It was this question Scott Burgins, a journalism instructor for J-342: Magazine Reporting, asked his students Tuesday morning.
No, Bloomington is not Manhattan, nor London — it is not even close to the style on the streets of L.A. Does this mean students do not think about how they dress?
To many, that is not what fashion is about. Fashion is identifying yourself, creating an image that represents you. Fashion is a statement. It’s comprehensive, it’s emblematic, it’s ephemeral.
Do you dress simply? In pastels and blue jeans, sneakers and white T-shirts?
Or are you “on trend?” Do you wear the latest brogues, a calf-length dress beneath a blazer and accent with a bold lip?
“What you are wearing was decided in New York and L.A. 12 months ago, maybe 18,” Burgins said.
It takes some time for trends to reach the masses, but if you know designers are inspired by the streets, perhaps Bloomington is the trendsetter.
Vogue magazine’s Ten Best Dressed this week features Amal Clooney and Selena Gomez, both in functional flats, roaming London and New York City in flowy skirts and chic tanks.
If these style icons can make fashion comfortable and practical, students can, too.
Around campus, girls are layering necklaces and wearing wide-brimmed glasses. They are wearing crop tops with distressed jeans, and, of course, gym attire with the latest Nike Frees.
They are wearing their hair in top-knots and letting their skin go natural — makeup was so last season.
Thanks to Cara Delevingne, a British supermodel who was spotted during Fashion Week in 2013 hustling between shows with her childhood cobalt backpack, knapsacks are back.
IU students are still rocking their Jansports and North Faces, but Moschino and Chanel had to get the idea for their ready-to-wear bags from somewhere.
Tuesday has become the new Thursday, and many seniors spent their first day of class on the patio at Kilroy’s.
How do they make their look go from class to weekend?
“I would wear jeans and a V-neck and bring a leather jacket,” junior Colleen McClintic said. ”People wear booties to class all the time.”
Comfort for class-time is key, and during the late summer months, it is important to stay chic in the heat.
“I love my Birkenstocks,” junior Brianne Pomierski said. ”I’m usually wearing a basic T-shirt with denim or Vodi shorts from Brandy Melville.”
Contrary to the beliefs of some, fashion affects us all.
Meryl Streep’s infamous quote in “The Devil Wears Prada” to Anne Hathaway, who plays her second-assistant, in the Anna Wintour and Vogue magazine-inspired drama, re-establishes this importance:
“This ... stuff ... You think it has nothing to do with you. You go to your closet and you select, I don’t know, that lumpy blue sweater for instance ... But what you don’t know is that that sweater is not just blue. It’s not turquoise. It’s not lapis. It’s actually cerulean,” Streep said.
“That blue represents millions of dollars and countless jobs ... you think that you’ve made a choice that exempts you from the fashion industry when, in fact, you’re wearing the sweater that was selected for you by the people in this room ... from a pile of stuff.”
