On The Sidewalk
By Hiba Siddiqui
Published on Friday, March 3, 2006
With finals fast approaching, we witness the growth of the sweats-clad student population and the disappearance of well-coordinated outfits around campus. While the male population of Dartmouth seems to don this uniform of sweatpants all term long without haste, their female counterparts put up a good fight for most of the term. But by the end of the term, they too may succumb to the notion of function over fashion, and slip into a well-worn pair of baggies. It is amusing that this sweatpant epidemic kicks off around the same time as formals, so girls who don't mind looking scrubbed-out on first-floor Berry by day, worry about being well-coiffed and fabulous by night. The transformation is strangely astounding. While it's difficult to back sweatpants as an aesthetic choice, some swear to them for sheer comfort-value. But does the comfiness of fuzzy-lined butt pants compensate for the fashion flaw that we deem them to be? Is a well-managed slacker-look the next fashion trend? And should fashion succumb to function in time for finals freak-out? The debate continues -- we'll let you be the judge.