College comes with many different exciting features—one of the most noted being the lack of dress code for classes. You are given the ability to pick out your clothes at your own discretion, and with this freedom it seems most girls are opting to wear leggings or running shorts paired with a t-shirt. This look requires minimal effort and leaves girls feeling comfortable as they walk across campus and sit for hours in lecture halls. I love wearing comfy clothes but despite that, I love dressing up for class.
In high school, my mom would never let me leave the house in yoga pants or sweat pants; so it has been engrained in me to always dress up to an extent. That has now followed me to college and while I still, like most girls, wear leggings to class, those leggings are usually paired with a sweater and a necklace. But by wearing “normal” clothes, I realized that I was being judged more than the girls who didn’t dress up for class. On Twitter I would see “you can always pick out the freshman girls by who has real clothes on” or I would be told by friends that “you’ll grow out of this phase half way through the semester”. I received many eye rolls from friends for “wasting outfits” on class or for taking the time to put on jeans.
I became very bothered by this because when I’m in my favorite outfit I feel good. I feel more confident as I walk into classrooms and seem to be more alert when I’m in class. There is no better feeling than when I have on my favorite pair of jeans. Not only do I feel better, but I look more professional. After leaving college, we are thrown back into the world of dress codes. In most jobs, you will be required to dress appropriately while you are in the office or working with clients. In most cases, “professional” does not even include jeans and so you are left wearing khakis or black dress pants. There is no shame in wearing your favorite over sized t-shirt to class but I am a strong advocate of occasionally breaking that trend and putting on a real outfit as a reminder that your time without a dress code is short lived.
Most people ask why I would take the time in the morning to get fully ready when I could be using that time to sleep. I, just like most college kids, roll out of bed 30 minutes before my class starts. It takes me just as much time to put together an outfit as it does for me to throw on a t-shirt and leggings. Maybe my routine is just shorter than others, but I am definitely not losing any sleep over a good outfit.
With that being said, stop shaming girls who choose to step outside the norm. There is nothing wrong with choosing fashion over comfort. The girl in your class who put thought into what she chose to wear that day does deserve an extra glance, not because she looks “different” but because she looks good.
