The De-evolution of Dress

Hmmm....that's a random kind of title for this blog, but it lets you know what kind of week I've been having.

This week I've found myself noticing the clothes the students on campus are wearing...myself included. If you think back to the first day of school, regardless of your age, you always want to look your best. It's the "first day of school clothes" that are thoughtfully picked out and set aside for the first day of school. For as far back as I can remember I've always  repeated this rite of passage every school year. Experience has shown me that this desire to look your best for a good first impression hasn't changed, for college students or elementary.

Students dolled up in their "Sunday-best" was the norm in August. Admittedly I wasn't a huge fan of the lack of clothing in the summer heat, but it definitely wasn't a tank top and daisy dukes that were sported on campus. As the weather turned cooler the layers and longer-sleeves rolled out I was happy. Partly because of the crisp days, breathtaking colors, as well as the opportunity to wear sweaters.

Now? Well, it seems like everyone is wearing sweats, messy buns, and hoodies. All of those criteria fit me, except for the sweats. I guess I just have an inherent belief that if you're wearing sweats your either: 1) working out or coming to/from the gym, or 2) lazing about the house with no plans of going out in public. Coming from an undergrad university where sweats weren't allowed as classroom attire, it is still kind of weird to see students look like they just rolled out of bed, and figuring they probably did, because...well, look at them!

So as the semester winds down, it'll be interesting to see how many students show up to their finals actually wearing their pajamas and slippers. The number's probably a lot higher than I really want to know. (Although I wouldn't be adverse to seeing adult footie pajamas walking around--and looking like Ralphie would be to dream too much!)