COLLEGIATE COUTURE: HOW STUDENTS & PROFESSORS USE FASHION AS SELF-EXPRESSION

Professor Harriet Brown, shot by Elizabeth Gelber

By: Daisy Polowetzky

From the senior in a sweatsuit in their 8 a.m. lecture, to the sophomore in the library wearing newly thrifted jeans, to the junior lounging on a bench in an oversized leather jacket: students express themselves through style on almost every part of a college campus.

With four years of freedom until most students commit to a life of business-casual wear, college is a unique time when students can play with personal style. While fashion trends for college students change as fast as students change their major, what remains constant is fashion’s ability to convey something about each student.

Most of the fashion trends on college campuses today are influenced by a need for comfort. That's why statement pieces, like faux fur coats, lace blouses and skirts, and knee-high boots, are so popular among students in 2025.

Even when students opt for more casual outfits, they are still making a statement. Whether it’s the baggy football jersey with the number of a student’s favorite player on the back, or a crewneck sweater proudly bearing the Greek letters of a sorority, students are always consciously or unconsciously using style to communicate a part of themselves with others.      

The word “style” when pertaining to college professors is usually associated with the way a professor teaches, not the way they dress. But, for professors at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications Syracuse University, style is just as important to them as it is to their students.

Magazine, News and Digital Journalism professor Harriet Brown entered the working world in 1979. Being in a creative industry allowed Brown to dress as she pleased while working at magazines later in her career, but after becoming a professor, Brown noticed that many of her male colleagues tended to dress down, while the female professors dressed up. 

Professor Harriet Brown, shot by Elizabeth Gelber

For Brown, dressing up in the classroom meant being able to gain respect. But today, with over 20 years of experience in the journalism industry, she feels free of these constraints. 

“Women had to dress as frillier versions of men,” Brown said about professional fashion in the past. “I dress to please myself now.” 

Her personal style  stands out from the usual stereotype of professor fashion. She incorporates bold colors like ruby red and lime green into her everyday attire, and she’s not afraid of an accessory – thick, red-rimmed glasses frame Brown’s face, and a white cloth headband sits in her silvery-grey hair.  

Brown also feels that it is important for her students to explore their personal style in college.

“Especially at 18 to 22, you’re playing with who you are, and you’re playing with presenting yourself in different ways, and I think that it’s really, really important to be able to do that, and to say, ‘Who am I when I wear this? Do I feel differently about myself in this outfit?’” said Brown. 

Like Brown, Anthony Adornato, chair of the Broadcast and Digital Journalism department at the Newhouse School has had an evolving relationship with his personal style since his college career. Adornato attended SU from 1996 to 1999. Adornato remembers that when he was a Newhouse student, a lot of the fashion trends for male students were influenced by big-box store culture. But in terms of his own personal style, Adornato says his staple clothing items were baseball caps, and a lot of flannel.  

Professor Anthony Adornato, shot by Elizabeth Gelber

Today, Adornato’s style is an elevated version of his college self. His go-to look includes timeless pieces like Adidas Stan Smith sneakers, a black leather jacket, and a baseball cap–just like he wore in the ‘90s. Even 30 years later, some trends never change. 

If you wander down the halls of Newhouse, you are sure to see at least one student strolling to class in the same shoes and down the same hallways as Adnorato did in the ‘90s with his Stan Smith’s. And you’ll see students exuding the same confidence and creativity in their fashion that Brown first brought as a professor more than ten years ago. Brown and Adornato’s style evolution serves as a comforting reminder that we truly never stop exploring the ways in which we present ourselves to the world.