Photo courtesy: VSPink.com
The other day I overheard a conversation amongst students that made me scratch my head. I was at an unnamed office on campus at around 7PM filling out paperwork, with my back turned to the door. A girl who may have been wearing heels or something else flashy had walked passed the door. One of the Student Aides in the office looked at the girl who walked by, rolled her eyes, sucked her teeth and made the comment, "Some girls look like they wake up at 6AM to get dressed." This then sparked a conversation between two of the Student Aides in the office about getting dressed/ready for class. They all raved about how they take 10-20 minutes (???) to get ready. One said, "I usually wake up and just put on whatever is on the floor of my room." The other, who happened to be a girl, said, "It takes me 10 minutes to get ready. I don't have time in the morning to do all that extra stuff." They then went on to talk about how it's okay for college students to dress a little messy or slob-like to class...
Now. My problem here isn't so much that these students would rather get up as late as they can in the morning, throw on whatever piece of crap they please and rush to class. My problem is that they seemed to think less of the girl who decided to put a little more effort into her looks that day. What's wrong with caring about what you look like? Nothing. Just because you make the decision to put less time into your morning routine, doesn't make you a better person, nor does it make the girl a better person for putting in the effort. I was more annoyed that they thought it was okay and the "norm" for college students to look like a mess. I don't think it's okay for anyone to look like a slob. We all have our days where we decide to dress down and be a little more comfortable, but falling into the habit of not looking presentable is NOT okay in my book.
Personally, I don't wear sweats to class. Something my English cousin said to me once stuck in my head. When he came over to the United States for school, one of his first comments to me was "I don't understand you Americans and your collegiate sweats." And he's right. What is our big infatuation with wearing sweats and pajamas outside our homes? I used to do it as a teen, but now I see how gross it is. Let's face it, the way you present yourself, is the way people will perceive you.
If you choose to dress like a slob, fine. I won't judge. But if I choose to take the extra time to look cute, you don't judge either.
xoxo
i absolutely agree with your perspective on the matter. i didn't grow up wearing sweatpants/pajamas to class in high school - my mother would have KILLED ME. fashion is another way to express one's self. it seems like those girls had a problem with the fact that she didn't want to look like a little kid.
ReplyDeletexo.
princesspolitico.blogspot.com
I feel you! However, At my university, its a full on fashion show. Some people still look a collegiate mess, but most do not. I don't think it takes super effort to look nice. If you set your clothes out before you go to bed, it's easy to grab 'n' go in the morning. I'm able to fully dress and put on a full face of neutral makeup (face, liner, shadow, blush, etc.) in about 30 minutes. No early wake up, required.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree. I only spend a half an hour to get ready in the morning, but I try to look as best as I can in that time. I don't care as much what people think about the way I dress now, but if I were in high school still I would definitely feel that I stick out in a sea of girls in sweats tucked into UGGS (a look that is extremely popular, which perplexes me). Ah well, I guess it's all a matter of freedom of choice.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I'm Melanie and I go to Hofstra too :)
Well said! I find it disturbing that it's a point of pride for people to look sloppy and put minimal effort into self-presentation. How is that anything to be proud of? "Oh, I left the house today not looking my best and not even trying! Yeah!"
ReplyDeleteAMEN. the girl who made the "ugh, some girls look like they get up at six am to get dressed" comment is clearly jealous that the said girl, and other girls, look better than her. she wants everyone else to have to get up with ten minutes to spare and throw something on so SHE doesn't look like a slob in comparison. to me, this debate is comparable to the "fashion is such a materialistic waste of time, and only people who aren't smart enough for other things care about it" debate. if they aren't a part of it...it must be wrong and therefore, beneath them. extreme comparison maybe, but similar still!
ReplyDeleteYAY for this post and your blog in general. I was wearing a sweater and jeans tucked into flat leather boots one day and when I walked into class some girl turned to her friend and went "does she realize she's in class and not at the bar?" So unnecessary, right? It takes no longer to put on leather boots than it does to shove your feet into Uggs!
ReplyDeleteYou bring up a great topic! As a senior at Lehigh, I've seen the mix of both. People who are proud of throwing on Uggs and Juicy sweatpants and "especially perky sorority girls" who dress to the nines for class. I've always believed in the concept that you will feel good if you look good—I hope that makes sense? I tend to always dress well unless if I've pulled two all nighters and am wearing my Soffe shorts and Ugg boots to my psychology exam. (Yeah, I totally did that last week.) But everyone seems to be pretty forgiving.
ReplyDeleteFuck it, I have to say. It is a fashion show, but models have their day offs too. To each person his or her own. I don't think either side should be commenting negatively though.
Maybe it's just me but I find it sort of hot when (attractive) boys go to class wearing their pj bottoms. I'm weird like that though.
I absolutely always get dressed for class. I played sports in high school so I associate sweatpants and the like with cold days out on the field hockey field. For me sweatpants are for exercising in, not going to class in. People may give me weird looks because I'm almost always in a dress or skirt, but getting dressed up a little makes me feel ready for class, it makes me feel like I'm up for the day. Wearing sweatpants would make class just feel like an interlude between sleeping or working out. Besides, in a couple years I'm going to want to get a job and I'll have to get dressed when I'm working. Why not be used to it?
ReplyDeleteHere Here!!! I agree, I get stares all the time but the average person at my school wear flipflops, american eagle and Old navy sweatshirts. Ugh.
ReplyDeleteObviously they're just expressing their jealously that they aren't as fabulous! I'm so happy for this post, b/c I get that comment all the time and it annoys me that I should be made to feel ashamed for actually caring about my appearance! I think it must be a North American thing to think slob = good.
ReplyDeleteI heart this soooo much. We need a college fashion revolution, down with north faces and uggs! lol
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I don't mind dressing like a "slob." It's ridiculous that it'd be such a problem in the first place unless you're in fashion or business. Other majors that are more difficult don't really have time to worry about being all dressed up ... all that extra time is spent studying, lol. Which is why I see nursing majors in their scrubs most the time. :)
ReplyDeleteI didn't say I had a problem with others dressing like a slob. The main focus of my post was that dressing like a slob or not is a person's prerogative and we should not judge. However, I personally do not dress like a slob to class.
ReplyDelete