Clothes

I was just chatting with a journalism graduate student. She is writing articles this semester on fashion and wanted to talk about a sociological perspective on fashion. Clearly outside my area of expertise, but what the heck, I can talk about "presentation of self" and "impression management" with the best of them.
I have often been struck with the changing appearance of college students. I see my first year advisees on the weekend before classes start, they have been here about 2 days. They still look pretty freshly scrubbed and well dressed. By Thanksgiving, they are different people. For the most part, their attention to personal appearances has declined. They are more pierced, more colored, more scruffy. The guys have probably not had a haircut since they arrived. But, by senior year, they start to clean up a little bit again. Many now have internships or are interviewing for jobs. They are starting to think about a "grown up" life, and starting to look the part. Those carefree college days are coming to an end....