Is wearing sweatpants and sweatshirts appropriate and suitable on campus?

[garland]

It's not so much keeping up with fashion as it is keeping up one's appearance (which may or may not be in the latest fashion). There is a difference between saying "It's important to me to wear the latest trends each season" and "It's important to me to maintain my appearance and clothing in a generally current, up-to-date, well-kept style."

I'm with Bethie--the love of my life could care less if i walked around in a sack. We do not care about 'current'. That's not a universal given, despite the insistence throughout this thread. Believe it or not, there's nothing more 'right' about that stance. If it's important to you, fine. That's not a higher plane; just a different one.

It does bother me when arbitrary cultural 'norms' are presented as universal givens.

[emeraldkity4]

I doubt my sig other has much idea on what " current" means.

And with vintage clothing so popular, even being used in present day tv shows like The Closer, what does current mean?

[Bay]

This thread was never about being current or up to date.

Oops never mind, PG did say that. But the subject of this thread is whether sweats are appropriate on campus. Not whether one needs to be fashionable.

[Pizzagirl]

I guess the cat-lady sweatshirt and sweatpants crowd sees nothing in between cat-lady and Christian Louboutins :-).

[bethievt]

PG, I'm sure you look lovely. I might even notice, but I wouldn't really care. I have one good friend who really cares how she dresses (VT style, at least). I love her dearly and imagine she looks better than I do, but I don't care. I care about other stuff. She's an artist, paints beautifully in oils and she probably can't not notice the visuals. She's also maybe my most conventional friend, but she loves my son's rap music. It is *not* conventional and lots of my more progressive friends are shocked by it. Go figure. She said, "Maybe I should listen more closely to their lyrics." Um. no.

I must say, though that H once rented a really spectacular tux. He looked like a Victorian era undertaker or something. I did love that.

[sseamom]

Can you be a part of the "sweatpants crowd" if you aren't a cat lady? Or can you be a cat lady and NOT wear sweats? Not sure how many groups are being dissed here...I'm trying to keep up.

I don't even know what "Christian Louboutins" are, but I assume they're on a par with those shoes whatsername wore in Sex and the City. I guess to some people that matters. I'm not one of them.

I think the vast majority of us, college kids or parents, go for a look that's comfortable without being dirty and sloppy, and without spending a fortune or being a slave to fashion. Most of us probably don't drip with designer brands but still manage to look decent, whether or not we're wearing "cute little flats" or "cute little sweaters". To some, I guess that means we're out of touch and out of taste. Shrug.

[garland]

Echo your shrug, sseamom. I don't know any cat sweatshirt people personally (wait a minute, yes I do, my Mom has been known to wear one, though she's not a sweatpants kind of gal. But she's 82. She can wear what she wants, and most likely will escape the name-dropping, current clothes police.)

No idea what a Christian Louboutin is--sounds like some kind of sketchy breakoff cult.

This little underhanded slurs are mighty entertaining, though.

Shrug indeed.

[frazzled1]

I'm in the "I won't notice what you're wearing" crowd. I do know what Christian Louboutins are - expensive shoes with red soles, right? Never seen a pair IRL, though - I don't think. I would almost certainly not notice the color of someone's soles. Does anyone remember the scene in Guys and Dolls where Sky Masterson covers up Nathan Detroit's necktie and bets him $1000 that he can't say what color it is? I'm kind of like that. Hygienic and desperately trying to avoid embarrassing my kids by wearing something that would make them cringe - that's my personal style.

This is a very entertaining thread, but I wonder why it's still in the Parent Forum. Looks as if about 25 of the 32 pages have nothing to do with what to wear on campus and everything to do with demonstrating that It Takes All Kinds. Seems like a more likely thread for the Cafe?

[stradmom]

I guess the cat-lady sweatshirt and sweatpants crowd sees nothing in between cat-lady and Christian Louboutins :-).

Now that I've googled...those look awfully uncomfortable. And I'm sure they'd clash with my formal cat sweatsuit.

[oldfort]

They are Tai-Tai shoes, only meant for walking from house to car, car to front door of wherever you are going. I don't own a pair because my feet are too wide, but they are good looking.

I do enjoy seeing an older man or woman with nice tailored clothes/accessories and well cut hair. Most of the time it just looks effortless. I encounter that outside of US more. The clothes probably locally made, not with big designer names, but they just look very comfortable in the way they look. A cashmere sweater with tailored pants and scarf could make anyone look put together.

[absweetmarie]

Originally Posted by frazzled1

This is a very entertaining thread, but I wonder why it's still in the Parent Forum. Looks as if about 25 of the 32 pages have nothing to do with what to wear on campus and everything to do with demonstrating that It Takes All Kinds. Seems like a more likely thread for the Cafe?

I'm with you, frazzled1. I was surprised to find this in the Parents Forum rather than the Cafe. It makes me chuckle a little every time someone says something along the lines of, "But we're not discussing that; we're talking about whether college students should wear sweats on campus!" Um, kinda no, you're not, or not exclusively.

I've followed this thread from start to finish but haven't posted because I've not had anything new to add. Bethievt and alh are my heroes, so that tells you where I stand on the subject. I will say that over the past week I've spent more time actually looking at what people wear than I ever have before. I've noticed nary a pajama bottom, but that's probably because I've not gone near my D's old high school. The only thing I'll add is that I assume people are wearing clean enough underwear absent any noisome evidence to the contrary.

[romanigypsyeyes]

I don't know what those are, either.

I also don't understand the point of having shoes just to walk a few feet. I am not a shoe fan so I just don't get it.

[bethievt]

They used to have shoes like that in the Victorian era. They had to put on a protective layer to really wear them outside.

[Bay]

Knowing full well that this question will tick some people off, it keeps popping back up in my mind.

In our society, is it okay that some people do not care about what clothing they wear, when the vast majority do care?

I know it is one's "right" and "entitlement" to not care, but so is not caring about showering or brushing one's teeth or hair, or shouting rudely at strangers. I don't think anyone on this thread would think that not caring about those things was okay.

So why is it okay to not care if ones' clothing looks sloppy or inappropriate, when people around you care and are forced to see it?

[saintfan]

Sweatshirts with appliques may or may not be an indicator of bad taste or generalized ennui, but they are not an indicator of poor personal hygiene. Maybe that's why some people wear dark glasses inside and on cloudy days. You could try that as a palliative measure.