I have seen a few interesting things while at Hopkins. Some have perplexed me, others piqued my curiosity, but there is one thing I have yet to figure out.
I have a friend whose wardrobe consists of only three colors: blue, white and black. I am quite certain there is not one other color that touches his body. Of course, black and white go with everything and blue happens to be quite a popular color, but really, no other colors?
You can tell a bunch about the way someone dresses, and I'm not talking about brands, but style. Not style as in fashion, but demeanor - clothes reflect your personality in a shallow but blatant way.
At the age of 18 to 22, clothing is something we sort of take for granted. We can accept the idea that someone will walk into a lecture in their pajamas or a suit. The only times we are conscious of dress is when we are "going out" or getting dressed up for an interview or a nice dinner. The rest of the time, what's the deal?
Around this time I like to go to the Carolina Cup, a horse race in Camden, S.C., which I attended a few weeks back. I want to tell you that it is a completely different world than Hopkins.
As soon as you get out of the car, the bombardment of girls in sundresses and large hats is overwhelming. Guys wear pastels, ties and hats from either a country or yacht club.
There tends to be a bit more than blue, black and white in their attire. However, this scene seems to be the other extreme.
I went to the race last year, and a friend I was with didn't understand why I thought it would be a better idea to wear khaki shorts rather than jean shorts. At the race he was glad that he did.
I like clothing. But being a guy, we have a tendency to wear a very simple uniform: pants, t-shirt or collared shirt, sneakers or sandals. Girls are a whole other story - one with no beginning and no end.
Being an extreme moderate, I don't tend to trends and sort of have the same kind of clothes for a while. I know when I'm dressed like a thug or an Easter egg. However, I am curious about other people's stance on the clothes they wear, or at least those who wear clothes.
My friend, who only has three colors in his wardrobe, also believes that any emphasis to bolster image based on clothing is senseless. He doesn't dress like a slob by any means, but at the same time seems to pay no attention his wardrobe at all.
There is the old adage, dress for the job you want, not the job you have. I agree in many regards that my thoughts are no more legitimate because I'm wearing a tie; however, politicians, lawyers, doctors and business people wear suits for a reason.
If your plans in life include these types of occupations, be prepared to drop some bills on clothing from designers that, when you say their names out loud, make you feel like a jerk.
At this age, yes, if a student wore a suit to class everyday, he would be ostracized in some fashion. But is this an American ideal?
European leaders are known to be better dressed than America's heads of state. Everybody's favorite New Yorker, Michael Bloomberg, is a billionaire businessman with probably a closet to match. Since he took office as mayor of New York, he has subsequently dressed down.
Perhaps in the United States, my buddy is right in saying the value of clothing only goes so far. Who knows? At school, some people are genuinely impressed when you have a collared shirt on.
The more I consider the importance of clothing, the more I think that perhaps my buddy is right. A person is the same naked or in a Brioni tuxedo.
I heard a quote from a book on etiquette and being a gentleman: "One thing should be clear. Clothes do not make a man a gentleman, and by the same token, a real gentleman is always a gentleman, even without his clothes."
At the moment, I don't even want to explore the idea of being a gentleman, but I certainly do believe in the importance of incorporating better clothes into your wardrobe to better express a persona. In the meantime, I will wear bright colors to horse races, dark ones to funerals, a suit to job interviews and a T-shirt to lacrosse games.
