Best Dressed Battle

 

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BEST DRESSED BATTLE

By Alexandra Fizer

ATLANTA—Atlanta University Center students have taken to the concrete paved runways of their campuses to express themselves between juggling heavy workloads and extracurricular activities.

Particularly, students who attend Spelman College and Morehouse College have demonstrated a fervent interest in displaying their individual styles during the colleges' busiest time—class time.

Students from each campus note the overwhelming attention paid to one’s style choices.

Spelman College senior Kristina Herring seems to think accessories have no place in academia, “it’s such a fashion show everyday, it’s kind of pointless,” she said. “People really put on their best stuff to go and sit in class for an hour and a half.”

Morehouse College senior Earl Flood sees a more self-conscious effect on his campus, “I know guys who won’t go to class if they don’t have anything fly to wear,” he said. “Or will try really hard not to be seen around campus if they don’t like their outfit. It’s weird.”

While the attention paid to how one presents themselves seems to be of paramount importance to the community, some students would assert that creatively styling their wardrobe is inherent in the AUC culture.

“At Morehouse, you’re told to take a certain pride in how you present yourself,” Flood said, tugging firmly at the collar of polo T-shirt. “It’s all a part of being that ‘Renaissance Man’ that the college shapes you to be.”

Herring sees a similar influence inside the Spelman gates, “you hear so much about being a ‘Spelman Woman’,” she said. “For a lot of people, I think that means the hair, the pearls, the outfit, the whole package.”

To this end, both historically black colleges have multiple student organizations devoted to fashion, such as Morehouse’s Cashmere Club and Spelman’s My Sister’s Closet, an organization that supplies gently used garments and accessories donated by students for their fellow sisters in need.

Additionally, the colleges’ joint homecoming celebration kicks-off annually with a fashion show, which, accordingly to the event's organizers, is always a main attraction for students and visiting alumni.

But the liberal arts institutions are accepting of celebrating fashion in many forms.

Last year, Spelman’s Afrekete and Morehouse’s Safe Space programs hosted WERK, a “drag fashion show” where many of the models were members of the LGBT support groups.

The mission of the show, according to Spelman’s website, was to “debunk the notion of conformity and traditionalism as mechanisms of success.”

But the debunking of these socially constructed norms, to some students, simply cannot be done.

“It’s just the way things are,” Flood said. “Yeah, you can dress any way you want but to a certain extent it has to agree with the college and its core values.”

This deep regard for tradition was first introduced most notably two years ago when Morehouse College issued a controversial dress code after a less than favorable article was published about the feminine sartorial choices of five of the institution’s gay students.

However, Herring insists that neither campus’ dress code prohibits students from expressing themselves, “nobody really pays attention to it, especially if you actually care about fashion,” she said. “All people are concerned with is looking good whether that’s wearing heels, make-up, a weave. They want to be seen.”

This invested interest in one’s outer appearance may signal something larger about the social climate of this particular academic community.

Herring sees the impact of this campus-wide clamoring for the title of best dressed, “ everybody wants to be a trendsetter and stand out from the crowd,” she said. “So if you have that nice piece of clothing or whatever, it makes you feel like you’re affecting how others dress. It’s a competition.”

Atlanta-based stylist Katriesa Raines notes what this reasoning might reveal about the importance of aesthetics to college students today.

“Our society is hung up on ‘looking’ wealthy and having certain merchandise feeds their ego,” she said.

Flood certainly concurs with Raines’s mention of ego, “ you’ve got a group of kids that only want the best, and that just happens to go for their clothes too,” he said.

“There’s nothing wrong with wanting to look the part.”




For more information about Morehouse College's dress code, click here.