In being part of one of the world’s fashion capitals, one could logically infer that the University of Miami would be a hubbub of innovative and show-stopping fashion. The fashion sense of the students, however, is a debated topic.
A fair way to evaluate the fashion, or lack of, at the University of Miami is to note and acknowledge recurring trends. The men at the University in particular are an interesting topic for fashion evaluation, because their trends are so dominant. If there is one guy wearing white Air Max 90s, there are fifty guys wearing white Air Max 90s.
A strong trend among male students is baggy pants and/or jeans. The trend that is now a little over ten years old is extremely prevalent among UM’s male population. Most of the young men on campus can be spotted wearing their belt around their backside rather than their waist. Which brings up the question, why wear a belt at all?
Another strong trend among UM males is fitted hats, or 59fifty hats, usually adorned with NFL or MLB logos. These trends are predominantly found on American students, while European students, to generalize, traditionally dress more formal with leather dress shoes and jeans that do not reference a stint in prison.
While preppy fashion trends for men are a rare occurrence on our campus, it does exist. Preppy statement pieces such as the Ralph Lauren Polo, J. Crew boat shoes and nautical designs are the chosen items.
Even still, one can spy the infrequent brave male student breaking the college fashion norms by rejecting the wrinkled green UM cotton tee for a far more flashy neon Bape hoodie and some Pharrell-inspired eyeglasses. These students often experiment with a collaboration of style trends, mimicking Andre 3000’s unique mix of preppy and new age. Vibrant colors and abstract graphics are reemerging trends in this offbeat trend.
Hopefully with more coming in fall fashion novelties, a greater number of male students will feel liberated enough to dress outside their conformist fashion box.