I don't like labels...except on my clothes

*This started out as an article for my New Writing class, and my professor loved it. It's part of what sparked my interest in writing about fashion.

College students on campuses around the country are picking up the trend of dressing to impress. The hallway is their runway.

            Jaclyn Campis, 18, a freshman pre-med major, leaves her dorm room at Vanderbilt University in the morning wearing her Burberry shirt, American Eagle Jeans, Steve Madden Boots, a Fossil White watch and a Coach wristlet. So what’s the grand total for her ensemble?

It’s a whopping $570. And that’s not including all her accessories.

College students all over the United States have gone from wardrobes of sweatpants and sneakers to designer labels and unique fashions. To students like Campis, dressing well is essential, even if they are just walking to class.

“It commands respect and it feels good and people respect you because you dress well. It just looks professional,” she said. Every time students turn a corner there is a chance to make an impression.

Robert Romaniello, a senior social science major at Ramapo College of New Jersey, wears a dress shirt and slacks, a tie, and a vest every day, no matter where he’s going. But that’s not because he thinks it’s important to dress well on campus.

“I kind of look at college as a consequence free zone. I dress like this because I like it and I know I look good like this,” he said.

And while Romaniello and Campis have similar tastes in fashion, their schools couldn’t be more different. Vanderbilt University has approximately 12,000 students and is in a metropolitan area in Nashville. Ramapo College has a little more than 6,000 students and is in a small suburban town in New Jersey.

Clearly a school has nothing to do with how many fashionable students reside on its campus. The phenomenon is taking over campuses everywhere.

Years ago college students were defined by their uniforms and loafers. Now style is many students’ favorite form of self-expression. But not everyone is in agreement about the importance of fashion.

 "I don’t really see the importance,” said Devon Lappin, a freshman nursing major at Ramapo. “Not that I don’t dress well, but still.”

Tom Colella, 18, a freshman history major from Ramapo, said, “I wear whatever’s on top of my pile of clothes. I mean I won’t dress like a slob. I don’t like when people do that. That annoys me.”

Even when students are feeling lazy, they aren’t dressing lazy. Graphic tees and jeans just don’t cut it anymore.

Diarra White, 18, a freshman at Columbia University told the New York Times last year, “I’m not a sweats and t-shirt kind of person. Even at the library I’ll see people in heels.”

Whether you’re going to study or going to a party, you never know who you might want to impress. “Besides…” White added to the Times, “You never know who you’re going to see in the library.”

Students are putting a lot of pressure on themselves to look the part they want to convey to others. This resonates especially strongly among students going to fashion-oriented schools.

Mark Bankin, 18, from Holmdel High School, took summer classes at Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City and witnessed this first hand.

“They dress extremely eccentrically. Think Lady Gaga or hipsters with lots of money,” he said. “If you dress average people will judge you or think you’re bland.”

In an area as hip and cosmopolitan as New York, college students have all sorts of styles and love to make statements with their outfits. 

“Everyone quotes a subway sign. It says, ‘New Yorkers aren’t better than anyone else. We just dress like it,’” said Natalia Lehaf, 20, a sophomore journalism major at New York University. “Some people spend a lot of money on their clothes too.”

Some students think it’s very important to dress well, and that the money you put into your wardrobe is an investment in your future. But if the way students are getting noticed and finding opportunities is by wearing expensive outfits, is this fair to the average broke college student?

Studies have shown that employers are more inclined to hire applicants that appear attractive. What you wear right down to your shoes may make the difference, enough to get you that call back after an interview.

Maybe everything really does come with a price. And an expensive one at that! But not all students think you need to break the bank to have a stellar wardrobe, or that it’s right to judge someone solely based on what they wear.

“I don’t think it’s fair at all,” said Lidia Kim, 19, a freshman nursing major at Ramapo College of New Jersey. “And I also don’t think you need to spend a lot on your clothes to look nice. You can be clever.”

But what does it mean to be clever about your shopping? For many students it’s going to the same pricey clothing stores, but never paying full retail.

“I buy dress shirts and ties to wear for everyday and for interviews. But I wouldn’t buy any of them if they weren’t on sale. I don’t go into Express without coupons or a gift card,” said Jon Mangel, a freshman political science major at Ramapo.

He added, “You don’t need to spend a lot of money to look professional. It’s about finding the sales, or going to the department stores and finding the clearance rack.”

This is especially true for women’s fashion. Runway styles come with a hefty price tag, but girls still manage to find ways to keep up with the latest trends.

“Students can watch fashion shows live on the runway,” Zephyr Basine, editor of Collegefashion.net told the New York Times last year. “They can see what people are wearing on the other side of the globe. Trends are now dispersed faster than ever.”

Websites like “Runway Rundown” and Seventeen.com give girls tips on how to get the same looks on the runway for less. And when you’re stuck on campus writing papers and studying for finals, you’ve got to get crafty about finding deals on clothes.

Students everywhere are caring more about what they wear, whether they are spending a lot of a little, or dressing for an interview or a walk to class. But the consensus among most students is that regardless of where they are going or who they are seeing, they dress for themselves and no one else.

 Mike Samlall, 18, a freshman finance major at Ramapo, said, “If you’ve got it wear it. I know I look good.” He then cleverly quoted his favorite store, Express’s slogan:

 “Dress to express, not to impress. I think that should apply to everyone.”