Rain boots? Statement piece. Puffy jacket? Daily uniform. If Corvallis weather doesn’t make you question your sanity, are you even enrolled?
As the winter months roll into the school year as menacingly as the dark rain clouds roll into the sky and seemingly refuse to leave, fashion choices are changing around campus. Clothing that used to express each person’s unique personality is now expressing the fear of ending up drenched just trying to make it to class on time. When we look back on our childhoods of brightly colored rain boots and careless splashes in muddy puddles, we ask ourselves, when did we move to anxiously check the hourly forecast instead of our horoscopes? When did rain stop feeling fun and is there any way to get a whimsical feeling back into our lives through fashion?
Hadley Kuosman, a senior in the apparel design program in the College of Business, sought to answer these questions by first reflecting on her own experiences in the Corvallis climate.
“When you’re younger, you jump in the puddles and you’re having a bunch of fun and then you get older and you’re like, I don’t want to get dirty!” Kousman said.
Kuosman claimed that now, her style is more impacted by the weather than when she was a kid.
“I definitely think my style changes based on where I’m at in the term in comparison with the weather. Like, if I have that eight a.m. class in week seven and it’s just miserable outside, it’s definitely going to be like a sweatpants-sweatshirt kind of day,” she said. “But I don’t think that my style is necessarily hindered. I think it’s just an acceptance of like, you can always look good, but it’s okay to have those bad days where you kind of just need something cozy and comfortable.”
Kuosman added that there are still ways to preserve a sense of fun, however.
“It always makes me happy to wear bright colors or wear these rain boots I have. They’re blue, and they have bumblebees on them, so when it’s really gross and rainy, I love to put those on, and just kind of stomp my way to class,” Kousman said.
Freshman McKenzie Stone, who has lived in Oregon her whole life and is accustomed to the constant rain, shared that she also finds small ways to incorporate her personality into her ‘rainy-day uniform,’ which she claimed often feels overly repetitive or lacking interesting silhouettes.
“One thing that helps me keep some whimsy in my life during the colder, wetter months is to put more effort into accessorizing, which helps make the similar outfits feel more interesting and intentional,” Stone said.
Her top list of accessories that fit in perfectly with waterproof jackets and boots are, “Jewelry like rings, earrings, necklaces, and bracelets. I also sometimes put more effort into my hair or makeup.”
Our personalities had no trouble shining when we were little, so why should rainy days get in the way of that now? No matter your style, there are always ways to express yourself and add a little whimsy back into your wardrobe, even when the weather seems to be rooting against fashion.
