Reader Question: You can pay for school, but you can't buy class

Reader:

Congratulations on the contest. I was wondering if you ever found it difficult to dress as well as you do to class and on campus, often I find myself feeling somewhat ashamed that I am trying to look my best but my friends and peers sometimes dress like slobs. I am also a student-athlete at my school and a lot of my friends and teammates largely do not care about their attire, which makes me feel largely out of place. Have you ever had any experiences like this? Thanks.

SB:

Hey there. Thanks for reading. It's an interesting question, and I certainly know where you are coming from. College athletes, for a number of understandable reasons (time management issues, early morning workouts, running from the classroom to the gym etc.) often aren't concerned with dressing well. It took me a while to establish the "reputation" for being able to pull off whatever look I wanted without people saying "who the hell is this guy and why is he dressed like that?".

I always thought it was funny that, when getting dressed, so many American men value sameness and sticking out from the crowd is frowned upon. I'm from a different camp. I'd rather stand out from the crowd (in a positive way) then look like just another average Joe.

My advice would be that while you should dress for the occasion (I wouldn't necessarily wear suits to class) you can still look put-togeter and stylish while keeping it more casual and laid back. Check out this awesome slide show from men.style.com which focuses on "collegiate inspired" looks. Although the price points may not be college student friendly, the looks are very inspiring and can point you in the right direction as far as putting together looks that are not too classy for class, but not grungy enough for the gridiron.

And when you're teammates get on you for being "overdressed" (believe me, I've been there) just laugh it off...remember it's always better to be overdressed than underdressed...and don't forget to smile at the girls on campus when you walk by ;)

Hope this helps! Yours in style, DT aka SB