Some campus trends boggle the mind

By: Cara Selick

Posted: 10/9/08

Despite all the grumbling and negative poll results, if you take a look around campus, people here at Hopkins are not all that unattractive. Sure, our quads may not be abundant with Heidi Klums and Adriana Limas, but at least, for the most part, people here know how to dress decently.

While I in no way consider myself a fashionista, I also wouldn't say I'm a maverick either. However, there are some trends I consistently see around campus that, frankly, I just don't understand. Some are unattractive, others are just impractical, and most are, unfortunately, taken from society at large and are not an exclusive Hopkins phenomenon.

With the in-between weather we have been experiencing lately, it is understandable that people are finding it difficult to dress. Many people are wearing too much or too little for the temperature, and several are in-between, wearing dresses with tights or pants with a tee-shirt. This is all perfectly acceptable.

The trend I don't understand however, is winter boots with mini-skirts, or more specifically, Uggs with mini-skirts. Doesn't that defeat the purpose of Uggs? First of all, Uggs are in no way an attractive fashion item. Granted, I own two pairs myself, but that's for comfort and warmth, not for their looks. So why would you pair them with a cute skirt?

Secondly, Uggs are for extreme cold. Snow-weather cold. So not only are they inappropriate for the autumn season, but they also make no sense when worn with a leg-baring skirt. Doesn't that defeat the purpose?

Speaking of weather-inappropriate, I still am baffled by the latest scarves in the summer fad. Summer is hot. When it is hot, you want to be just about as naked as possible. Right? Plus, showing off your neck and collar bone area is incredibly sexy - why would you want to cover it up?

I fully understand wearing a silk or light-weight scarf in the intermediate months when it is slightly cool out, but in 90-plus degrees? A bit absurd of a stretch for fashion's sake, don't you think? Perhaps those more tolerant of heat are more accepting of this fashion than I am.

David Colman of the New York Times recently compared the scarves to keffiyahs, but I think that is a stretch. His main conclusion was, however, that it was simply a fashion fad, an accessory. Well, I never understood pins and brooches - I suppose I'm just left out again.

Another trend I don't comprehend are the Land's End canvas totes. Everybody, no longer just sorority girls, has begun to carry these around as book bags and fashion accessories. I'm sorry, but I just don't find these bags attractive. And they get dirty far too easily.

On the most practical level, however, they don't make much sense either, due to their construction. These bags are meant to be totes for occasions like going to the beach. However, when used as a book bag, they are entirely impractical. For one thing, most aren't that large, and for those of us who have several classes in a row, it's hard to fit all the books.

In addition, the bags are wide open. No zippers, no clasps, nothing. They also have no pockets for smaller items like pens and cell phones. Meaning these small items are rattling around your bag, which is wide open, just asking to be lost. While I understand the want for a school bag that isn't the traditional backpack, there has to be a better (and prettier) option, ladies.

While most of these baffling trends are not exactly ugly, they just don't follow the rules of common sense. It's about as confusing to me as the reason why people continue to drink hot coffee in the sweltering heat of the summer. Why melt away when you could have an iced latte? Or better yet, a frappuccino?

Often, girls seem to sacrifice common sense for fashion sense, and that makes no sense to me. Why can't somebody invent a trend, for once, that is new, different, fun, pretty and also (gasp!) functional? On that strain, I will give credit to one good, positive, sensical fashion item in the last year: flats. Hallelujah, it's once again okay to wear shoes that won't break your feet, and you can still look good doing so! And that's what I call fashion sense!