Style or Comfort?

Something that I’ve come to terms with since coming to college is realizing the importance of comfort over style, or even stylish comfort, instead of just style. In high school, I didn’t have to take into account long walks, or different weather because my walks between classrooms were probably 4 minutes long, and really just cared about how my outfit looked, to myself and to my friends. I have never used a backpack, at least since middle school, and have probably not owned anything with a hood since then either - I am allergic to anything hooded, always have been, and always will be. My new Doc Martens gave me blisters, my tight shirts were uncomfortable, but I muscled through, and even convinced myself that I wasn’t uncomfortable, to the point where I almost believed myself.

In college, this mindset didn’t work so well, which I quickly realized. I have always loved my totes and purses, but being an English major, and carrying millions of textbooks, my posture became lopsided, and my right shoulder almost dislocated. My shoulder would constantly be red and aching, and my friends would constantly feel the weight of my bag, and ask me, why don’t you use a backpack? And I just could not get myself to do it. I tried many different bags. My first bag had skinny straps, so it cut into my shoulder. My second bag, which I was most excited about, was an unstructured sack-like bag that my friends called my “trash bag” because it was SO large and I could fit literally anything in it - books, laptop, Ipad, chargers, headphones, planner, water bottle, change of clothes…literally anything. But, because the weight was not distributed, my back started to hurt to an extreme degree, and I just couldn’t do it anymore, especially after my magnanimous purchase of a bike.

Trash bag in all her glory… RIP queen (my back)

Therefore, I transitioned to the horrendous backpack, which I hated. Every time I used it, I felt like I was betraying my identity, like I had to reshape my personality and sense of style, just to keep with the attitude of the backpack. But, I also felt weightless, and relieved of a cumbersome trash bag that tired me out every day. Recently, I have switched back to the classic purse, and just whittled down my daily possessions, because I don’t feel like myself without it. For some reason, everywhere I go, I find myself lugging so much stuff, and so many bags, and don’t know how I collect so much stuff.

The rain is another thing that I had to learn how to deal with. I could mostly avoid it in high school, keep to the awnings, and have short walks and a car, two things which I don’t seem to have at Berkeley. I never check the weather before I dress in the mornings, which always bites me in the back, because I am obviously unprepared for whatever Berkeley weather chooses that day. I started by putting my arms above my head to just block the drizzle, and then graduated to a scarf wrapped around my head, which I found to be inconvenient, and obviously get completely soaked, and finally realized that I needed an umbrella. So I told my mom, and she sent me one with a very large, wooden cane, which I loved, but it was a little embarrassing when I brought it to class, and it didn’t rain, because then I would just be stuck carrying this wooden cane around campus, which I just embraced by using it as my staff. Ultimately, I reached the point of adding a collapsible umbrella to my collection, which I could just fit into my (purse…). Yay! Took me long enough!

I have asked a lot of people what they think about when they are making their outfits in the morning, and most people responded with “definitely comfort,” which seems to fit with the rest of society, with 81% of people saying that they choose comfort over style or cost. Brands like Lululemon, Hoka, and Crocs have seen drastic increases in their revenue because of increasing customer demand for comfortable products, and this is even seen in high fashion.

People care less about clothes as a status symbol, with 13% caring about the latest trend or wearing clothes with high-name brands, and even care more about their abilities to wash the clothes, rather than the fabric or the cut. A stylist at The Styling Storey says, “feeling at peace with our bodies and comfortable in our own skin is key. Our clothes should allow us to move and flow through life with ease not fight against who we are,” which I completely agree with. If we are comfortable in ourselves, we are more prepared to deal with the challenges of life, like walking to class and battling the elements, and therefore have a better day, because we aren’t adding any more discomfort to our plate! It seems like people still care that they look presentable, but will not sacrifice their own comfort to look good, because you can do both at the same time, which is a realization that took me a while to come to, but other people seem to have reached this conclusion earlier than me. Being comfortable affects my mental state, I’m not constantly hyper-fixating on the scratchiness of a sweater or the tightness of a mini skirt, and I can move freely and fully be myself, while also looking like myself, which is the best feeling ever, and I highly encourage finding a happy medium between both!