They say that Paris is supposed to be the fashion capital of the world, but a handful of Northwestern students have found evidence that style actually struts its way across the entire world.
For Weinberg junior Joshua West, natives of Madrid held their own with an array of scarves and skinny jeans.
“The Afghans, the pashminas — a lot of Spanish men wear white jeans,” West says. “They’ve got their sweater vests, their dresses — a much smarter look.”
Trying to mimic the looks on the streets of Madrid isn’t necessarily the most budget-savvy move for a student traveling abroad. The current exchange rate for an US dollar to a Euro is about 0.70€. “It’s incredibly expensive,” adds West.
Boots and hats aside, Madrid is not exempt from fashion faux pas. For fellas, it was their hair.
“They still spike their hair down the center so it has a little shark’s fin,” West says.
And for the ladies, it was the skinny jean gone terribly wrong.
“The crotch would come down almost to their knees,” West says. “It wasn’t attractive, but attractive girls would wear that style sometimes.”
Upon returning, West found himself more conscientious of his day-to-day wardrobe choices and slightly influenced by trends overseas but still loyal to American couture.
Head east to Greece and you’ll find yourself emerged in a sea of browns, dark greens, blues and blacks.
“You’d see a canary yellow but not a pink or a lime green,” says SESP Junior Brittany Mason.
Greece’s balmy climate gives way to cottons, airy fabrics, and loose dresses. “The Grecian sandal is a staple,” Mason adds. Contrary to the laid-back dress of frat boys and computer nerds, Grecian men have an edge when it comes to fashion sense.
“Skinny tie, vest, tailored pant — the European suit, it’s a beautiful thing,” Mason says.
Like West, Mason raised her red flag to baggy pants on Grecian girls. “It’s a cross between a parachute pant and a jean material,” Mason says. “It’s really big and fluffy with the tight ankle and [paired] with random shirts.”
Weinberg junior Laura Kelly found nothing fashion forward in the crowded streets of Harbin, China. “Their fashion sense is awful,” Kelly says. “They would wear the same shirt for a week.”
A touch of American style made its way into Harbin mainstream fashion but in a less than iconic way. “The English on shirts is wrong, it doesn’t make sense,” Kelly says.
Kelly once witnessed an 8-year-old wearing a t-shirt with a martini glass, donning the phrase ‘It’s 5 o’clock somewhere’. Many Harbin retailers are spin-offs of popular American brand names like Hollister and Ralph Lauren. “Prich [a Chinese clothing brand] was basically an American Eagle,” adds Kelly.
Whether it’s the white jeans of Madrid, the Grecian sandals of Greece or the overall European suit of Europe, students studying abroad have submerged themselves into these trends and others. They enable the rest of the Northwestern community to be inspired by these popular trends as well, making the fashion abroad a part our culture too.