Here at Quinnipiac University, my fellow students and I take our daily classes to reach the goal of obtaining a degree and moving onto a lifelong career that will bring us money, comfort and success. Sometimes, though, I find my duties as a full-time student to be a camouflage for my true passion: fashion. Writing papers, studying for tests and ultimately getting good grades are a satisfying job I plan on working at for the remainder of my college years. Such things, however, will never overshadow the love I have not only for clothes, but the people, places and things around me that lend to the new trends and styles I devote myself to on a daily basis. Fashion is determined by everything around us, from movies to artwork to cultures around the world and everything in between. Upon observing the everyday fashion crazes popping up around campus, I know I am not the only one who feels this way.
Contrary to popular belief, fashion is more than materialism or the swiping of a credit card in high-class stores across America. It’s a way of life. Getting dressed is one of the first things you think of when you wake up in the morning. From the moment you swing open your closet doors and throw on an old pair of jeans or a new blouse, you’ve giving in to fashion and what it means to express yourself through it.
Fashion applies to everyone. Fashion is the old sweater you find from the seventh grade that’s all of the sudden new again. Fashion is a bracelet you make out of old string and plastic beads that you wear until it breaks. Fashion can be the ultimate insignia of your mood for the day.
Fashion contributes to the popular culture around us and the cultures across seas. Famous design houses such as Chanel and Gucci link us to the personal tastes in countries such as France and Italy. Closer to home, television, music, movies, and magazines give viewers and listeners insight into what is not just popular around us but perhaps what is unique or different. Elitist fashion magazine Vogue, HBO’s “Sex and the City,” and pop musicians such as Lady Gaga invite fans to see that fashion coincides with the music we listen to, the cities we live in and the people we look up to.
At times, we are influenced to change our fashion lifestyle without even knowing it. For those who go away to school, living in a dorm allows you to get fashion tips from roommates and friends. Borrowing clothes and sharing jewelry or shoes allows anyone to expand their fashion horizon. Fashion not only entails personal style, but creativity, innovation, and sometimes luck when finding just the right inspiration, piece of clothing, or shoes that fit in someone else’s closet.
As a student and student writer, at times it seems to me that school is a number one priority, with little room for the things such as fashion. However, as a self-proclaimed fashion enthusiast, it isn’t always difficult to scope out the fashion trends around campus and in the surrounding areas while crossing off a to-do list full of reading, tests, and endless papers.
I believe any passion, whether it is for fashion, sports, music or art, can be found even among the everyday chores we have to carry out. Fashion is just one of many passions that people can identify with and my job is to bring a little bit of fashion to Quinnipiac University each week.
Throughout the year you may find yourself relating to fashion without even realizing it. Taking a look at photographs, reading about history, learning about the environment and discovering new bands can lead you to discovering that fashion isn’t just about shopping. It can be exciting, ever-changing and versatile for anyone who gives it the chance. I’ve given fashion that chance and I want to spread a little more of it around campus. So, whether you are a die-hard shopper or you just want to become more knowledgeable about fashion, stick with the column for a while. You may have more passion for fashion then you realized.
