Oh, the transformative power of fashion - in no other art can the belting of a sweater or the layering of a camisole be considered aesthetic mastery. Portable and blissfully impermanent, fashion has a loyal clientele among college students who recognize the link between looking smart and being smart. This is, after all, the kind of logic that fine institutions like Trinity College try to instill in us.
If it was ever considered an art form, fashion has become something different within the context of a college campus, something owned by the individual but directed at the public. Even on a relatively small campus like Trinity's, our styles become our megaphones and our social bridges, sending a message of our choosing to those we want to hear it. So the question has become not why we wear what we wear, but for whom? Whom are we dressing for?
It goes without saying that females are the savvier sex in terms of fashion - sorry, guys, but the khakis/jeans/sweatshirt/polo rotation doesn't reek of effort. Girls at Trinity don't just dress for class, they dress well. We spend time in front of our (laughably small) closets matching tanks to cardigans, modeling for roommates to see if the addition of tights and boots can take a dress from frat-Friday to Mather-Monday. Dressing up for public appearances is a way to get noticed by certain people, for certain reasons.
More often than not, girls dress for other girls - it seems we understand the art behind fashion more than guys who'll shrug off a sweater as being soft and blue (it's vintage cashmere, you dolt). And why not showcase the art to the viewers who will really appreciate it? Girls at Trinity are creative enough with their clothing to spark friendly conversation ("Where did you get that?"), but polished enough to get ahead by intimidation. The ones who look sophisticated are the ones most likely to be treated as such, and, let's face it, girls are competitive - we want recognition for our personal finesse.
An outfit speaks like a conversation, and since girls can be rather reticent about introductions, clothes fill the happy medium between a passing smile on the quad and a heart-to-heart in the dorm. Not to mention the fact that here on campus, trends spread like wildfire, and it creates a frothy sort of bond to discuss the new Blair Waldorf-esque headbands everyone's been sporting. It's a silly kind of conversation starter, but what starts as ballet flats might become global politics in the course of just a few minutes. Plus, we like to show off - subtly, harmlessly, but every girl knows that her sense of fashion is the most acute and is damn well going to prove it.
And sure, we dress for guys - but that's an entirely different audience. Often, even a preferable audience. There is something in the Y chromosome that doesn't permit the understanding of or appreciation for the persona that an outfit can convey, so while a female may recognize the boho-chic vibe of a tunic and layered bangles, a guy will only see the color of the cloth and the shine of the jewelry. The aforementioned sweater could come from Target just as soon as from a vintage Manhattan boutique, as far as a male is concerned - blue and soft are pleasant sensations regardless of their origin.
Male students at Trinity dress, first and foremost, for the activities of everyday life. Outfits are all-purpose, transitioning easily from class to lunch to football on the quad. Fashion trends are few and far between when it comes to guys (Clarks, man-scarves, Ray-Bans), but always functional because the purpose of clothing is, after all, a utilitarian one. How we dress affects what we are capable of doing in our lives - physically and intellectually - and male students seem to have a firm handle on that pragmatism. Dressing for life in its basest sense may shorten, for men, the social bridges that form in the female fashion world, but may also be considered a means of expediting the achievement of certain aims and goals. The less aesthetic frivolity, the more direct the path to success - or so the male mind concludes. Guys dress for girls only when it's expected of them, and even then practicality lends a certain elegance to ensemble. A sharp-pressed button-down can be as comfortable as it is attractive, and given the limited options in men's fashion, looking nice is a far more straightforward operation than it is for female students.
Of course, dressing with only your audience in mind lends complications to fashion, the most crucial being the depreciation of your own sense of style, whatever that may be. Attitude is the central component of fashion, and most of the students at Trinity whose dress seems an impossible medley of magnetic nonchalance owe their style to a certain spirited self-reliance. Regardless of whom your fashion may be intended for, the issue is, at heart, how you wear your art. In the words of that fashion flop-turned-fetish Madonna, beauty's where you find it. Vogue.
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