Fashion Forward Students Dress to Stand out in the Crowd

Are we as Americans living in a cartoon where we are the characters who wear the exact same outfits every single day, like Spongebob? America isn’t exactly known for setting trends in fashion. In fact, America seems to recycle trends that were in last year or even two years ago from other countries.

For example, have you ever seen those dresses with a plain tank top on the upper half and high-waisted skirt (usually with a floral print) that had a thick band wrapped around it? I first saw that dress in Japan two years before it came out in America.  Of course, not everyone here dresses this casually, but as for the majority, many people tend to lean towards the comfy zone of shorts and shirt.

Being comfortable isn’t a bad thing because generally speaking, our culture is not as formal compared to other societies, but what does our laid-back style of dressing say to the rest of the world about us? We’ve fallen into the shirts and shorts status quo that has come to define us, and has taken away our individuality making us part of a group of people rather than one person.

Dressing differently is a way to express personality traits that cannot be written or described with words, which is why fashion is considered a medium of art. It takes courage and creativity to dress beyond the boundaries of what we consider normal, and the people I have interviewed showed me that they are not afraid to show off their original sense of style.

Kelly Fitzgerald (Chicago, IL):
I met Kelly Fitzgerald in the Riverside building for the second time in my life. The first time I saw her was in Vaughn’s Ultimate Dining. She wore an Indian dress with a scarf wrapped around her head and was carrying a hula hoop. I thought it was rather unusual to see someone who is clearly not Indian wearing an Indian dress. When I met up with her again, she was wearing a fuschia sarang around her neck that was dotted with an intricate silver border, and had a floral bathing suit underneath it. “It’s from Thailand, and many people wear this with a bathing suit,” she explained.  This time I didn’t think any of it was unusual; it was just simply Kelly. As we stared out at the skyline of downtown Tampa, she told me about her transition from branded clothes, such as Hollister and American Eagle, towards the more flamboyant and spontaneous style she dons today. She, like many other tweens in middle school, wanted to be part of the crowd, but it started to get expensive having to keep up with buying the same clothes everyone else was wearing. She compared this experience to her old neighborhood in which all the houses looked exactly the same. A “clone house”, she called it. When she reached high school, she realized she wanted to transform her style into something different, but with clothes that didn’t leave her wallet starving, so she began to look in another place: thrift stores. Her mother’s job was to buy plus-sized clothing from thrift stores and resell them online for a much lower price. After having examined thrift stores as carefully as her mother did, Kelly found clothing better suited to her tastes and were much cheaper than clothes at the mall. “It’s nice to bring more color into the world,” and for Kelly, that color not only comes from the varying range of hues she wears, but also colors from other countries. Her current wardrobe includes garments from India, Thailand, Kenya, Pakistan, Italy, Ecuador and even a few Native American pieces. “I’m so used to people asking me “Why are you wearing that?”. I just say, “Because I feel like it.” And it’s true; Kelly is not trying to make a fashion statement by wearing a combination of artistically mismatched apparel, but more of personalized statement that shows off the colors of her beautiful style.

Daniel (Danny) Hernandez (Bogota, Colombia):

With their clean-cut streamline designs, European fashion has been in style since, well forever. Many European fashion designers often use the highest quality material possible. European brands, such as Gucci and Burberry, often incorporate simple patterns and neutral, yet sophisticated, colors into sleek suits and dresses that are tailor-made to fit perfectly, which is why Danny Hernandez has been a long-time lover of the Old World’s style, and his clothes clearly express this. “Most guys my age don’t care about dressing up, but I enjoy it. I look forward to going into my closet every morning.” His father’s vintage apparel is the true inspiration and basis for Danny’s clean cut style. “My father grew up very fortunate, so he often flew to Europe and bought designer clothes.” The older styles of the designer clothes have faded from today’s modern style, which is exactly why Danny loves them: “Vintage is perfect because it’s a style you wouldn’t see nowadays. I feel like it’s just unique and it has this appeal to it because of its age and all.” I asked if he ever feels over dressed, and he told me he would rather be looked at for being over dressed rather than being under dressed. Danny says it is important to be unique because “it’s a reflection of your personality.”  He describes America’s style of clothing as being “generalized”, and he believes that brands such as Abercrombie and Fitch are where people go to get “nice clothes.” He feels that since most people tend to flock more towards the big name brands, they give off an impression of being lazy because they don’t go out of their way to look for other styles of clothing. Fashion is about personal preference; there is no right or wrong when choosing brand names or styles of clothing, but it tends to become repetitive when all you see are the same logos imprinted on similarly styled clothes that are worn the exact same way.  So if you do go for branded clothing, spice it up with a fun accessory, or layer it with other articles of clothing; add something to it that reflects your personality.

Dominic (Dom) Brilliantes (Tampa, FL)
The change is considerably large when going from European fashion to Asian fashion. As we move from west to east, the clothes become more detailed, and less simplistic. Basically, Asian clothes are the complete opposite of European clothes. Instead of radiating an air of suave elegance like European styles, Asian styles gravitate more towards looks which appeal to younger generations, such as biker fashion and dainty lace dresses with floral prints. Dom Brilliantes is one of the few individuals I have seen with Asian swag since I’ve gotten to Tampa. I would know because I live in Japan, which is considered one of the fashion capitals of the world. Dom’s parents stressed the importance of making a good first impression through his clothes, and so he has carefully heeded their words. “In my high school, I was one of the two guys who got nominated for trendsetter.” Of course you don’t have to push yourself to be a trendsetter, or get nominated to be one, to show the world that you have style. All you need are clothes and accessories that you know shout out your matchless identity to the world.  When I asked Dom about his thoughts on American brands, he said: “I think brands are overdone, but they have some nice clothes. Their graphic tee’s are too generic, though.” Dom says he likes Asian fashion because there is never just one trend, and it so it’s easier to express oneself.  However, Asian fashion is very extreme, so he says he likes to “Americanize” it by toning down his flashy shirts with mellow cardigans and maybe even a pair of jeans. A final word of advice from Dom: “If you look good, you’ll have a good day.”

Tara Temkar can be reached at taratemkar.minaret@gmail.com