I’ve been asked a lot lately about the differences between college fashion and high school fashion. With many high school grads getting ready for college in the fall, I think it’s a question that lots of people are wondering about.
So what is college fashion like in comparison to high school fashion? What do people wear in college? How should college girls dress? What clothes should you bring with you to college, and what should you leave home?
As someone who wondered about this stuff when I was going to college, I understand. The whole transition to college is nerve-racking for everyone, but don’t worry! I’m here to help you all out.
Understanding the differences between high school fashion and college fashion isn’t that difficult – in some ways they’re really similar, but in others, they’re miles apart.
Table of Contents
Misconceptions
Let’s start by getting rid of a few misconceptions about university fashion. Sure, there are exceptions to every rule, but for the most part, these stereotypes are FALSE!
1. College girls don’t care about fashion.
Some people have the idea that college girls are lazy and none of us care about fashion because we’re so busy. This is completely untrue, as any stylish college girl will tell you!
While college life is definitely stressful, it’s not very difficult to look good and deal with school at the same time. It’s obvious that just a few badly dressed college girls are giving the rest of us a bad name.
2. We wear our college’s hoodies every day.
Some people in college do wear their university sweatshirts on a daily basis (usually without washing them, ever!), but it’s not as common as you might think.
There’s nothing wrong with buying college sweatshirts – they’re great for lounging around, keeping warm, and they’re an essential part of the college experience. But most people don’t wear them daily.
Hoodies are the most popular with guys as something to wear every day. While they are comfy and cozy, most girls I know really only wear them around the dorm and during finals week. We have cuter things to wear out!
3. We wear nothing but Victoria’s Secret PINK.
Okay, this one might have some basis in reality – Victoria’s Secret PINK stuff IS really popular with lots of college girls. I won’t even lie – I do have a bunch of their stuff that I wear when I’m lounging around. But I don’t wear it every day, and I don’t wear it around campus most of the time.
While the stuff is really cute and I love it for lounging around the dorm, VS Pink shouldn’t be the basis of any wardrobe. Jeans, jackets, tops, and dresses are too cute to ignore in favor of sweats!
Differences Between High School and College Fashion
Now that we’ve gone over what college girls don’t wear, let’s talk about what college girls actually do wear. High school fashion is different from college fashion in a few big ways.
1. In college, there are fewer rules and restrictions.
The main difference between fashion in high school and fashion in college is that no one is telling you what to do anymore.
The freedom that comes with going to college is so much fun – you can really begin to figure yourself out, and with that, you can develop your own unique style out too!
Also, fashion in high school is much more restricted than fashion in college. There may be dress codes, parents telling you what to do, and even social pressure to dress a certain way when you’re in HS. One of my favorite things about college is that this doesn’t happen anymore!
Essentially, once you’re free from high school, you can go your own way with fashion (or decide that you don’t care about it at all.) It’s your choice to make.
2. College frees you to be yourself without judgment.
Social fashion rules in college are also way more relaxed than they are in high school. No one really judges you based on what you wear in college, and more than likely they’ll think you’re interesting if you dress differently. In most high schools, I’m sure this wasn’t the case.
Also, there are so many social groups in college that you can always find like-minded people to hang out with. You’ll probably know tons of people from many different social groups, and won’t be completely tied to any single clique.
Basically, you don’t have to worry about fitting in with everyone when you get to college. All you need to worry about is expressing yourself and being true to whoever that person is.
3. In college, you can become who you want to be.
Going off to college gives you a great opportunity to start off with a blank slate and really find yourself and your style. There are no rules, and it’s up to you to be who you want. I say: use this to your advantage!
It doesn’t matter if you were a total tomboy in high school – if you’ve always wanted to be chic, feminine, and glamorous, who says you can’t change it up? Or if you only wore designer labels all throughout HS, channel your inner hippie chick if that speaks to you!
This isn’t about trying to be someone you’re not; it’s about becoming the person you want to be and expressing yourself in a creative way. Also, have fun with it!
How To Bring Your High School Wardrobe to College
- Know what to throw. While I’m sure you like your “Seniors ’08” high school t-shirt, don’t become one of those girls who wears it everywhere in college. Sure, bring it with you if you’re sentimental, but don’t start wearing it outside of your room.
- Go through your wardrobe and find the pieces that are the most “you” – things you always find yourself reaching for, and couldn’t be without! These will become the staples of your college wardrobe and will help you express your unique personality.
- Denim, denim, denim. I’m sure many of you read my article on College Wardrobe Essentials, and if you have, you’ll remember that I talk a lot about jeans. Denim is the number one thing you wear in college, and I wouldn’t have it any other way!
- Invest in cute dorm wear. This is especially important if you’re living on campus. There’s nothing worse than getting to college without cute sweats and tanks to lounge around in. You spend tons of time in your dorm, and most of your friends will probably be in yours! I’m going to be writing up an article on this soon.
- When in doubt about an item, leave it home. Moving in to college is a huge pain as it is, and the less stuff you bring, the better. Your parents can always mail you that dress you never thought you’d wear again if you really want it later.
- Consider the weather of the place where you’ll be going to school. Even within one state, temperature differences can vary in a big way from town to town. Check your college town’s weather forecast and pack accordingly.
- Buy some new things that represent the new you. You don’t have to spend a lot of money, but getting yourself a few new pieces will help bring you into a new state of mind and get excited for school. College is a big change in your life, and something as simple as a few new clothes will help get you psyched!
Related Reading: 40 Trendsetting Teen Clothing Stores Every Fashionista
Your Thoughts?
