There’s a Fashion Emergency on the Bakersfield College campus. Bring in the experts! According to many interviewed around campus, BC students have little to no fashion sense. Is this true? An intrepid reporter goes on a mission to find out.
Student Sawako Matsuno, 20, usually wears jeans and a T-shirt.
“I want to be comfortable, but not too casual,” she said.
Her favorite brand is Gucci, and she carries a Prada backpack, which is pretty upper end. But she likes to shop at the Gap. A paradox?
As everyone knows, The Banana, aka The Banana Republic, is on top of the fashion chain, followed by the Gap, Old Navy and Wal-Mart clothes at the bottom of the heap. Prepster is not the only way to go, but if you are looking for the preppy look, you might as well go all the way.
“I like cowboy boots and denim. My denim skirt, my denim jacket,” said Matsuno.
Her friend Muegami Yamaki, 19, agrees that only some students at BC have any fashion sense. She also usually wears jeans and a T-shirt.
“I shop about once a week. I go to the Gap,” she said.
Derrick Hargrove, 21, is not afraid to give fashion advice to his friends.
“I would be all, ‘Man, you need to take it off,'” he said.
Hargrove is from Texas, but he is not into the cowboy look. A big misconception about Buckersfield, er, Bakersfield, is that everyone here is about Wranglers and lassos. Not so. There are a variety of styles worn, of course, and most of them aren’t that great.
Hargrove’s favorite stores are Footlocker and Champs, and his favorite brands are Polo and Nike. In his opinion, “shoes where the tongue stick out” is the worst fashion faux paus that BC students make.
He doesn’t really have a say either way about the rolling backpacks.
There is no point to those backpacks. Students are not at the airport. If people use them so as not to upset their delicate backs, then, as my fellow intrepid reporter Amber says, they are merely going to throw their arms out of their sockets.
And when it comes to people’s fashion sense in general, Hargrove says people can do what they want.
“I think it’s their own style, if you think it looks good, wear it,” he said.
Julian Romero, 18, says patched pants are the worst trend at BC. His usual uniform is Dickies and a T-shirt. Romero also is not shy about giving advice.
“I would tell them what doesn’t look right and how they can change it,” he said, referring to fashion-challenged friends.
He shops at the mall, and his favorite stores are Mainland and Hot Topic. The two together create an image of … a gothic surfer? A goth with a tan? A surfer with skulls on his wet suit? He thinks that some of the students at BC have good fashion sense, but more are motivated to study than to focus on clothes.
So while no one is willing to admit outright that BC students have nada fashion sense, look around campus and draw your own conclusions. Between the big chains, rolling backpacks, anything animal print (hello, that was soooo 2000) and hair about to fall out from peroxide poisoning, BC students have some catching up to do.
So while there is nothing wrong with dressing like an individual, there is something wrong with dressing like a train wreck.