Scott FobesDressing Presentable
Going to parochial school all my life, I never had the opportunity to dress up for school. When I came to Cabrini last year, I made the promise to myself that I would get dressed up for class every single day. I never had class before 10:55 a.m. so I did not think that would be a problem.
One day, I decided to dress in comfortable sweatpants and wear my hair up because it was cold outside. In my first class my teacher said, “You look….different.”
This was the first time I ever felt like, “Wow. Maybe I should actually get dressed for class. After that I continued to dress up for class, usually in just jeans and a nice sweater, nothing too fancy.
Then second semester rolled around and it was still bitterly cold out. I was then entering into the wonderful world of having an early morning class. I had IST at 9:35 a.m. Being that it was cold Friday morning class, there was no way on God’s green earth that I would be getting dressed for class in anything other than sweats.
By the end of the year I found that I was feeling sorry for myself and that I did not feel presentable. So once again I vowed to myself that I would dress decently for class.
When I say getting dressed for class “decently,” I do not mean wearing my stilettos and a prom dress. I am simply attempting to look presentable and to make myself feel good. Like many people, I feel good when I look good. Cabrini in my opinion is not a college where students dress up for classes.
From a visitor’s point of view, students tend to look sloppy and lazy if they are not dressed in casual clothes. Do we really want to show to visitors and prospective students that Cabrini is a laid back community? In my opinion, people are going to want to go to a school where the students look like they are well-groomed and polished. You want to look presentable.
If you go to other schools such as Villanova and Wake Forest you will notice that the majority of students are in Gap or Polo attire. What do you find at Cabrini, pajama pants and baggy hoodies.
Laura Van De Pette
Staff Writer
lcv722@cabrini.edu
Dressing Comfortable
Do you cringe at the sight of stiletto heels, tight jeans, revealing halter tops paired perfectly with matching hats, belts and jewelry? If you are waking up for an 8:15 a.m. class the thought of putting effort into style seems more difficult than your abstract algebra class! Yet, I notice more and more women dressing up for early classes. Why?
The purpose of dressing up is to impress others and express your confidence. At 8:15 a.m. the cute boy who sits behind you will not notice your heels and lip-gloss. He is lucky to have made it from his bed to his desk. You would have been better off saving the 20 minutes you spent deciding between black or brown heels and spending those precious minutes snoozing underneath your covers.
Whether you wear heels and jeans or sneakers paired with sweat-pants, the outcome of your early-morning class depends on the work you produce, attendance and work ethic. Your professor will not consider your fashion sense, no matter how many sleepless nights you spent memorizing and studying the pages of this month’s Cosmopolitan and Vogue.
If impressing your teacher is the goal in mind, fashion is the wrong way to go about it. Most professors would rather their students arrive to class on time and prepared. Strutting into class at 8:30 a.m. because you could not find your favorite jeans amongst a pile of ten strikingly similar pairs is a ridiculous excuse. Such an excuse will provide only one positive result…a chuckle from fellow students who are sitting comfortably in their Cabrini sweatshirts and sweatpants.
I am not criticizing women who love fashion and the way a great pair of heels can really boost a woman’s mood. Make no mistake about it; I am a fashion-savvy woman who takes pride in her presentation. I feel fashion is a great outlet for people to express their personality and show confidence. However, I do feel the time-consuming ritual of styling hair, make-up and clothing before an 8:15 a.m. class is a waste of valuable time. An intelligent and fashionable student would be better off saving their favorite heels for a later class and spending their morning sleeping, reviewing notes for class or attempting to eat breakfast in the cafeteria.
As a student ambassador to Cabrini College, I understand that parents and visitors do not want to see me in sweat pants. For this reason all tour guides are required to wear dress pants or skirts. Prospective students and their families understand that students dress comfortably for early classes and are appreciative when their tour guide takes pride in his or her presentation. This is another situation when students are expected to present themselves in a fashionable manner.
If you are not doing a presentation in front of the class or meeting with a member of faculty or administration after class, dress comfortably. Furthermore, a woman’s natural beauty and glow has always been a fashion essential, so save your lip-gloss and heels for your Friday-night date and sport your Nike Shox and sweatshirt with confidence to class tomorrow morning.
Posted to Web by: Scott Fobes