Now that you know how to take your high school wardrobe to college, I want to know what you think.
Do you have any other questions about this? Is there anything I left out? What clothes are you planning to bring to college in the fall? I want to hear all about it, so be sure to leave a comment!
What is THE brand for campus? i.e. Dooney,Coachetc.
Alanna,
I could not agree more! When I moved to the big city it was an eye opener, which almost gave me a sense of freedom!
This is a really great article. I think you hit the points dead on! I just completed my first year of college and I definately noticed the transition. There’s something things I wore in high school that I couldn’t get away with in college and vice versa!
I’ll definately be forwarding this to my incoming freshman friends to help get them started!
Zephyr,
True! There is much middle ground and suits are generally over the top.
However, I’d give them the benefit of the doubt. I knew some people who dressed up because they attended the business college and got extra credit for dressing up. Others dressed up because they went to work before or after class.
I got to admit, I was the gal in front with all the questions — though mostly because I was just really interested in the subjects. The way I figure it, with tuition so outrageously priced, I wanted to get my money’s worth ; )
I totally agree that the vs pink sweatpants/uggs/greek hoodie thing needs to go away… it’s just sooo unoriginal and boring. the sorority girls at my school all seem to either be wearing that or all designer labels, and it’s weird because there’s no in-between.
Most of the girls at my school (UMBC, by the way) carry tote bags to class. I have a cute printed one with green stars that i got for free =)
I’m just starting college this fall (my boyfriend started last year so I went up to visit him a lot, which is how I know what people there are wearing), and I’m planning to use the opportunity to wear more feminine things than I did in high school. Mostly just more feminine tops instead of the fitted t’s I wore all the time in hs… you’ll never see me in a pink polka-dotted anything because I’m not a girly girl =P I wanna stay true to my metalhead self while still broadening my horizons, haha
One transition I made from high school to college was a major editing of my wardrobe! After being forced to leave about 1/2 my clothes at home and not even missing them while I was gone I truly realized what an excess of clothes I have. This summer I’ve been good– donating the clothes I never missed in the first place and trying not to buy too many new items:)
xoxo
Great post!
I agree with Mahima, every semester can be turned into a new look!
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Completely off-topic, but do you know where I can get some cute boots like the ones the girl in the picture is wearing? They’re fab!
I quite like this post, back in high school i had to wear a uniform every single day. Now that in college, it enables me to change the way i dress, like for example wearing mini dresses instead of the plain jeans and collar shirt look, but if i do wear jeans, it has to be paired with a printed tee and pointed flats. Ill put a cardigan over that as well or a bolero! Boots are great as well as i recently bought a pair of them. Bag wise, instead of backpacks i use a shoulder bag and i’m planning to by a tote bag!
Its great that college allows you to experiment with different clothes, as a couple of posts i agree with and of course to see which combination looks good or bad. Oh and also, people dont care what kind of clothes you wear, as compared to my high school (snooty rich ppl :P)
i like this post, and i agree with aly because i want to know what other options i have for book bags other than backpacks
Reminds me of when I joined college… Another thing with college, is that every semester can be a new start… I’ve had different looks for each semester, and it’s fun to see how much you can explore! It also kind of helps you figure out what kind of clothes you can and cannot pull off. And being in an art and design college, in a place like India can be alot of fun, we have such a variety of clothes here! This is the best time to experiment, in college. In school i had a really smart uniform, and you never know, once you’re in a full time job, you may never be able to go bananas experimenting with clothes and looks…
So when it comes to college, i would say, have fun, and experiment your souls off!
well actually, i go to a college in the city but i dont think a lot of people really care about what they wear. in the beginning of the school year, people take more consideration in what they wear but once the school work starts to kick in, so does the lazy dressing. students basically throw on comfy things like jeans, tshirts and hoodies. getting up in the morning is a drag, so lots of people dont really care about what they wear. there are so many people that dress differently, not necessarily stylish but comfortable. my friends dorm and they throw on anything because theyre in a rush to get to class and out of class. a lot of girls carry longchamp bags as a school bag too!
Thanks for this! I love this site, I check it all the time! It’d be great if you could do a short entry on types of book bags in college-ie the pros and cons of backpacks, tote bags, messenger bags, or no bags. I don’t know about other people, but I’m having the hardest time figuring out what I want to carry all my books and stuff around in!
I’m so glad you wrote this! In high school, we had a dress code so I wore t-shirts every day…since I graduated, I got rid of most of them and have boughten soo many cute things I can’t wait to wear!
I really liked the comment about being able to wear what you want/try new things. I just picked up the new issue of People StyleWatch magazine the other day, and it has the cutest plaid blazer in it. It’s something that I would never have had the confidence to wear in highschool – – I never thought I could pull off plaid before, but this one I might actually try!
Good advice. People don’t care as much about what you wear, but that doesn’t mean you don’t want to still look good. I see a lot of girls wearing PINK sweatpants to class, it’s OK to do once and a while. One good thing to do is to wait until you get there and see what people wear before you do any major shopping.
This came at a perfect time, as I’m making that big transition too!
But where I’m from (Quebec), we finish high school at grade 11, then go to a “college” for 2 years and then go to University.
And we don’t live at our colleges either, so we can’t have cute dorms. :<
I have a question though; is it okay to wear a pair of cute PINK sweat-pants to school though? Or this considered too laid back? When I have to go visit my new school, I tend to see a lot of people wearing sweats, and since I had a uniform, it looks so tempting…!