As a girl from the Southwest going to a private school in Pennsylvania, there are many things I question about preppy East Coast fashion choices. Although I do not understand the obsession with L.L. Bean boots, boat shoes, or Patagonia, I can at least see how they are practical clothing choices for the inconsistent East Coast weather. When I first came to Lehigh, I kept seeing students wearing shirts and hats that had cartoon outlines of whales on them. I thought that there must be some meaning behind the whales, and every time I saw someone wearing this whale clothing, I grew more curious as to what this meaning was. Eventually, my curiosity got the better of me and I decided to ask someone. After getting over the initial shock of discovering that most people do not wear this whale clothing in Arizona, they explained that the clothes come from a brand called Vineyard Vines and that the whale was the logo. That was all there was to it.

For a while, I accepted this as just another East Coast preppy fashion quirk. But the more I see this brand, the more I question the appeal to it. This Vineyard Vines long sleeve pocket t-shirt costs $48.00.

Meanwhile, this Hanes long sleeve pocket t-shirt costs $5.68.

People aren't paying $42.32 more just because of the quality of the shirt. They're paying for the brand. People can obviously wear whatever they want, but Vineyard Vines is milking that little cartoon whale for all they can. Lately, I've seen sorority letter shirts with the letters filled in with a bunch of Vineyard Vines whales, whale stickers on the backs of laptops, and last night I actually saw a roll of Vineyard Vines duct tape. Duct tape with a bunch of little whales scattered on it. I give props to the founders of the company for creating such a successful business, but honestly, how did this brand gain so much traction? It is interesting how slapping a brand name and logo on a clothing item can make it more desirable, and this says a lot about society and consumerism.

The sad thing is, I've heard guys say that they bought Vineyard Vines apparel when they came to Lehigh because they felt like they had to in order to fit in. This makes me wonder how many people at Lehigh struggle to afford clothing from these expensive, preppy brands just because of the pressure of fitting in. There's no reason to be ashamed of being the kid who buys the plain t-shirt with no whale on it.