Fashioning their own style and image

Looking at Meghan Pleticha in her red and black flowing dress, you wouldn’t guess that she used to sport cuffed low-riding stretch jeans, little boys’ shirts, and Chucks when she first came to campus four years ago.

Now in her last year at UCLA, Pleticha, a graduating English student, is one of many graduating students who has seen her fashion taste evolve over the last few years.

“I would say it’s an understated style (now) ““ nothing too over the top,” Pleticha said. “I usually aim for classy and comfortable.”

Initially, the clothes students wear as freshmen in college are leftovers from high school. And in high school, students can be more conscious of their peers’ clothing and style, and students are also generally more eager to keep up with changing trends. New to collegiate fashion, freshmen often gravitate toward the clothing that was trendy among their younger friends.

“Freshman year I was fancier with what I wore. Everyone took cues from Usher’s style,” said Chris Karan, a graduating political science student. “My friends and I would wear those long-sleeved, collared, button-up shirts with the vertical stripes and then wear a blazer on top of it.”

But with midterms and finals to keep track of, students can lose track of trends, especially when they change quickly. Rewind to a couple of years ago, when short cotton skirts paired with UGG boots, Murakami bags, monogrammed accessories, and velour tracksuits were among the styles girls used to determine who was keeping up with the fashion cycles. Today it is all about waist belts and skinny jeans.

For guys, loose and baggy clothing was a hit, as well as carpenter-style Sean John jeans, trucker caps, retro Jordans, and blazers coupled with ratty T-shirts. Men’s clothing now is supposed to look more refined.

Style reflects personality, and so it is no surprise that during the formative university years, students have changed their looks. Some graduating students said they went through experimental fashion periods while at UCLA on the way to discovering themselves and their own personal style. Pleticha, for example, chopped off all her hair and got piercings and a tattoo.

As graduation approaches, many students including Pleticha find themselves having to desert the dorm hall getups that comprised their wardrobe during their early years in college, when one could meet friends and go to the dining halls in pajamas, sweatshirts and flip-flops.

“It was all about cheap comfort (then),” Pleticha said.

But as students explore the world of internships, jobs and graduate schools, they soon realize they might have to make more thoughtful wardrobe choices.

Karan, who intends to go to law school, wants his wardrobe to reflect his business-like outlook.

“(My style has) become a lot more professional, and all my clothes are more fitted. Lacoste and Burberry polos have become a staple over the last few years,” Karan said. “Baggy and loose clothing has really gone out of style.”

James Le, a graduating business economics student, has also become more conscious of his fashion choices. He wants his look to reflect his post-graduation ambitions.

“After graduation, I plan on buying a wardrobe of ties and collar shirts because I know those are what I need to wear in the real world. I’ll keep some of my old clothes but the vast majority will become work-style clothes,” Le said.

Students have also learned to sift through changing trends and to wear clothes that flatter their bodies and complement their personalities. Looking back four years later at these changes, graduating students agree that their appearances have altered for the better.

“Taking care of how I look makes me feel more in control of who I am and my life in general,” Pleticha said.

Ready to embark from UCLA, Pleticha finds herself proud of her fashion choices ““ choices that have changed as she matured and progressed through college into adulthood. “I’m a lot more put together now and sort of a more sophisticated version of my old self,” she said.

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