Kirsten Diehl (senior-advertising) also surveys Penn State fashion, but with a bit more reserve.
"I look around, but I don't analyze someone's style unless something stands out or captures my attention," Diehl said.
Whatever the methods students have for observing what's in style, the campus crowd tends to blur into a sea of casual-conservative fundamentals.
"It's very similar," Shannon said. "How many pea coats do you see in a day? When you go out at night, how many guys are dressed in black pants and turtleneck sweaters?"
Sean Ion (junior-journalism) agrees that there's a lack of diversity in campus fashions.
"I think there are variations, but they're definitely in the minority," Ion said.
There is the occasional diamond in the rough, or rough in the diamond, depending on your perspective. Say, for example, it's a brutally windy morning in the teens, one to two inches of snow on the ground, and here comes the guy in shorts and sandals (no socks). You wonder, "What is he thinking?"
Ion is sometimes that guy, and his rationale is actually sensible. Ion said he runs extensively and used to have problems with blisters. He wears sandals for comfort and durability.
"I also have warm feet," he said, but he'll add socks for heavy snowfalls.
Ion said his sandaled feet are not a protest against winter, and he's not trying to make a statement.
"Maybe when I wear green pants and sandals with no socks that makes a statement to people that I'm not quite right," he said. "Maybe they're not far off, but making a statement is not the goal."
Other students agreed that the student population's perceptions of their fashions are not high on their lists of priorities.
"College is not a fashion show," Aaron Davidson (junior-biology) said. "You're here to do the best job you can, get your degree and enter the real world."
On the other hand, style is a serious component of many students' lives for a number of reasons.
"I don't dress just to impress others. I enjoy fashion. Part of me always wanted to get into fashion design, so I still like to experiment artistically with a number of styles," Diehl said.
Students also dress according to moods, schedules and environments.
"If I have a full schedule, I put more effort into my outfit. Feeling put together makes me feel organized for the day," Diehl said.
Whatever the motivation for individual style, students admit that fashion sense is certainly influenced by outside sources.
"I think fashion and style revolve around what you're exposed to, where you're from and who you surround yourself with," Devan Marshall (senior-finance) said. His closet composition has dramatically changed throughout college.
If taste is influenced from without, how much does fashion define an individual?
"I think that fashion definitely makes a first impression whether it's accurate or not," Marshall said. "I don't think fashion necessarily defines who you are, but it definitely defines who you are not."
There's a fine line between impressions and assumptions. When Ion sees a student in "the college outfit," characterized by a name-brand shirt, loose fit carpenter jeans and boots, he said he doesn't make judgment calls.
"I just don't really get a picture of who that person is individually," Ion said. "I get an opinion of their taste but not their character. You can form an opinion about how someone likes to appear but not how they like to live."
Some students feel limited by the variety of selection in the State College area. "I think that might be part of the problem," Diehl said. "Everything's pretty uniform, but I like to wear things that no one else has."
Name brand clothing lines definitely appeal to college students. Abercrombie and Fitch is known as much for its new screensavers, desktops and posters as for its new clothing line. According to the A & F Web site, "It doesn't get any better than our own a&ftv (Abercrombie television) for the latest of everything cool." Abercrombie employees are not authorized to talk to the press.
With such a wide range of styles and opinions about fashion, it's hard to come away with a clear picture of the Penn State fashion scene.
Shelley Banker, owner of the vintage clothing store Rag & Bone, 220C S. Allen St., recognizes the complexity of the campus fashion culture.
"On one hand, the clothing you wear can stick you in a slot, but it's wonderful to be surprised. You just can't judge a book by its cover."
