We are four college-aged women who all don specs on our faces while working long hours at The Spectator. For now we are journalism students, but we have plans of conquering the world. However, before we do we have a few things to learn.

Courtney Kueppers
Managing Editor

Fleece lined leggings instead of baggy sweatpants, a pair of combat boots instead of tennis shoes, an oversized sweater instead of an oversized sweatshirt with your high school’s insignia. Throw on some earrings and maybe even a scarf and you’ve got yourself an outfit.

Despite the fact I have been religiously reading Vogue for as long as I can remember, I am no fashionista. However, I would never come to campus in sweatpants and a sweatshirt.  

At the risk of sounding superficial, I think what you wear matters, which is why I have been very floored since day one by the status quo wardrobe on this campus. Here at UW-Eau Claire, we have a very casual style, generally speaking.

As I write this on a typical busy, snowy morning, I’m wearing a pink sweater I unwrapped last Christmas, blue pants I bought for my summer internship and boots I have had since high school. By all stretches, it is a simple outfit, but not a sloppy outfit.

The gals I write this column with and I are perhaps a bias. It’s not rare for us to chat clothes in the office, but I think college students as a whole could afford to step up their game. I’d like to see this campus take some risks and try some new styles. First and foremost: I want Kristina to rock her all-faux fur coat to campus.

Jessie Tremmel
Op/Ed Editor

Look good, feel good, do good. This mantra was written on my mirror my first two years here at Eau Claire.

Coming to the university from a community college where it wasn’t unusual to see girls in dresses and heels daily, I was shocked, and honestly a bit appalled, when I first strolled through campus.

My first trek up the hill was in heeled boots. I was stared at. I didn’t care. Oh, also, it was February and there was snow on the ground.

Now as the first snow of the season falls, we can all stop pretending UGG boots are warm, the Blugold striped scarves are fashionable and sweatpants and sweatshirts will make a lasting impression on professors and community members.

I am the gal who will show up in a dress and tights to my final. While everyone else put minimal effort into their outfits after a long night of cramming, I am following my mantra. When I look good, I automatically feel good. When I feel good, I do better.

I have now learned to accept the awkward stares and the common, “Oh, you must have a presentation today.” No, I do not have a presentation, I just refuse to fall into the slump of wearing my comfiest clothes to class, with the fear that I may fall asleep.

Kristina Bornholtz
News Editor

I have always been interested in trends – what people wear, why they wear it, how it makes them feel. A distinct memory I have is drooling over the jewel-toned Prada turbans debuted in the Spring/Summer 2007 collection. They were luxe, they were outrageous, and they were absolutely never going to work to wear to school. Not that I could even afford a Prada turban, but I digress.

Hardly anyone at my middle school dressed in any individual sort of manner. It was easier to roll out of bed and say, “boot cut jeans, cami, cardigan – done!” than to put thought into an outfit. If you did something different, everyone would stare at you with wide eyes. And unfortunately, not much has changed in terms of style in college.

One of my biggest pet peeves is hearing a woman say, “I could never pull that off.” Never? In my world, fashion is about never saying never. Women spend so much time thinking about what outfit is appropriate for what occasion. What is appropriate to wear to class? In a lot of minds, leggings-as-pants and an oversized sweatshirt. In my mind, whatever the heck I please.

I think what you wear is an extension of yourself, and you can be whoever you want to be. Why not look nice every single day, if you can? Why not wear that Prada-inspired turban to class on a Thursday, just because you can?

I’m done with hearing people say, “I could never pull that off.” If you don’t try, you won’t succeed. If you wait for only special occasions to don the statement piece you love, you won’t ever end up wearing it.

Every day is an occasion. Don’t let your fashionable life pass you by because you’re busy “dressing for the occasion” in sweatpants and t-shirts. Dress to who you want to be on any given day, because that’s exactly it. Style lets you be whoever you want to be on any given day.

Anna Mateffy
Photo Editor

We are in college to prepare for the real world, and how we dress is just another facet of what we are learning.

I own one pair of rarely worn sweatpants and a handful of t-shirts that I wear when I paint. I refuse to wear leggings as pants and the only time I wore my yoga pants in public was that one time I actually went to yoga. My closet is packed with dresses, pretty sweaters, heels and scarves.

Yes, I have early classes that require me to be up and moving before the sun, but that will not change when I graduate, so why not set my standard high now? There is no dress code for college classes, but that does not mean there is no standard either. Do not get me wrong, clothes do not make the person, but they are a very large part of a first impression.

I live by the frequently quoted idiom, “dress for the job you want, not the one you have.”  Right now, I am a photographer for a couple different media outlets. Once I graduate, I will be thrown into a world of pencil skirts, blouses and dress pants.  I often “dress up” by throwing on a blazer and heels before I leave for a shoot, because then I feel that much more prepared to work. But is it really “dressing up” if it is just my wardrobe?