For a day, I walked around Locust Walk feeling like either a poacher or a casting director for a NYC modeling agency. On a warm, sunny afternoon last week, I looked around campus for nice outfits, to see if students’ clothing were bright enough to remedy the campus of its seasonal affective disorder. In honor of the new warmth, here are some trends I saw in our community that can serve as your next outfit inspiration (or depending on your perspective, cautionary tale).
Winter was long and full of too much grey Philly snow. But now that the snow has melted, so have the leather jackets. The leather jacket, layered over anything your heart could desire, could turn a basic fit into the style of a French film protagonist. But now those jackets are thrown over the shoulder, held in hand, or kept in the closet—at least until the weather wants to pretend like it’s January again.
The cowboy boot has made its case for permanence. Houston is only 1,500 miles away from Penn’s campus, the perfect distance for you to break out lived–in, tan, or weathered black boots that look like a family heirloom. These boots are made for walking, and that’s just what they’ll do as you can see them stomping across Locust Walk paired with wide–leg jeans, midi skirts, or the chaotic spirit of a student who still doesn’t know what they’re doing this summer. Cowboy boots are the perfect trend, not as ephemeral as they are grounded in the old passage of time, shown by the scuff marks on their toes.
Alongside the boot, and in some ways its aesthetic opposite, the ballerina flat has returned on our campus. This soft, gentle, effortlessly expensive–looking shoe is perfect for someone who has read The Bell Jar or whose camera roll is filled with photos of the cherry blossoms surrounding College Hall. When these delicate flats meet a sundress, you know that spring has officially sprung, and you should start preparing for gossipy picnics taking over your study time.
But when I looked to photograph these outfits, studying what inspires our campus—whether passion or performativity—I couldn’t help but notice a common trend in my chosen subjects. Most of them were freshmen or sophomores. Actually, I struggled to find upperclassmen with outfits that were draped in intention. Instead, I saw my fellow juniors or seniors rocking sweatpants, free merch from their major, or dark circles under their eyes. But the warm weather can change anyone, and hope from a spring sun can break through any haze about theses or post–grad applications.
College is the opportunity to build yourself as the person you want to be, reshaping your external identity one newly bought shirt at a time. But once you’ve settled into your academic journey, you’ve also settled into a comfortable position of selfhood that will not waiver even if you forgot to put on all ten rings this morning. In this way, the humble appearance of upperclassmen is in and of itself a look. It is the look of someone who has already been seen and is now busy doing something else. Maybe it’s elegance, even if not well–formed for my spring fashion photo essay.
Clothes are what you make of them. Why not wear a tee pulled over your neck for a chic, new interpretation of a shirt?
Spring on Penn’s campus is a document, because once the leather jackets have been shed, we can see what was hiding underneath. Maybe that was happiness shrouded by the dark clouds of winter, or maybe it was a reminder that we are people with creativity and passion.