Fashion in the Writing Center

During my Writing Center shift this evening, I sat and chatted with the other tutor on duty, Barkley. He's starting grad school in the Fall for classical guitar and is older than the average student, having already completed his BA in English and now just completing a few courses to prep him for grad school. After our session with a girl learning to develop a thesis ended, chat turned to other interests, including short stories, television and, my favorite, clothes.

Barkley has the standard problem of having no idea where to shop or what to buy. He does, however, have an idea of how he wants to look. He likes the style in Mad Men (I am loving what this show is doing to our uber-casual generation) and particularly likes vests and hats. Huzzah, someone I can work with.

So we talked about what he should look for in a suit. He's broke, like most students of music, and his girl also wants to upgrade and refine her style, also on no money. I encouraged them to look at Target to build a wardrobe of basics and then upgrade as money allows. I explained that his shoulders being broad means he needs suits that fit there since tailoring shoulders is expensive and tapering waists are cheap. We talked about ideas for his woman, about stacked heels that are more comfortable for daily wear.

I forgot how much I enjoy talking about clothes and advising about fashion. With a few exceptions, I have very few chances to discuss it lately. I've missed it. So I'm thrilled for a project!