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Differences in Dress Sense

By Harry Pearse
Staff Writer

We international students have a completely different fashion sense than do the Americans! Do you agree? Tight trousers or jeans (called “pants” in every other language apart from English, which I find extremely bizarre as we call pants “briefs” in England!), tight or fitted tops, shirts and jumpers. These are fashions that foreigners are renowned for. Many of the Americans I see on a day-to-day basis at Post, however, dress in rather baggy clothes, such as athletic shorts or “pants.” This week, I wanted to see what the Americans think of our dress sense. Is it unique, or weird? Do they like it?

The Americans on the men’s soccer team are overwhelmed with Europeans, and Europeans have the world’s best dress sense, right? Smart, unique, wacky, unconventional, with a swaggy touch—at least this is how I think of my companions and myself! So, have these Americans on the soccer team been converted to the inherent sense of style that the Scandinavians and the Brits bring?

I was speaking to a long-term server of the men’s soccer team—a guy highly regarded in the ranks of the team, and someone who has been a truly great college-athlete: Victor Muntean, a senior majoring in Business Management, also an American. We spoke about what he thought of the style brought forth to the changing room over the years from different international student-athletes. “I would say that the Europeans’ style, from what I have noticed throughout my years here at Post, is as eclectic as any other culture,” he said, and explained himself, “I have found varieties of different fashions and styles every day I walk into school. I have noticed that some prefer a more traditional and tailored style, such as dress shirts and a sweater with smart shoes. I have also seen others wear tight pants with a shirt, but keeping it informal with a pair of sneakers. And then I see the stereotypical Europeans who wear an eccentric dress code of many different colors chucked together. Sometimes their clothes can be too big or too small. They seem fairly presentable compared to the American standard of jeans and a t-shirt, or the infamous sweatpants and hoodie. While some of these interesting international styles have rubbed off on me, although I do like to keep the more casual American look.”

This is the opinion of a guy who has experienced so many different cultural styles: Swedish, British, German, Danish, Chinese, South American, and many more. This does, partly, answer a question I asked earlier: Have these Americans on the soccer team been converted to the inherent sense of style the Scandinavians and the Brits bring? As Vic said, he has taken a few things from these crazy and different styles. However, this doesn’t apply to all Americans. I also spoke to another team member, Vincent Tavernese. I texted Vin: “What do you think of the European style?” He replied, “Awful!” So I think from that text, we can see that not all Americans agree with these out-of-the-box styles!

On the other hand, being at an American college now for around two months, I have seen many international students who have actually inherited the American dress sense. They have adopted the chilling, comfortable, and relaxed style the Americans seem to share. I also have these days, as do the other internationals I’m guessing, when they feel like just tucking up into trackies (“sweatpants” in English) and a big warm hoodie — especially in these wonderful, harsh winters, or the day after a night out shape-cutting and drinking (water obviously).

But this replication of the internationals’ style doesn’t rub off onto the Americans in the slightest. I haven’t yet seen an American with a similar style to an international student like myself. I have also found it fascinating since I came here, the diversity of styles one campus can have. For me, this is the beauty of college. I am witness to so many different ways of living, dressing and different values people live, and this really does reflect in what people wear and how they dress. It is so refreshing to see so many different personalities each day instead of seeing a generic dress code that people follow! Go out and have a day or two of trying out a different style, see and feel what it looks like to be in a different outfit. See it as Post Pride, but instead of the green and gold colors, a pair of loafers, a buttoned-down collar and some skinny jeans, or the conventional, multicolored smash-up!

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