Fashion is such a hot topic within the college community, it means something different to everyone who partakes in it. I wanted to reach out to some Georgia Southern students and hear their thoughts on the fashion scene at Georgia Southern and also what the illustrious word means to them.

Fashion Merchandising and Apparel Design (FMAD) Senior Naomi Wang believes that fashion is a statement of who you are. 

“It [fashion] helps a lot of people express themselves, like how you’re feeling. I think it’s really just a statement of you and the time, so it can be a political statement, too.”, Wang continues.

When speaking of her own style, Wangs thinks of it as “funky” and speaks on how she likes to go thrifting to find new pieces.

“Yeah, I  like some funkier pieces, I thrift a lot… I would say [speaking on her style], like funky eclectic and then also minimalistic and classic in a weird way.”, Wang describes.

Speaking to another FMAD student, Jessica Batey, fashion represents individual expression to her too.

“Fashion is an art and a form of expression for people wanting to make a statement without actually saying anything. You can tell a lot about a person and how they dress. Fashion also has psychological effects too. Wearing a certain outfit can change the way a person interacts with others and how they feel about themselves. That’s why when you wear an outfit that makes you look good, you feel good too.” Batey believes.

Batey’s style is simple, as she wears, “a lot of neutral, earth tones and I wear a lot of navy blue. Most of my clothes are upcycled from second-hand stores and I alter them to fit me or a specific style. Currently, I’ve been wearing a lot of button-up shirts, paired with a cropped tank top, jeans, or any basic straight-leg pants with converse or doc-martens. I wear a lot of sweaters and sweatshirts as well. I think accessories have a big impact on an outfit and it changes the aesthetic so don’t be afraid to change up your outfit by mixing and matching accessories.”

I was curious about Wang’s opinion on the difference between style and trends and how the two may represent fashion. She clarified her interpretation of the three ideas.

“Everyone has their own personal style, or at least they should develop one if they dont like what they’re currently being labeled as. For trends, it’s more like, they want to hop on the coolest things0 because fashion is always changing… I would say trends are more like they come and they go. I don’t think they’re a bad thing, I think sometimes they’re awesome.”, Wang said.

Fashion is such a personal thing, it helps people develop their own identity and helps people figure out how they want to be perceived. Learning more about what it means to people, especially our fellow students, can help make everyone more comfortable with how they express themselves.

At Georgia Southern, there’s a particular sense of style among some students. It’s very common that college students tend to go for the most comfortable options in their closest.

“You see a lot of people wearing the classic t-shirt and jeans look. College students tend to wear athletic clothes on campus because it allows them to be comfortable going from class to class. I think colleges located in cities tend to have more fashion-forward students than they would in a rural town like Georgia Southern. There are a couple of individual student communities that do stand out though. There are multiple modeling clubs on campus and I see that most of them wear pretty trendy clothes. The skating community, FMAD students, art students, and Sororities tend to follow fashion trends as well, of course, they all have different aesthetics but they keep up with trends.”, Batey said.

Wang also commented on the style influence sorority students may have here at Georgia Southern.

“The people who are the most the biggest influence would probably be the sorority houses. I’ve seen some good stuff come out of there were like some girls who are, mostly, in my major will start their own little thing on instagram and like sell like custom a T-shirts pants, sweats and stuff.”, Wang pointed out.

Batey suggested that you may notice college students getting more into fashion and adding to their closets.

“Overall, college students are more likely to wear comfortable clothing so you won’t see many people dressing up for class. I think it might change over the course of a few years because more and more people are getting into fashion and upgrading their wardrobes. TikTok plays a major role in developing and distributing current fashion trends now especially for high school and college students. A few years ago celebrities on Instagram were the main outlet for the latest trends and before that it was magazines. Some people may hate the clock app, but I think TikTok is the main reason why there’s been an increased interest in fashion.”

There is so much to explore in the world of fashion, especially when it comes to seeing how it influences and affects fellow students on campus. Fashion is what you make of it, and there’s no reason not to try different looks, work out new ideas, and see what style really suits you!