Fashion can be anything—from floral prints, to shoes, to an everyday grungy sweatshirt. For University of Idaho freshman Chelsea Bence, it is a simple staple she has gotten attached to.
“When I see something I like, I want to wear it,” Bence said. “I’m going through a Snooki phase right now with my cheetah print.”
Always influenced by trends, Bence said she has felt less judgment from her peers in college than in high school. Today, her style is dictated simply by what she likes and how she feels.
Like many UI students, Bence has found a new sense of identity through her closet, making her imagination endless.
Imagination inspired Bence and even senior Ramiro Vargas.
The move from southern to northern Idaho was the opportunity he said he needed to experiment more with his clothing choices.
“I’m definitely more daring than I could have been, or used to be, back in high school — or just at home,” Vargas said. “I’m in an environment where I’m able to express myself and just have more freedom to do whatever I want in that sense.”
Influenced by friends and his own fashion style, Vargas said he has enjoyed taking advantage of the freedom to dress as he pleases, something he didn’t have while adhering to a strict dress code at his high school.
“Obviously, at school I couldn’t wear jorts (jean shorts). But now I can, so I try to keep that consistent,” Vargas said. “These jorts have seen everything.”
While he has always tried to remain an authentic person, Vargas said he has elevated his style with a sense of wanting to stand out in his own way.
“(In high school), I did what I could within the confines of what I was given,” Vargas said. “The environment changes when you go to school with 300 or 400 people to 8,000 people, and so you definitely have to find a way to stand out.”
For UI senior Jacob Stagge, the lift of the social pressure from high school impacted his style by wearing what he feels truly reflects his personality, rather than appeasing his peers.
Turning away from his original skateboarding style, Stagge now wears tie-dye and fraternity shirts regularly.
“In high school, I was kind of anti-social,” said Stagge. “I finally figured myself out my freshman year (of college). That’s when I started choosing the things that I liked to wear.”
For some students, a move from their hometown to living on their own is enough to spark growth and change. For others, such as UI senior Trinity Carpenter, it takes several moves to learn more personal identity through fashion. She grew up in Moscow, but said she developed her unique style during an extended stay away from the Palouse. While attending school in Colorado, Carpenter said her fashion sense evolved working in a coffee shop with coworkers that experimented with their own fashion. After returning to Moscow for college, she was encouraged by a professor to add an apparel, textiles and design major to her accounting degree.
After adding her second major, she said she realized that she could wear whatever she wanted without worrying about what others thought. With a mostly thrifted closet, Carpenter said she feels most comfortable wearing whatever she wants based on her mood.
“It’s really hard, at least for me, to describe my style. I think it’s such a huge part of me, and at the same time, it’s very fleeting,” Carpenter said. “I don’t think there’s really any boundaries on what someone’s style can be.”
Story by Mary Phipps
Photos by Saydee Brass
Design by Hagen Hunsaker