Be a Renaissance Man

I'm not a huge believer of some of the nit-picky "don'ts" aimed towards the fashion of everyday people. I realize in the high-end fashion world there are spoken and unspoken rules and they're going to be followed, but I'm talking about things that influence normal people when they look into their closet each morning. The biggest one, and I think this happens subconsciously, is that everyone feels like they have to be ONE demographic. There are unspoken rules for each type of person. Athlete's wear sweats and hoodies with some Air 1's, or anything supporting their favorite squad. Hipsters rock skinny jeans and a shirt they've had since 6th grade with chucks or combat boots. Thugs take the Athlete look to the extreme, making things baggier, adding hints of colors like neon green and electric blue, and have a collection of New Era 59/50 fitted caps. Rich kids wear some kind of Ralph Lauren oxford with normal jeans or khakis and loafers or some kind of classy boot. The list goes on and on. I could include a few female ones but that list could literally take me all night, but everyone knows these stereotypes. The thing is, the people I see everyday and am impressed with, are the people that don't give in to these things.

I read an interview on The Sartorialist a few days ago where Scott asked a woman a fill in the blank question. It said, "I build my everyday look on:". This woman's answer was exactly what everyone else's should be. She simply said, "An emotion". I love this because I feel like when you wake up in the morning, and walk to your closet, your thought shouldn't be, "What can I wear today that is similar to what I always wear, and not too different that people will think I'm trying too hard, but still represents my image?" That's too many things to think about! Build your daily look on an emotion. Be a Renaissance Man (or woman), a Jack (or Jill) of all trades! In a similar sense, don't just try to blend in with what you think other people are doing. Eliminate the mentality of, "Well I think other people would do this too so that's okay". I realize what I am saying may not apply completely at the collegiate level. We all have seen people on College, Beaver, Pollock, and Curtin wearing something out of the ordinary, and a majority of the people they pass give them some sort of look. I get it, college kids are judgmental. But there are ways to be innovative, and still be simple. I guess my goal with writing this would be to motivate people not to give in to the zombie population of day after day of Penn State Hoodies, Sweats, Uggs, etc. Do something different more often than not, and bum it when you're bummed. Dress on your daily emotion, not on others expectations.

BWB