Photo courtesy of Hannah Sampson
For much of history, great importance was placed on dressing well, and Covenant College is no exception. A photo from the 1960 edition of Covenant College’s yearbook, The Tartan, depicts a group of students meeting outside to hear a reading from the literary society.
Seeing men in full suits alongside women in knee- length dresses feels like a glimpse into a Sunday service at a traditional church, but getting dressed up in this way used to be the norm for an average day at Covenant. So normal, in fact, that people used to get dressed up to go eat in the Great Hall.
Now, we wear sweatpants to class. Why?
Within our student body, there is a wide range of casual wear, and, while some students enjoy wearing jeans, others lean towards khakis. Some wear T-shirts, others prefer button-downs.
Athleisure is a popular choice and is defined here as clothing designed for athletic movement, such as leggings, dri-fit materials, or sweatpants, used for casual everyday wear outside of the athletic setting. When asked why they enjoy wearing athleisure, many students say that they prefer it because it is comfortable.
“Dress for success,” said Hannah Hettinger ’ 30 of Ruhama. “But in order for me to be successful, I have to be comfortable.”
Across the board, pro- athleisure students all agree that they see being comfortable as a necessity for doing their best work. Students who dislike athleisure, however, also seem to be motivated by a desire to perform well. For Kate Dolan ’ 29 of Rowan, she includes getting dressed in casual wear that is separate from the clothes she exercises in as a part of her motivation.
“In situations of education, we should be dressed to accomplish our fullest and our best,” Dolan said.
Generally, students seem to agree that their clothes should allow them to focus and work well, but what that dress code looks like differs on a personal basis. Whether they need to feel relaxed, put-together, or attentive, students choose specific clothes to invoke those feelings and help them do their best work.
Overall, it’s clear that students’ preference for dressing in athleisure or other casual wear isn’t arbitrary. Students are reaching for the outfits that best prepare them for the day, and that looks different for each of us. While I’ll keep wearing my jeans to class, my roommate will keep wearing her leggings, and we are both choosing the outfits that best suit our learning styles and daily habits.
Some people might raise concerns about the potential of a cultural trend toward laziness, but it’s clear that for many students wearing athleisure, they aren’t accepting slothfulness; they’re embracing motivation. So long as we’re all putting our best foot forward, it doesn’t quite matter whether that foot is clothed in loafers or whether it’s clothed in Nikes.