Author: Leigh Ann P.
You know you’ve been there. You see a notable piece of fashion – be it adorable or abomination – and you long to capture it on film, but do you dare? Before the unsuspecting fashion plate in question walks too far ahead of you, do you have time to root around in your over-sized tote looking for your cell phone that somehow always manages to find its way to the very bottom; past old, crumpled up Wawa receipts, empty water bottles and your glasses case containing the eyewear you never bother to fish out – otherwise you wouldn’t have taken the 12 bus instead of the 21 today? And even if you do manage to grab it in time, will you be inconspicuous enough? Or are you a klutz who can’t keep a secret?
Maybe you’re smooth and you think you can just walk up to someone and tell her, “Hey, we’d like to photograph you for the Penn Alumni blog’s back-to-school fashion post I’m working on.” Newsflash: this is awkward and no one will believe that you work for that illustrious online publication – that Daily Intel-Slate-NY Times-Perez Hiltonesque amalgam of the Penn Alumni community.
Which is why we are bringing you Frankly Penn’s first-ever Back To Penn Fashion post illustrated entirely in paintbrush!
First up: Last week, we saw a Penn student sitting on a bench near Locust Walk, and she was wearing a pair of clunky-heeled Mary Janes. Mary Janes and clunky heels had a good run in the ’90s, and frankly, we welcome them back with open arms. So long, stilettos! You won’t find yourself interlocked with a sidewalk grate in these puppies! Added bonus: clunky heels will change the proportion of the line of your leg, and instantly remove most traces of cankles. This student was also wearing socks, so we are pretty sure she was going for a full-on Anthropologie look (one of our fave stores – the flagship mansion is at 18th & Walnut, if you’re interested).
Our next Back to School fashion trend we’ve noticed this September is one that has, in fact, been a perennial favorite around college campuses all across this country for at least the last half-century. Does that make it a trend? Probably yes, in the great scheme of things. We call it “I Don’t Care Chic,” and we can be sure it will be around as long as all-nighter cramming sessions exist. The psychology behind this look is one of extraordinary complication and one never knows the true impetus. Do you really not care? Or do you just want to look like you don’t care? Is “not caring” an activity that requires actual effort, and isn’t it ironic when you do put effort into “not caring” because isn’t “not caring” caring? Or perhaps it’s a comfort thing. Personally, we would love to come to work in sweat pants! We are glad these students are enjoying this dress code-free time in their lives. 
We couldn’t write a blog post about early-fall fashion and leave out cargo shorts. Mostly we wanted to see if we could successfully draw cargo shorts using paintbrush. Lex Ruby Howe C’07 thinks the pockets look like little people. We think they’re awesome. What do you think?
The fashion trend making the biggest statement this season – and every season – on this campus are the Penn gear staples. You can’t strut a brick on Locust Walk without spotting packs of students wearing their pride on their sleeves in their Penn sweatshirts, t-shirts, belts, ties, tote bags, hats, gym clothes, flip-flops, and more! 
Join the Penn fashion movement! You can purchase all the Penn gear your red-and-blue-bleeding heart desires on the Penn Bookstore website. Go Quakers!
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