<p>A few questions since I’m working on packing today</p>
<ol>
<li>How cold does it get in the South (I’m going to school in South Carolina)?</li>
<li>I have heard that people in the south “dress up” more. I live in the north where people wear pajamas to school haha, what kind of clothes are appropriate/recommended?</li>
</ol>
<p>Thanks a lot
-Pierre</p>
<p>I thought the pajama thing had died out everywhere.</p>
<p>In a similar vein – what kind of covers does a student in the South need for his/her bed?</p>
<p>On the one hand, it doesn’t get as cold as in the North, but on the other, air-conditioning can make a room pretty chilly for sleeping.</p>
<p>You will need:
flip flops
running shoes
possibly Top Siders (if you’re into that)
khaki shorts
khaki pants for any dress up type occasion
athletic shorts
t-shirts
polo type shirts
long sleeve thermal knit shirts (winter)
jeans
sweat pants
college hoody sweatshirt(s)
zip up polar fleece jacket
lightweight water repellant jacket w/ hood</p>
<p>The only people you’ll likely see dressed up at Clemson will be the Frats/Sororities.
If you decide to rush you might need some more dress-up clothes.</p>
<p>fendrock…both my S’s took reg. comforters…not big puffy down ones…just the generic kind you get at Target or BBB.
Both of mine (at diff. schools) had controls in their rooms so were able to regulate the temps. Being guys, they wanted it as cold as possible! I remember both saying the heat made the room so stuffy in winter that they kept their windows open a lot.</p>
<p>Bedding stuff can really vary. If your airco/heat system is not too good, you’ll want a comforter in the winter and just some sheets or a thin blanket for the summer. If it’s a newer building with really good climate control, it won’t be a big deal - just whatever you prefer - medium blanket or something.</p>
<p>overalls and a straw hat.</p>
<p>Just so no one gets mad - I live in the south - and actually my husband does wear overalls. He even wore them on our trip to Europe (think London, Paris, Rome) a few years back, despite my strict orders that he was not to.</p>
<p>My daughter found that the students in South Carolina tended to dress more preppy and less trendy than her classmates in Pennsylvania. I was thrilled because the preppy stuff tends to be more classic and lasts from season to season. For a guy,you can go just about anywhere in khakis and a polo shirt!</p>
<p>It does get cold in the South, just not as cold as you are used to, and for a smaller time period during the year. You’ll need sweatshirts, long sleeve shirts, fleeces, and pants, but you might not need them initially if you’ll be home before Thanksgiving. </p>
<p>As far as the dressing up, I’d bring a few polos and khaki shorts, but you don’t need a stacked closet full of polos and button downs.</p>
<p>^ exactly, don’t go crazy and have an entire “stacked closet full of polos and button downs.” That would be like moving to NYC and having every single piece of clothing black.</p>
<p>Oh! I’ll tell you something Yankees don’t expect: it can be freezing <em>in the summer</em> – indoors. Southerners invented air conditioning, and they <em>LOVE</em> the stuff. During the spring/summer/fall, you can end up in places indoors where it’s 64-68 degrees regularly. Classrooms, dorms, etc – depending on how new they are and how good the A/C, you may need a sweatshirt until you get used to it. </p>
<p>When I moved from the South to NYC (and California) I had the same experience both places – it felt hotter there than it ever had in Georgia, because people don’t use as much A/C and don’t keep it on as long through the year. </p>
<p>Other than that, remember to keep a nice outfit that’s a little dressier – a coat jacket and tie for young men, a dress with actual hose for young ladies. There are some activities you might participate in that will have a bit dressier feel than you might be used to, but not necessarily every day stuff. Churches, receptions, stuff like that.</p>
<p>Make sure you have an umbrella. The collapsible type that will fit in a backpack because it does rain more frequently than you might expect although usually for shorter duration.</p>
<p>Best way to deal with cooler/colder weather is to layer. Having both a lightweight and mid/heavy weight fleece will cover much of the year’s variations.</p>
<p>You’re going to be hot most of the time simply because we are all bundling up when it is 60 degrees outside, and you’ll think it’s balmy weather. I agree with the posters above. Lots of shorts and tee shirts with a few dress duds “just in case”. </p>
