Going to college brings a time of change. We are moving away from home, which often means a new city, new people and a new lifestyle with which we must become accustomed. From our senior year of high school, everything starts to move so quickly, with many changes in such a short period of time. We become so wrapped up in finding roommates, deciding which dorm will be the least terrible and anticipating graduation that we tend to forget about clothes.
I had worn a uniform since kindergarten and my closet lacked in college clothes. I had seen a million pictures from sorority and fraternity swaps, formals, and nights out, so I realized how few clothes I really owned that were appropriate to wear out and about in a college town. While I did panic, at first, the moment I arrived at college my closet began to inevitably expand and with it has come a very wide variety of outfit choices.
Differentiating between college and home wardrobes has become a hot topic of discussion between with my friends when getting ready to go out. We all agree that we have clothes strictly for going out in Tallahassee that we would not be caught dead in at home, and vice versa for clothes worn at home. It is funny that was is completely acceptable as an outfit at college is usually one you would not be caught dead in at home because no one else would be dressed that way. I don’t bat an eye when I see someone wearing high-waisted jean shorts, crop tops and combat boots in Tallahassee, but even as a college student I would definitely be surprised to see that same ensemble at home. The outfits we choose to wear at college simply do not mesh with what we should wear when getting dressed up at home.
On the same token, the clothes I wear for class and to bum around in at school are not always ideal to wear at home. My mom often begs me not to wear leggings and Norts at home; if only I had a dollar for every “Caroline, can’t you put on something a little nicer?” Two years ago, I would dress up to go to the mall or grocery store, but today I don’t bat an eye about wearing my everyday college wear to the same places simply because we do it every day at school. T-shirts and leggings seem to be the college uniform for almost every girl you see on campus, which is great at school but can be frustrating when I go home where it feels like the only clothes I have that are acceptable to wear are nice dinner outfits.
Between never having enough clothes while always having too many, it will never be as simple as throwing on a uniform and going on our way. As we grow up and graduate from college we will no longer have the luxury of being able to wear whatever we want the majority of the time. Even though we are living the struggle of having too many outfit choices for many occasions, we should embrace it knowing that the real world is calling -- and so is the dreaded business casual.
