Column: The FIndex, a tool that tracks college fashion

Recently, I was made aware of a study that created the FIndex, or Fashion Innovation Index, that was created by researchers at IU’s Kelley School of Business Center for Education and Research in Retailing.

Designed to follow college students’ fashion “habits,” the study showed that students have less money than last year.

However, despite the lack of income, they are spending the majority of their money on clothes.

The study listed common retailers in which students’ money is being poured such as Urban Outfitters, J. Crew, Free People and fast fashion retailers like H&M and Forever 21.

Honestly, this is no surprise to me.

Urban Outfitters, the first retailer listed in the article I read, is practically designed for college students. They have special college days designed to drastically raise revenue. With that being said, I thought this study stated the obvious.

What was interesting was how it reached out to its research subjects. The study focused on the 600 style writers from campus fashion blog CollegeFashionista.

I thought it was interesting to see the study take advantage of the wide-ranged network that online media provides. Sometimes it feels as if fashion and lifestyle blogs are buried in the depths of the Internet, never to be found. It was encouraging to see one of these blogs featured in a major study.

Despite the fact that I felt the study was a bit self-explanatory, as shopping can be comparable to breathing to a woman of any age, I did enjoy that it will have a benefit to our retail future.

There are times when I wonder if major retailers like department stores forget about us younger people. I understand they have to cater to a wide age range, but there is a lot of frivolous spending occurring on college campuses nationwide that could be maximized. I was in a local Macy’s this weekend and it was virtually void of college students.

The article mentioned that the study’s findings would be given to “large stores,” presumable the aforementioned department stores, so I am eager to see the reaction.

­— audperki@indiana.edu