When fashion turns disastrous

Gabrijel Gelic is a sophomore majoring in finance.

Sometimes, even I am surprised to see the lengths girls are willing to go to just to gain men’s attention. A couple days ago, a friend and I were taking a stroll around Bloomington when we noticed a couple of poorly-dressed girls entering a gas station. Naturally, as any dedicated fashion followers would have done, we followed them inside to see what would happen. And, oh boy, were we shocked when we entered the gas station.

Upon entrance, we witnessed two young women, no doubt students, skulking around the gas station in their barely-there ensembles. My friend knew I was about to make a comment to them, so he gave me that “You-better-not-make-a-scene” look. I just looked them up and down, then turned around and left wondering what these girls were wearing.

One girl had on booty shorts that were barely covering her privates, a white blouse with only the bottom three buttons buttoned and a vest that had the top button uncovered – in other words, her breasts were hanging out. Her accomplice in crime was wearing a gray tank top that I’m assuming was supposed to serve as a dress. Did I mention that the back of the “tank” had a V-cut extending all the way to her lower back?

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m all for sexy. But if I saw my own sister dressed like that, I’m pretty positive I’d lock her up and never let her go out again. I’m sure you girls know better than to think dressing cheap is fashionable. There are plenty of ways to look sexy, attractive and desirable and none of those include you losing your reputation. You don’t see Gisele or Tyra parading around in booty shorts and belly tanks. The first thing you need to understand is that skin does not necessarily equal sexy. Of course, it’s important to show some skin, but the less you show the classier you will appear.

Take a tube dress for example. It’s sexy, it’s fashionable, it shows skin, yet it’s appropriate for going out. And you can always throw on a cardigan or mini-jacket in case you’re feeling more conservative. Let’s not forget about the hundreds of dresses, skirts, shorts, tops, jackets and accessories out there that are very sexy but classy at the same time. If you have to ask yourself if something is trashy, chances are it is.

Let’s be real ladies – gentlemen are not attracted to trashy girls who look like they just got mugged and lost half their outfit. My final advice to you: When thinking of a party outfit, think of something you’d be comfortable wearing at the VMAs, or the MTV Awards, and you’ll be just fine. The point of this week’s column is simply to ensure that the parties at IU don’t start resembling brothels and instead are the leaders of style and elegance that other universities can look up to.

Let’s keep it classy, IU.