A Study in Dress - My Week Long Social Experiment

The Experiment: Comments made about my edgy, prepster way of dressing have prompted me to do a minor social experiment. For one work week [January 21-26] I abandoned my traditional wardrobe of ladylike dresses, textured tights, Waldorf-esk headbands, skirts and blazers for what is worn by the typical college co-ed. What did this mean? It meant that for one work week I embraced leggings as pants, tee shirts, sweatshirts and trade my combat boots for Converse to see if the way people interacted and perceived me changed. Observations and reactions were recorded below in diary format.

The Hypothesis: It is my best guess that for five days, no one will comment on my wardrobe and that I will blend into the student body at this small, Catholic school. I believe that the way I dress is not an indicator of my abilities, but that students may perceive me as average and more approachable when dressed like I do not care about appearances but that when I go back to my usual dress I will be treated as though I am frivolous.

Why Does This Matter: In the modern world a person should be judged on their abilities and not the way they look. Just because I enjoy putting on a new Milly dress does not mean I am stupid. I hope to help break these judgements.

Photos from Morgan Harding, Abercrombie & Fitch, Tumblr

Day One - Monday, January 21: I woke up, blew out my hair and brushed it straight. To be honest this is more than most girls on my campus do but whatever, it's how I do my hair. I pulled on black, spandex leggings that I bought when I was in ninth grade, a black, ribbed tank-top from American Eagle and a Flogging Molly concert baseball tee that I stole from my boyfriend at some point last year. I finished off my look with a knitted cap from H&M Divided and my black Ariat cowboy boots because it is icy / snowy outside and my black Converse are completely trashed.

The initial reaction from day one was a mix of confusion and openness. The people who know me best were mildly confused as to why I look like a straight-out-of-Brooklin hipster but the random twenty- somethings I encountered were more apt to talk to me about their lives. Multiple people told me that they never realized I was so nice and friendly, one person asked me if it was laundry day. Perhaps it's because I look more like them and less like a lost adjunct. At the same time no staff members commented on me at all. Normally the cafeteria staff is especially friendly toward me. I had never gone through a dining period without someone giving me a compliment or starting a conversation about clothing - until today.

Day Two - Tuesday, January 22: There was a bit of a snow storm last night and I had a hunch that campus would be a bit icy. Under normal circumstances I would wear a skinny pant and biker boots but during times of an in-climate environment, the Misericordia girl grabs her UGG boots. Luckily I have two pairs of these furry wonders from high school. I decided to dig into my past for the rest of my outfit - a pink henley I bought from Abercrombie & Fitch in tenth grade with a green Abercrombie zip-up over. My American Eagle jeggings would do nicely with this outfit. I have not worn shirts with words on them since tenth grade. I feel like a tween wonderkin.

Today was the first day in my experiment that I had to go down the hall of professor offices. Normally I interact with various profs - in the least they always say hello. Today was different though - I went  unacknowledged with the exception of the professor who mistook me for someone who blew off a meeting with him earlier that day - sorry sir, not me. The opposite happened with the student population. I actually became annoyed at one point by the number of people who felt the need to speak to me, it was almost like I had traded places with someone else. I was "one of them" yet invisible to any person over 25.

Day Three - Wednesday, January 23: I woke up and did just what I had done the past two days. I had an early morning doctor's appointment so I zipped up my teal Abercrombie hoodie and to my appointment I went. By the time I got back home I couldn't take it. I felt 12. I was, in a very literal way, wearing what I wore in junior high. I opt'd to switch tops - swapping my Aber zip for a Misericordia Athletics pull over sweatshirt, something bought for me when I was accepted three years ago. Under my sweatshirt I wore a simple navy tank-top from Aerie, a pair of AG "Angel" jeans, Jay McCarroll socks and sky blue Converse high-tops. I also had to alter my hair. I could not stand to go through another day with my hair straight and getting in my face. I pulled the sides up and clipped them in the back, giving my hair some sort of structure.

I am starting to feel the way I look, something that I did not think would happen. The day was uneventful on the whole. I blended completely. Words cannot express how glad I am that the week is almost through.

Day Four - Thursday, January 24: Today I wore the uniform of the Miseri girl, leggings as pants, tank-top, MU hoodie and sneakers. Most of my friends just gave me a strange look - one went as far as to tell me to "just stop it"(I guess she was sick of my dull appearance). I ran into several member of the English department and one of them, a shorter, middle-aged man, inquired if I had done something different. He couldn't quite put his finger on what, but he knew something had changed. I didn't get the chance to answer because their department chair quickly replied "She discovered hoodies. I don't quite know why." Later at my newspaper layout that I legitimately laughed out loud, when my editor straight up asked what was going on. She had noticed I was doing something on Tuesday when I was in Abercrombie everything.

Day Five - Friday, January 25: TGIF. It is the final day of my experiment and I am ending it on a personal low - a graphic tee from Hollister, AE jeggings (the same pair I wore Tuesday), knited UGG boots and a grey Aerospostle hoodie that is lined in faux-fur. I went to class and then drove back home where I changed into pajamas. No one commented. I was exhausted by the week.

Conclusions: My hypothesis proved to be partially correct. The way I was treated was completely different on all fronts. The student population found a new friend and I blended in and the 25+ set forgot who I was and stop acknowledging my existence. While my stylish appearance garners comments from older people, those same people did not waste their time to speak to me when I looked like the average student and blending into the student population involved much more small talk and much less serious conversation. Somewhere along the way I realized that I had was putting more effort into choosing leggings and a hoodies then I ever had with any dresses.

My takeaway from this experience is that as a whole, our society needs to stop being so judgmental. If a person dresses in a more proper manner it should not make someone is sweats uncomfortable and vice-versa. On the opposite note, I do not understand how a person can opt to dress in the manner I did during the week of Jan. 21-26. My drab duds brought my whole mood down and didn't make me feel better at all.

*After the week ended I donated the tee-shirts with words on them to charity and put the hoodies away for a snow day. The outfits described will never be worn again.

**Throughout this experiment - in typical male fashion - my boyfriend Pete never caught on. He had to be told. He actually said after the fact that he liked my outfit on day one.