LINDSEY BOERMA
Living Assistant
The glamorous stereotype of the Los Angles area is often associated with a keen sense of style and fashion. Legendary shopping locations such as Rodeo Drive make for an abundance of fashion opportunities that many serious shoppers spend their entire lives dreaming about.
As residents of this area, Pepperdine students have the fashion world at their fingertips. Yet, trying to pay for college tuition while keeping up with the latest trends could be enough to leave students fashionably deprived.
Despite the resulting financial setbacks, students have made it clear that keeping up with what they believe to be fashionable is a valuable means of self-expression.
“The part of fashion that most defines you is not so much the pants and shirts, because everyone’s going to have the same style of those,” said senior advertising major Tristan Hack. “It’s more the accessories that really create people — hats, scarves, the size of bracelets they have on or how many bracelets they’re wearing.”
However, many students, such as Justin Ibrahim, a junior majoring in integrated marketing and communication, say their peers are not taking advantage of this opportunity for individuality.
“What I really miss about fashion is that it can be an outlet for expression,” Ibrahim said. “But, around here especially, there’s the whole conformity of celebrity influence. Paris Hilton could wear a potato sack, and I swear people would start to wear it.”
Sarah Hollingsworth, a junior psychology major, agrees that conformity is prominent on Pepperdine’s campus.
“If you get enough people to wear something, you’re promoting conformity,” she said. “In Malibu there are certain trends that people are likely to conform to. I actually find it comical how people adapt to their environment being on a small campus.”
Some students, such as freshman Courtney Price who said he hopes to break into the fashion industry someday, believe that cliques on campus are partially to blame for this increasing lack of individuality.
“As far as individuality goes, a lot of people just go with what they think is the Pepperdine uniform,” Price said. “I don’t see a lot of difference, especially with sororities. They all have their own little look, and that’s fine, but it doesn’t really promote self-expression.”
Yet, even when they are not donning clothing from organizations to which they belong, some students walking around campus seem to be pieces of one large fashion mosaic. Among the common trends of today is the return of 80s garb.
“I definitely would say that the 80s are coming back with the leggings and belts, although the neon color and geometric patterns are yet to come,” said freshman Elizabeth Reeder.
A number of other trends are also popular, such as boots, skinny jeans and designer purses.
This conformity on Pepperdine’s campus stretches beyond merely the styles of clothing that students wear. Many prefer to shop in the same stores.
Easily the most popular response among women on where to shop is Forever 21, a store that offers everything from dress clothes to casual wear. It also offers a variety of accessories.
Men opt for clothing from American Eagle and department stores, such as Kohl’s.
The Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica is also a popular place for students to browse clothing, as it is near campus and offers a diverse range of choices.
Not to be forgotten is online shopping, which students agree has transformed into one of the most popular means of purchasing clothing. Many say they like to shop online because it is both convenient and enjoyable.
“I like [online shopping] because you don’t actually have to leave your house,” Price said.
Other students, such as freshman Lauren Forbes, find the risk of online shopping enough to keep them from actually doing it.
“It’s fun to look at clothes online, but you never know how it’s going to fit, so it’s not a good idea,” Forbes said.
Hollingsworth agreed.
“If you’re shopping online from a store that you always shop from, it’s OK, but only if you know what size you’d be in their clothing,” Hollingsworth said.
Yet, regardless of how students purchase their clothing, most hold fashion in high regard to their own personal form of expression, whether it be a statement of individuality or way to fit in with peers.
“A lot of people try to dress in a way that says ‘I don’t care about what I’m wearing’ when, in fact, they really do,” Hack said. “It seems like a lot of people walk into a room hoping that everyone will look at them. Everyone, whether they have the attitude or not, wants their fashion to be noticed.”
11-02-2006