Professionalism is lost in the fashion lives of college students. Sweatpants and workout wear have replaced a sense of dressing to impress, especially for students going to class. College fashion seems to be made up of Nike shorts and T-shirts for females, and T-shirts and shorts for males.
When is the last time you wore a professional outfit to class? Many students, often including myself, just roll out of bed in the morning and throw on some clothes that are comfortable and stylish.
Style, especially for college girls, seems to be weighted more on how expensive the clothes are than the clothes themselves. There are many popular brands that do not look professional but are expensive such as Comfort Colors T-shirts or Nike shorts, which range from $25 to $35. Male students also seem to prefer expensive, but unprofessional, brands such as Chubbies, brand shorts that come in pastel colors and range from $35 to $60. All this being said, a student could be wearing $80 worth of clothing and still look unprofessional.
A reoccurring theme in college style is the disheveled look with a full face of makeup. If you had time to make your makeup perfect, why did you throw on a T-shirt? College students should care more about the way they look because of the connections they make as college students. They are surrounded by professors and peers who can network them into their next job. They pay money for their classes, and though I can definitively understand how comfortable and relaxed a tank and some shorts can be, we go to classes five days a week where professors see us that way.
Many of my professors work in the field I am looking to enter. What would happen if I dressed professionally every day, and my 8 a.m. professor saw me in a dress or jeans and a casual shirt instead of a shirt big enough to be a dress? I'm not saying you need to dress to the nines every day — I'm saying you shouldn't dress in the zeros. More likely than not, my professor would notice that I am starting to dress for the real world instead of for my comfort, or for the twisted fashion brains of college.
Someone decided that you’re only fashionable if you fit the trends that include expensive but unprofessional clothing. I disagree with that, especially because our professors, our mentors and possibly our employers meet us daily in professional settings.
See the other side of the argument here.