FASHION
Back to School BY BRIT TANY SWEARINGEN
A
sthe fa ll semester approaches at a steadfast past, I have noticed my ambitions about my wardrobe seem to plummet. As a full-time student, there is hardly time to accessorize in the mornings, let a lone craf t a cohesive seasona l aesthetic that ref lects not only externa l trends and themes, but my interna l feeling and state of expression. This summer has been nothing but femme frill in white and off-white dresses. But for fa ll, much like the bourgeoisie of late 1800’s, the white must be put away for the season (except in contrasting pieces, natura lly.) In summer, surrounded by my like-va lued friends and coworkers, I am respected and admired for a solid “ look.” However, on a state campus where ever y man, woman, and other wise wears sweatpants, athletic shorts, and hoodies daily, the culture is not receptive to new and inventive silhouettes. This is not to lay claim that there is bully ing of the st ylish - solely that my more daring ideas and concept pieces are harder to commit to when I k now the drastic stand-out factor exceeds my usua l dosage. I a lso would like to ack nowledge that there are others like me on campus with the same st ylistic va lues - and I do appreciate them - but the population is sparse. Not only is my time and energ y elsewhere during the academic months, but my desire is a lso extremely depleted. The shadow y memories of hours spent in the dimly lit classrooms
of KU’s own Wescoe building loom in my mind ’s eye while tr y ing to create my next season’s staples. It’s not the classes that I mind, or even the poor ventilation, but the woes of winter itself. Seasona l depression affects many people, including me. One of the worst side effects and effectua l causes of this month ’s long plague is my lack of creative motivation. Because my full-time student status is in full gear, this leaves litt le energ y lef t for passions and hobbies. For me, that means I repeat the same four outf its week af ter week until I am on the verge of insanit y. I f ind immense joy in accessorizing and building an ensemble from scratch, and during the bust ling and glooming months, this joy has seemingly vacated my life. Until now. So how can I keep up with my most exciting passion and push past the ‘giving a damn’ of it a ll? As of now, my closest solution is to siphonthe conf idence and energ y I have now and store it for moments of deprivation. In a practica l sense, I’m smuggling content to my future self. I have ta ken photos that inspire me, written to remind me, and I have made friends that encourage me. I imagine myself in the past, when I was si x or seven, bur ying cheap cr ysta ls in my grandma’s backyard only for me to discover, preser ving the game I created for another year by keeping it out of the world.
