cracking the code

I seem to have run into so many problems with Dress Codes lately... not personally, but with friends that come to visit from outside the city. Just the other night, a friend was scolded by an employee, Business casual. No hats, no flip flops, loose jeans.. All of which, of course, my friend had so craftily assembled into one outfit that day. Him being from Philadelphia, he hardly knew what kind of garb is expected to be worn when planning a night out in Big Apple turf. The same with another good friend of mine, whom I had to lend some of my own clothes to in order for her to look presentable for a night out. Are some of these expectations a bit too much, as my friends complained? In my opinion (although it hardly counts, considering I'm a lover of dressing sharply), it's simply a part of city culture. Most other colleges have a much more lax dress code, adorning themselves in pajama pants and college-name t-shirts when going to class. Yet, too many times have I visited friends and found myself a bit overdressed to the average person. In the city, it would seem nothing more than a casual day outfit while outside I would have people asking me if I was planning to go somewhere fancy. Breaking the "dress code" can certainly go both ways.

Coming back to Dirty Jersey is definitely something. It's sort of refreshing to see so much grass, but I have to admit that it isn't much greener on the other side of the state line. With every visit back home I begin to see things just a little differently than I did before. For example, window displays and clothing quality... As I visited my old haunts (i.e. the insignificant little mall five minutes away from my home), I noticed that stores I once rushed to no longer contained anything that appealed to me. My taste has since matured and become more seasoned--a result, I'm sure, of being in the city. There, I'm constantly surrounded by the highest quality in fashion culture. Going back to the suburbs, things just seem a little more... tacky? Out dated? A mixture of the two. I found myself drawn to the more expensive brands I once thought quite bland. My visit to Ann Taylor Loft, for example, was surprisingly the only place I found anything that appealed to me. My, being a fashion major certainly has its effects on you!

I take this visit in both a negative as well as a positive light. Negative, because it's quite disappointing to see such lowered qualities in stores outside of a major city. Even the higher end of the mass market (Express, New York, Inc., etc.) displayed tiered dresses that have been well overplayed in the past two seasons. Yet it's positive in the sense that I'm able to see how the mass majority dresses. In cities, people often tend to enclose themselves in a bubble where everyone is educated on the quality of the fabric and design of clothing, when in fact that is far from the norm in any other setting than an urban one. Still, I hardly see myself being able to turn back to stores whose grounds I used to worship.

I was, however, able to make a few excellent finds during my shopping escapades..

For example, this gingham blouse from J. Crew, which I'm absolutely obsessed with. The tagged price was about $69.50, much more than I'd normally pay for a blouse, but I just can't seem to resist.... The salmon-colored shorts were wonderful, too! I love the gold closures :)

These two lovelies were found by my friend Amanda on the sale rack... It's amazing what a little extra fabric sewn on a shirt can do. To the right is a quarter-sleeved cardigan with that same amazing print as the canvas skirt. I have to say, though, my purchase of the day was also hanging on the sale rack, to my pleasant surprise:

These amazing pair of paint-splattered pants were already on sale for $19.99?! Quality clothing plus quality prices? Oh my goodness..... It almost feels like stealing.

-- Aisha K.