From under the fedora: the center of fashion
Date 10/14/2004 12:00 AM | Topic: OpinionREPENT LUTHER COLLEGE! There are many sinners among you: the slackers who wear nothing but cargo pants and Birkenstock sandals, the jocks who live in sweatpants and their respective team's T-shirts, the first-year Roscoe's girls in baby T's and far too much makeup.
We have all sinned for remaining silent for too long. I will remain silent no longer. Some of us dress like crap. In fact, some people dress so badly it looks like a blind, homeless person dressed them. Do not despair for there is still hope. We can still turn from our wicked ways of dressing terribly and become the young, stylish and sophisticated generation that we were intended to be.
Over the next few weeks, I will lay out for you the Ten Commandments of style as they have been revealed to me. Let he who has ears to hear and eyes to see repent and sin no more. So behold, the first three comandments.
1.
Wear clothes that fit. This is the first and greatest commandment. We have all seen the results of breaking this commandment, be it the girls wearing the belly shirt only to reveal far too much belly or the guy who wears pants so baggy you could fit a family of five in them. Wearing clothes that are too big or too small does not look good. I'm not advocating being waif thin like all the models in magazines; one need only look at my picture to see that. Rather I am saying, regardless of your shape or size, you will look better in clothes that fit you well. As a general rule for finding your fit, clothes should be snug in your good areas, and drape your body in your not so good areas. This may require a bit of painful self-awareness the next time you go shopping, but you will look better for it. Besides, you can still hold on to those one size smaller clothes in the ever optimistic hope of fitting in them again (I admittedly still have some XL shirts in my closet I hope to fit in by the end of the school year). Just don't wear those spring break motivator shirts before it is time.
2.
Different materials for different seasons. This may seem elementary, but it never ceases to amaze me to see people wearing a pair of jeans when it's 95 degrees outside and complaining about being hot. News flash, denim was created as durable work wear; it does not breathe well. I know jeans are the uniform of our generation, but you should try some good linen pants in the summer or wool slacks in the winter, and you will see that there are all sorts of other wonderful materials out there that are functional, comfortable and stylish.
3.
Know thyself. It is one of the most difficult things you will ever have to do to admit that you are no longer the slim, trim person you once were, but self-awareness is a virtue. This doesn't simply apply to knowing your real size, it also means you have to know your strengths and weakness in your appearance. If you aren't a towering Greek statue of muscle like Matt Guess ('05), then don't try to dress like one. It will help you find colors, patterns and fits of clothes that work for you and help you look your best. Search for clothes that create balance in your look. For example, if you are short, try pinstripes and higher waisted trousers to help create vertical lines and make you look taller. You may not ever be the best looking person in the room, but you can always be the best-dressed person in the room.
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