Ocober 13, 1987
The Compass
Page 5
ECSU’s Fash ions
Hot
I
m
i
College students are “going crazy over acid washed (pre-faded) jeans” this fall, and Shawna
Everett is in fashion in her matching acid washed jeans, jacket, and top.
Debbie Runnells has found
very “hot” in fall fashions.
the answer to the hot days of fall. Wearing a cool mini skirt is
Photos by Robin Sawyer -
Campus fashions ‘changing radically^
The 60s return: faded jeans in
By Mike O’Keeffe
(CPS)
Campus fashions are
changing radically this
fall, but no one is sure if
it means students are becoming
as radical as their clothes.
“I don’t know if it’s a political
statement,” said Valerie Cartier
of Minneapolis’ Haute Stuff bou
tique, a shop popular among Uni
versity of Minnesota students.
“But it is a statement.”
“It’s the return of the ’60s,” as
serted Larry Schatzman of the
Unique Clothing Warehouse, a
[Greenwich Village store fre-
;9uented by New York University
iStudehts.
. Whatever it is, America’s col-
^lege students are mellowing out
.lieir wardrobes this fall: tie-
lyes, jeans and mini skirts are
Ji, and the pressed, preppy look
s out, various fashion observers
''igree.
“Even sorority girls aren’t
vearing very preppy clothes this
all,” Cartier reported.
“Students are dressing the way
they’re living,” Cartier said.
“They’re not sitting at home and
planning their outfits for an
hour.”
“When I was a freshman I
really didn’t fit in,” recalled Tim
Lum, a Boston College senior.
“The campus was really into the
preppy stuff, and I really felt out
At NYU, students are “going
crazy over acid-washed (pre
faded) jeans. And tie-dye has
come back in a very big way.
Leather jackets and pants are
also popular, especially if they
have a distressed look.”
Another old style is returning.
“Mini skirts are very big right
now,” explained Nancy Cooley of
44
America’s college students are
mellowing out their wardrobes this
fall: tie-dyes, jeans and mini skirts
are in, and the pressed, preppy
look is out, various fashion observ
ers agree, ^ ^
of place. I feel a lot more com
fortable now. I could never wear
those preppy things.”
the Ritz, just off the University of
Colorado campus. “Short skirts
are hot.”
^'*'>nya Singletary (left), Carol Brown (center), and Felicite Williams (right) have the fash-
look for fall at ECSU. Denim skirts and jackets and short skirts are “very big right
ow.’
Also big among college stu
dents are silk skirts and shirts,
’40s pleated pants and slinky
dresses.
“Women,” Cartier added, “are
wearing big hoop earrings, thick
belts and chunky jewelry. Any
one who hung onto that stuff now
has a real treasure.”
Owners of stores on or near
campuses say things like Army
surplus pants, Guatemalan wrist
bands, oversized sweaters and
jackets are selling quickly, while
rich, traditional colors like plum
and forest green are in.
Out are torn-neck T-shirts, tur
quoise and silver jewelry, stirrup
pants, designer jeans, polyesters
and big tune boxes.
Schatzman counsels that, al
though ’80s students are inter
ested in ’60s fashion, they may
not be interested in “serious” is
sues.
His store stocks dozens of goofy
toys ranging from water pistols
to plastic dinosaurs to paddle
balls. “We sell an awful lot of yo
yos,” Schatzman said. “It’s fun.
It’s an 80s mentahty.”
The mentality also apparently
includes an eye for a bargain, or,
as University of Colorado student
government leader Perry Dino
calls it, “value shoppin’.”
Dino foresakes trendy “vintage
clothing” shops for Salvation
Army outlets, Ckxxlwill stores
and Disabled American Veterans
shops. “I’m talking’ values
here,” Dino cracked.
“People who spend huge coin
on designer names think they’re
lookin’ real sweet, but it’s really
sad. If you buy a Polo shirt for
$30, that’s huge coin spent on
symbolism. Now, if you spend
that much, you better have five
or six items to show for it.”
Dino believes the change in
fashion reflects a change in stu
dent attitudes. Like their ’60s
counterparts, late ’80s students
are interested in political and so
cial activism.
“I think a lot of people are re
ady to sign the Port Huron
statement again,” Dino said, ref
erring to the manifesto that be
gan Students for a Democratic
Society, one of the most impor
tant sixties leftist groups.
He reasoned there are similari
ties between the Vietnam War
and the Reagan administration’s
Central American policies, and
that students are more interested
in environmental movements,
civil rights and other issues.
But musical tastes also influ
ence fashion trends, said Judy
Fleisher, the manager of Oona’s,
a used clothing store near the
Yale campus in New Haven,
Conn.
U2 lead singer Bono’s leather
fringe jacket spurred sales of
similar jackets, while the Grate
ful Dead’s latest tour sparked in
terest in tie-dyes, faded jeans and
other hippie regalia.
But Boston College’s Lum fig
ures the whole thing is just a
trend that will pass in the near
future. “It’s a reaction against
the preppy thing.”
“Right now it’s trendy not to be
concerned with clothes. At BO,
ripped jeans are really big. Pep^
pie are even ripping their jeans
on purpose. These are the same
girls who two years ago were
wearing the plaid skirts.”
Photo by Robin Sawyer
Steve Smith makes his fashion statement for fall in ripped
jeans, tie-dyed shirt and leather jacket. “What, me
trendy?” Smith said.
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