3 minute read
Back To School
FASHION
Back to School
BY BRITTANY SWEARINGEN
As the fall 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 alone craft a cohesive seasonal aesthetic that reflects not only external trends and themes, but my internal feeling and state of expression.
This summer has been nothing but femme frill in white and off-white dresses. But for fall, much like the bourgeoisie of late 1800’s, the white must be put away for the season (except in contrasting pieces, naturally.) In summer, surrounded by my like-valued friends and coworkers, I am respected and admired for a solid “look.” However, on a state campus where every man, woman, and otherwise 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 bullying of the stylish - solely that my more daring ideas and concept pieces are harder to commit to when I know the drastic stand-out factor exceeds my usual dosage. I also would like to acknowledge that there are others like me on campus with the same stylistic values - and I do appreciate them - but the population is sparse.
Not only is my time and energy elsewhere during the academic months, but my desire is also extremely depleted. The shadowy memories of hours spent in the dimly lit classrooms of KU’s own Wescoe building loom in my mind’s eye while trying 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.
Seasonal depression affects many people, including me. One of the worst side effects and effectual 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 little energy left for passions and hobbies. For me, that means I repeat the same four outfits week after week until I am on the verge of insanity. I find immense joy in accessorizing and building an ensemble from scratch, and during the bustling and glooming months, this joy has seemingly vacated my life.
Until now.
As of now, my closest solution is to siphonthe confidence and energy I have now and store it for moments of deprivation. In a practical sense, I’m smuggling content to my future self. I have taken 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 six or seven, burying cheap crystals in my grandma’s backyard only for me to discover, preserving the game I created for another year by keeping it out of the world.
Halle Swearingen
“So how can I keep up with my most exciting passion and push past the ‘giving a damn’ of it all?”
Brittany in the Leaves
Halle Swearingen
Thanks to the smart phone on my person at all times, capturing moments, thoughts, and feelings remains much easier than digging a hole. The only matter that requires thought is the storage. I have folders all across my life, physical and digital, set up for my future discovery. Like finding a dollar in your jeans you forgot was there - a gift from past me to future me - except now I’m planting the dollar.
The extensive mind space I have afforded myself in these summer months will end when my priorities shift gears, but the gains don’t have to. I can take all of the artistic creations from the here into the future months, when my physical, mental, and emotional resources may be depleted. And though I don’t intend to be a mental health specialist - or even present this as a revolutionary idea - if the aforementioned aforementioned thoughts supply the nudge of motivation and creativity to do this for yourself, then all the better!