<p>For winter, just bring some of your warm wear. Most will probably feel too hot to you, especially your first year, but it does get cold in the Carolinas in the winter.</p>
<p>Make sure you also have a pair of everyday sneakers to walk around in - saves on blisters you might get while walking across campus in flip flops and/or trying to ride a bike in flip flops. (There’s nothing worse that catching an open toe on something when riding a bike.) </p>
<p>You might also consider cotton sheets instead of jersey/flannel, etc. Finding that cool spot on the cotton in the middle of night can keep you comfortable when sleeping.</p>
<p>Oh yeah, remember to bring shades. It’s much sunnier down south during the winter months than it is in Mass.</p>
<p>My daughter is attending school in North Carolina and we live in Florida. She needed to buy serious winter clothes. She resisted Ugg boots, but now considers them a necessity. Also she needed to buy rain boots and a North Face jacket. This year she wants a wool coat. She borrowed a coat from her Massachusetts roommate, who had many coats. So, it gets cold in NC and it snows too. South Carolina might be warmer, but it can still snow.</p>
<p>I agree that students dress up more than in the North and Florida schools too. Flip flops are still a must and I agree with the polos and khakis for guys.</p>
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<p>As a Southerner who went North for college, YES to this. And in my experience, when it is cold, Southerners crank the heat up higher than Northerners. One thing you will have to get used to is the large temperature differences between inside and outside. Of course, there are college dorms that, unlike ~everywhere else in the South, don’t have central air conditioning, in which case you will want to pick up a window unit someplace.</p>
<p>You will want lots of shorts and t-shirts, some decent sandals (not just flip-flops, but durable sandals that you can wear around - more comfortable in the warm weather than socks and clothes-toed shoes), your standard socks and sneakers, a raincoat, a bathing suit, and light-colored (you’ll get less overheated that way) dress-up clothes (like khakis). If you are fair-skinned, you will want sun protection (in the form of sunscreen, hat, whatever).</p>
<p>Clemson is well into the Piedmont, almost in the Appalachians, so yes, it does get cold in the winter (not as cold as you are used to, but cold enough for a winter coat), and it does snow (albeit not as much or often as you are used to). Be prepared for none of the locals to actually know how to deal with snow at all - everybody will freak out and stock up on food, drivers will be crazy, many businesses will shut down, the news weather stations will be reporting on “the blizzard” even if there’s only half an inch of snow on the ground. Another thing to keep in mind is that winter, while it gets cold in that part of the South, is pretty <em>short</em> compared to what you are used to, and spring and fall are warmer than what you normally think of as spring and fall.</p>
<p>Think J. Crew - casual but put-together. Khaki shorts are a must, but Bermudas, not cargo shorts - also, as long as you don’t go overboard, colored shorts (think salmon) tend to be embraced more at southern schools. Polos are popular, but back some lightweight button-downs or oxfords for game day (that’s where most people get the idea about southern schools being “dressy” - Saturdays at the stadium!). Top Siders are comfortable and classic, and you can wear them without socks when it’s warmer or with socks when it gets cooler. North Face or Columbia fleece jackets are good for when it starts to get cooler, especially at night.</p>
<p>
This. Absolutely no cargos.</p>
<p>
You’ll definitely want a pair or two of these - I can guarantee you that I dress how most people think of when they think “big Southern public university on game day”. Polos (Polo, Brooks Brothers, Vineyard Vines, etc.), Button-downs, polo t-shirts, various twill shorts, topsiders, etc. You don’t have to be as extreme as me, but following some of these suggestions are very good ideas.</p>
<p>Are they still Duckhead shorts? When I was college student in the South, it was Duckheads and button downs/polos for that crowd. Boat shoes without socks, definitely.</p>
<p>What’s the female equivalent of the khaki bermuda with salmon golf shirt and topsiders?</p>
<p>Not that my daughter would wear it… but I am curious!</p>