceptable for the temperature, it can be easily prevented if you plan to be warm with some jeans or a cute cardigan to cover your arms to prevent you from getting too chilly!
- Start From the top
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I find that the best place to start with the outfit is from the top down. The top or shirt is the part of the outfit that people pay the most attention to. It also works best to create a certain look for the outfit. If you pick a dressier top, you can pair it with a more casual bottom to dress it down or continue with the elevated outfit with a nicer bottom, like a skirt. Some people recommend “Sandwiching,” or the process of matching your top and shoe color with a different color pair of bottoms. I have yet to try this method, but it seems to be a good way of helping the novice styler to find their way.
- Pick out good shoes
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When Wahoos go to UVA Football games at Scott Stadium, we like to be on our feet the whole time. Especially for the students standing on the grass field, known as the Fourth Side, it is vital to have supportive and cute shoes on to maximize cheering energy! Whether that looks like broken-in cowboy boots or arch-supportive sneakers, a good pair of shoes is essential to lasting through a long game full of standing and jumping at the sight of UVA touchdowns!
- Accessorize!!
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Now that you have the outfit and the shoes, it is time to accessorize! I love adding fun pops of blue and orange through bracelets and rings. A lot of my gameday jewelry comes from Stacked by Suzie, a growing new business with a line customed designed for schools across the country. Personally, going all out with the jewelry adds a flair to the outfit that not much else can do. Temporary tattoos, clear purses with UVA-themed straps, or adding orange and blue ribbons to cowboy boots are also cute ways to spice up a simple outfit. The world is your oyster in terms of accessorizing! Be bold and be you.
Creating the perfect outfit for a gameday is not only fun, but allows you to feel great about yourself. When you look cute, you feel like you can take on the world. And make sure to tag us on your beautiful outfit photos. We would love to see you cuties supporting the team!