Chronicles Of Campus Fasion

This is it, no more excuses, no more stalling, the time is now, here we go … men's fashion. To me, men's fashion on Boston College's campus is like a ghost; you're sure it exists, but it's rarely seen. I understand that women are out of their minds and put way too much time, effort, and energy into their daily outfits (thigh high leather stilettos are generally not necessary for a 10:30 a.m. lecture on a Tuesday, unless you earn a little extra on the side as a dominatrix). However, that does not excuse the general uniform of the male BC student: baggy jeans, university sweatshirt, and baseball cap. I will take a minute to remind all the men on this campus (or more accurately, the very few men who will be reading this) that in a very short while, they will be entering the professional, "real" world and will have to trade in their sneakers for something more work appropriate. One would think that at least seniors would be moving their daily style toward this end of the spectrum and saying goodbye to their scrubby freshman ways, but I recently spotted a certain high level UGBC official walking out of class wearing sweatpants. (*tsk tsk*).

Fortunately, there are men on this campus who definitely take a certain amount of pride in what they wear, and over the past few weeks, I came to understand that subtlety is the name of the game for most men's fashion and necessarily so, because they have less room to be flamboyant: no jewelry, no huge amount of variation in the cut or color of outfits, and very few accessories except functional ones like watches, hats, and book bags. I was still impressed with how well the men who caught my eye made use of the few variations available to them to create very different styles, as I think my three examples show. There are more variations of men's fashion than the general ones I tried to find today, but the general themes are hipster, rugged New England, and classic suit.

The first photo (top left) is what I would call understated hipster: skinny black jeans, red shirt, cardigan, vans; he was also wearing a beanie that he had just taken off before I chased him down for the photo. I think this is the basic formula for the hipster look (and I don't mean that in a derogatory way, as it is sometimes used), but there are some more extreme examples all around, especially exiting the WZBC studio. Vans or Converse are key, as are beanies, tight jeans, and a generally "too cool for school" demeanor.

The next photo (bottom left) depicts this gentleman in muted tones of brown (yes, I know it's a black and white photo, but let's pretend) with a splash of blue plaid. The shearling collar also adds to the outdoorsy feel of the jacket, and the brown leather lace-up boots are very indicative of another trend around campus, which I'm going to dub lumberjack chic, a special branch of preppy that utilizes ample amounts of plaid flannel. This is one of my personal favorite styles because it looks very well put together while remaining youthful. I do appreciate that we are still in college and should take advantage of the fleeting years before ties will choke the liveliness out of the young men all over campus.

Looking to that bright future when men will have to start looking snazzy in their suits day in and day out, I was lucky enough to not only stumble upon a man in a suit this week but a man in a suit with incredible shoes. To me, shoes can make or break an outfit for men. Too often I see an outfit I loved, but as soon as I scan down and notice the ragged sneakers at the bottom, I turn away in disappointment. Leave the running shoes for the Plex and invest in a pair of … almost anything else. These shoes are fabulous (yes, fabulous) because they have tassels. Tassels! Brilliant!

Much as I may enjoy studying the opposite sex's fashion, I feel I will never be able to truly appreciate or understand it. Maybe Anthony Burgess best expressed the different view on fashion men and women have when he said, "Women thrive on novelty and are easy meat for the commerce of fashion. Men prefer old pipes and torn jackets." See you around campus.