Teenfashionista (who has just joined this blog!) posted a link to a wonderful article that is so relevant to college fashion and to the Eternal Packing Dilemma and, basically, everything going through my head when I connect the words 'wardrobe' and 'suitcase' in my head because most of the time I just end up despairing over how it's physically impossible to pack up everything in my room, everything that represents Home, into a couple of suitcases and transport them to another continent.

Here's the article (finish reading before you refresh the page because otherwise you'll have to sign up for membership - which, though free, is a slightly tedious process). Here's the accompanying Tips On Shopping and Schlepping.

"I was worried I would be homesick, worried about making friends and worried about adapting my wardrobe to a new climate and culture.
The only thing I knew about fashion in the Northeast was that I needed to buy a warmer coat."
This is me in two sentences, except replace 'Northeast' with 'Midwest'. And, okay, I guess I know a leeeeetle bit more than that I just need a warmer coat. In fact, that I need a coat at all because I have never in my life needed to wear a coat in Singapore.

"... the first rule of college fashion is that there's something to be said for wearing something that no one else is wearing."
Like in the case of the writer, this doesn't always have good results. But I'm a firm believer in individuality, and I won't ever succumb to a trend unless a) it pleases ME aesthetically and b) it suits the shape of MY body and the colour of MY skin.

So yes, it probably is a good idea to "Wait until you get to school before you blow your high school graduation money on clothes. You'll get a chance to see what everyone is wearing." However, when you do get there and see what everyone's wearing, don't feel under pressure to completely revamp your own style. Take a little bit of the campus style and weave it into your own. Most importantly feel comfortable in your own skin (and that gorgeous vintage coat that nobody else has or ever will have).

Finally, it's comforting that she says "it's natural if you're moving away from home for the first time to bring an obscene amount of stuff with you -- it's amazing the number of things that can suddenly attain the status of comfort items as your departure date approaches..." I am already feeling like I need to take 14 pairs of jeans with me because what'll I do if I'm missing that one pair I edited out of the suitcase? What'll I do when I'm halfway across the globe from the jeans I'm craving the most? Sometimes it's so bad that I feel like I'm going to miss my bedsheets - which I obviously can't take because the dorm's not going to have a queen-sized bed - and I briefly consider taking just the pillowcases so it'll feel a little bit like my bed at home.

Basically, I'm glad that I'm not the only one who has ever freaked out this much over college fashion/packing issues. I hope that this blog will provide some comfort to fellow and future freshmen, because it's always reassuring to know that you're not alone in your panic attacks.

Labels: college fashion, college life, links