Art College Fashion Report: Week One

This week was the first week of Freshers' Fortnight. The College is now filled with students, which feels really strange and unsettling after the months of peace, quiet and near-emptiness. It is quite overwhelming and I know it is going to take a while for me to get to used to walking down a busy corridor full of people staring at me. I miss having the buildings to myself and a few others, but it has been interesting to see what styles and fashions the first year students have adopted, and if my friends' styles have changed at all over the summer. I find subcultures fascinating and my university features a large range. After almost a week, I have some findings to report.

The Good

My friends don't seem to have altered their styles very much - in fact a few of them are dressing more casually than ever, even wearing collegiate hoodies which I think is really interesting. A lot of people feel the need to dress up a lot to impress the new kids. I definitely feel the need. I feel like they need to be shown How It Is Done! I aim for inspirational dressing. Unfortunately, I have been ill, so the most exciting thing I have done is wear my pink tights for the past few days. I have gotten some interested looks, but I feel that I don't deserve them. More effort is needed, in my opinion. I just need to make sure I put my purple hoodie in the wash basket so I don't end up wearing it again!

A really tall, black-wearing, make-up-wearing, goth boy. I haven't seen one of these in ages. Not since I was last in Camden. It's always nice to see a goth around College - it reminds me of my dark side and that there are people who dress darker than me! I am known for my love of purple and black attire, but I find myself becoming more moderate in the way I dress in order to fit in. I need inspiration in order to find more dramatic and interesting ways of dressing, otherwise getting ready for the day gets boring.

The Bad

The first years all seem to dress the same, like they're in some kind of indie army or something. I take back what I said about Stylemob being full of generic indie style. That site is nothing compared to the queue for building access cards in College. They all seem to be wearing skinny jeans or denim miniskirts and tights, little jackets and big scarves around their necks. It is a pretty androgynous style - girls and boys alike wear the jeans, jackets and big scarves. I love androgyny, but this style is worn like a uniform. I love subcultures, but I find it odd and slightly disturbing to see groups of people wearing practically the same outfit in situations where there is no dress code. There is a definite difference, in my opinion, between dressing to fit into a subculture, and dressing in the same pattern as everybody else in that subculture. You can dress collectively and individually at the same time. I am keeping an eye out for someone who wears this style but adds their own little touches - maybe some extraordinary earrings, or unusual shoes. I hope they exist.

There are some of these types in second year but overall the second years tend more towards the nu-rave style of dressing, which isn't that imaginative any more, but is more interesting to look at than a giant neck-swallowing scarf! I wonder how things will progress and if I will spot any individuals moving between style tribes.

The Absolutely Ridiculous

There's this boy I keep seeing around who obviously thinks he is seriously hot shit. He always wears red or black skinny trousers and has his hair done into a ridiculous haystack-esque creation. I was already getting the giggles every time I saw him but then things took a turn for the hilarious. Last week, my (former) housemate and I were going to the fish and chip shop and he was walking in front of us, all self-important swagger.

I swear to all the Gods I have ever believed in, his red skinny trousers were barely on his arse. If he wasn't wearing brilliant white boxer shorts - which must have come out of the packet that morning they were so white - it would have been obscene. His hair was massive and once I had stopped laughing over the awfulness of the 1/8th-of-arse-covering-trousers, I wondered, awestruck, how many hours his hairdo took to produce. Is it a wig? Is part of it artificial and styled into his real hair every morning, à la Amy Winehouse? Could he keep a small army of crazy monkeys to style it? Or does he backcomb it all himself? It is a great mystery, for sure.

We saw him again a few days later, as we were walking to the main building to check the noticeboards for houses and/or rooms. The moment I caught sight of him I had to work to suppress the giggles and as I got closer I had to start walking faster so that I could get past him and safely into the corridor before I started laughing my head off. His trousers were much closer to his hips this time, and his hair wasn't nearly as impressive, but he evoked the memory from the more hilarious time all the same.

Short, I'm afraid, but Week Two's shall be longer - I have Freshers' Fayre tomorrow to spend checking out clothes and making mental and paper notes, plus some actual lectures and seminars and society meetings next week, so I will get to observe the people I know better some more.

Whilst I anticipate sartorial delights and daft styling to come, tell me, what are the hordes wearing in your corridors?