You may have noticed a disappearance of the "I Am Fashion Person of the Week" in the last edition of Venues. The reason is simple: no one made the cut.

Every day, Stephanie, my counterpart in reporting styles and trends, and I sit outside the HUB-Robeson Center or the Thomas building, take strolls downtown and look inside stores to find someone who we feel has a sense of style from head to toe. You would think, with all of the hours spent, we would find someone within a few hours. This is the furthest thing from the truth.

Penn State is a diverse campus with intelligent students who come from different backgrounds, lifestyles and parts of the country. But the fashion selections that I have encountered are not indicative of this. When we do find someone who is different, and obviously put some thought into their wardrobe selection, we photograph him or her and ask a few questions, crowning them I Am Fashion Person of the Week. This only happens after hours of searching. We have chased people down College Avenue, notebook in hands, and we can't let that person get away because another well-dressed person probably won't appear. Creepy, yes, but we wouldn't have to be if everyone stepped it up.

One day, Stephanie and I counted 37 pairs of exclusively "sand" colored "Classic Short" UGGs. To my displeasure, we have seen too many pairs of tights that are worn as pants. Attempts at looking Bohemian, clumpy sweatshirts and jeans that don't fit are a few symptoms of bad style that I've seen.

You may be thinking that if you don't own anything "designer" or expensive, it will keep you from being person of the week. This has no matter to us because when it comes to style, brand names mean little to nothing. A YSL bag doesn't make you stylish and neither do Seven For All Mankind jeans. Then what is style? Style, by definition, is a particular, distinctive, or characteristic mode or form of construction or execution. Wear what looks good on you and what you believe shows a little bit about yourself.

I don't know why everyone wants to be a cookie-cutter duplicate. Just because you may feel like you "fit in" by wearing a generic outfit doesn't mean you do. You may have the Vera Bradley tote to carry your books, sand-colored UGGs to keep you warm, and a black North Face fleece to block the wind -- but do you have a style? Absolutely not.

I have always lived by the mantra that if you love clothes, wear them. You know you have that funky two-tiered dress you've been dying to wear over tights in your closet but haven't had enough gumption to actually do it. If you're not doing it for yourself, at least do it for us, the Collegian fashion reporters, because we'd love to put you in Venues.

With finals around the corner and the semester coming to a close, I am asking everyone to put some thought into your wardrobe choices. Don't think we're not watching, because we're both out there, waiting for you to dress like you mean it.

Nicole Sciotto is a junior majoring in journalism and international studies and is a senior styles and trends reporter for the Daily Collegian. Her e-mail address is nms5029@psu.edu.