Fashion may be born in the backrooms of clothing design companies, but it is the individual who creates style. Different activities, interests and hobbies seem to define the clothing people wear. Even Ralph Lauren said, “Fashion is not necessarily about labels. It’s not about brands. It’s about something else that comes from within you.”
Matthew Steadman, brand co-manager at Express, a young men and women’s fashion retailer, said personality affects dress code.
“It’s like what Coco Chanel said, ‘I am fashion,'” Steadman said. “So personality and the hobbies an individual is involved in will definitely affect how one dresses.”
Fashion can reflect a wide range of personal interests, such as the activities an individual partakes in. Kelby Armistead, store manager at The Vans Store, said individuals who are interested in certain physical activities might prefer some fashion trends to others.
“Being from the skate scene, I am not going to be wearing slacks to push my skateboard around,” Armistead said. “So with us being specifically geared to the actual sports world and the younger crowd, we make clothes geared towards those demographics.”
Armistead said certain aspects, such as agility, clean movements and gender are kept in mind when designing clothes for the more active crowd.
“Most things at Vans are not fitted and are more loosely flowing for movement,” Armistead said.
When individuals hear the words hunter or fisherman, images from popular reality television shows such as “Swamp People” or “Duck Dynasty” might come to mind, but the term “fashionable” might not.
Samantha Draper, a cashier at Academy and senior history major, said these shows and stereotypes might be enforcing certain trends, along with the outdoor activities associated with them.
“Cargo shorts, T-shirts and Magellan fishing shirts are trending, along with loads of camo and jeans,” Draper said. “You can see it with the hunters and fisherman, or those who play sports; they sport these certain kinds of clothing more often.”
Christen Valcoviak, junior business management major, said her hunting attire makes frequent appearances in her everyday wardrobe.
“I sport camo all the time,” Valcoviak said. “I wear camo when I hunt mainly, but also when I run errands, or go to school.”
David Kirst, sophomore industrial engineering major, said he often wears camo, since he likes to hunt and spend his time outdoors.
“When I’m hunting or for the most part outdoors, I usually wear either camo or some form of green or brown shirt and pants,” Kirst said.
Style can also reflect personality. Chelsea Rivas, junior biomedical sciences major, said her shoes describe her relaxed persona.
“On a day-to-day basis I wear my purple-and-black vans,” Rivas said. “My favorite colors are purple and green, so I try to find shoes with those colors on it. I like to wear these shoes because they really tell what kind of person I am: a chill person.”
Environment also has an impact on styles and trends, including the influence of college-town fashion. Late nights and clubbing can define certain styles, depending on the atmosphere of the venue.
Keely Bertsch, sophomore general studies major and cashier at Cavender’s, a western-wear store, said college nightlife requires certain trends.
“Definitely the nightlife of going out on Northgate and going to Hurricane Harry’s and Daisy Dukes, the more country clubs, are the types of customers that we receive in this particular store,” Bertsch said.
Valcoviak said she likes to wear boots and blinged-out jeans when she goes two-stepping.
“The more bling on my jeans the better,” Valcoviak said. “I am always wearing my boots with my jeans, but I also wear them when I go two-stepping or to the rodeo.”
Armistead said that though a certain sport or hobby might require particular clothing, individuals can take fashion further by adding their own style and picking their own trends as fashion continues to evolve along with personal interests.