Clothing on Campus: Finding the Right Fit

A theme that continued to surface this week was how clothing, the first "words" we chose to exchange with those around us, is a deciding factor in our relationships with others. In class we continually referred back to the diagram --> | <--- depicting the impact clothing has on intimacy. Based on the examples we discussed, it seems clothing is a very powerful agent, but works in contradictory manners, both allowing us to traverse that boundary and grow closer to others, while at the same time creating exclusive categories and alienating one from another. In our society, clothing can be seen as a bonding opportunity. As exemplified in Mean girls, the scene in which Lindsey Lohan first makes a connection with the school's it crowd begins with the line, "get in the car loser, we're going shopping!" 

Based on my observation, and this could be very much skewed by the fact that I don't align or spend time with any religious groups, specific religious clothing is not very prevalent on campus. Clothing does, however, play a major role in forming various communities. Many of these groups engage in weekly meetings, practices, social events, etc. to give meaning to their time at Hamilton. Members of fraternities don Nantucket red shorts and Sperry's or sweat, snapbacks and Tims on the weekends. Athletes go to class in Hamilton apparel, Nike mid calfs, and a Gatorade water bottle. Yes these are classic stereotypes, but many of us still mold to them. And then there are those artsy darksiders. Although they strive to break outside the bounds of the accepted, these students end up creating their own category, expected  to wear rolled jeans and Birkenstocks.  When I was talking to a friend about clothing on campus he stated, "I mean I get they are trying to make a statement, but just wear normal clothes."  Just as in Shibana Mir's comment about Muslim women not dating, just because what they are doing is different from the people my friend surrounds himself with, he considered it "not normal". Based on our definition of pop-culture religion, fashion itself could be considered a religion on campus. Students follow fashion magazines and blogs, create rituals such as watching project runway with a certain group every week, and idolize designers and fashion forward celebrities as godlike figures. 

While clothing is a means of growing closer to our peers, both at Hamilton and in the outside world, it also builds barriers and increases exclusivity based on personal preference, socio- economic opportunity, and religion. In Shabana Mir's article, she notes how Muslim women are faced with a lose/lose situation. While wearing the hijab allows them to grow closer to other Muslim students, the garment alienates them from non-Muslim students. Alternatively if they don't wear it, Muslims will judge them. 

We select our clothes in order to experience intimacy and become part of a community. In doing so, however, we drive ourselves further from our true selves. As in the Adam and Eve story, nakedness is true authenticity. By piling layers of clothing on top of that, we create new identities and diminish that original intimacy.