Fashionable mention given to IU

Ranks and lists have not created the best perception of academic life at IU lately, but the school's latest mention in the media offers a more appealing status. A recent issue of Women's Wear Daily says when it comes to fashion, IU boasts not only model students, but student models. \nIn its annual college edition released earlier this month, the publication gave IU an honorable mention on its list of the nation's most fashionable campuses. Reporters researched more than 60 schools for the tribute. The article lauds IU's apparel merchandising program for its respect in the industry and the success of its students, and deems IU a "style oasis." Students are credited with a New York sense of fashion, despite Bloomington's distance from a cosmopolitan city. \n"Unlike students at their heartland neighbors like University of Michigan or Notre Dame, Indiana students are keenly aware of labels and their attendant status," IU's profile says. \nKathleen Rowold, a professor in the apparel merchandising department and curator of the Elizabeth Sage Historic Costume Collection, said she thinks the recognition is noteworthy and fair.\n"I'm very happy with the context IU was mentioned, because it was based on academic programs, the Elizabeth Sage Exhibit, the Bill Blass show and art on campus in general," Rowold said. "I think it was more thoughtful and interesting than to just say it was most fashionable."\nRowold described Women's Wear Daily, which is a trade newspaper, as the "Bible of the retail industry."\nMeenal Mistry, a reporter from the paper, spent two days in Bloomington interviewing students, faculty and board members. Rowold said Mistry talked with the apparel merchandising department, the art department and the College of Arts and Sciences placement office. She also gave students surveys regarding their favorite fashions, stores and brands of clothing. \nRowold said Mistry was particularly impressed with the job offers and experiences apparel merchandising students were getting.\n"She was very impressed with the range and nature of internships our students received and the employability of our students," she said.\nSophomore Lisa Burton is an apparel merchandising major and said she hopes for a career in designing or buying. She said the apparel merchandising program has been beneficial to her goals. \n"It's good at letting you know what you're getting into," she said. "And the professors are helpful, because they've done a lot."\nBurton said she feels fashion is important to students in general. She said she thinks style is an important way to fit in socially and described the dress she sees on campus as casual but very trendy. \nJunior Stephanie Benjamin, an art major, said fashion is much like studying art.\n"It's a way of self-expression," Benjamin said.\nShe noted that clothes students wear tend to be casual and that many people have their own style. \nBurton and Benjamin stressed that fashion success comes from wearing what flatters a person, not necessarily from what a trend dictates.\nRowold said she thinks style on campus reflects IU's appreciation for artistic qualities, which schools focused on engineering or architecture may not be so attuned to.\n"We have more museums; we have a strong fine arts program, a strong music program," she said. "In addition to academic programs there's an aesthetic value, which makes us more sensitive to adornment issues"