Photo courtesy: Mallory Clark
What does it cost to attend the University of Mississippi? Tuition, housing, food, books and travel may come to mind first, but should having the right clothing be factored in?
For Mallory Clark, a senior public health major, attending sorority events and football games has led her to spend an estimated $450-$600 each semester on specific outfits for weekly events.
“Having the right clothes gets stressful,” Clark said. “It may sound silly or high maintenance, but it’s almost a standard practice here to need a new outfit each week.”
The expectation to have new clothes is a weekly stressor that has added roughly $500 to senior finance and marketing major Alyssa Haskamp’s spending throughout a school year.
“I am financially responsible for rent, tuition, gas, food and any sort of going-out activities, so adding on a weekly outfit for a single occasion really adds extra stress and anxiety,” Haskamp said. “I feel like I might not fit in if I don’t wear the newest trend or the right color for the game day theme.”
The constant cycle of purchasing new outfits is something that Haskamp believes is partially caused by pressure to adhere to the unspoken rule of avoiding repeating outfits at functions.
“Whatever the event may be, I feel like I need to wear something no one has seen before,” Haskamp said. “I feel slightly insecure when I rewear the same thing, especially if it is an outfit I have already posted on social media in.”
Clark, who also makes an effort to avoid wearing outfits multiple times, has relied on renting and borrowing clothes from other students, as well as renting out her own clothes, to help offset what she spends.
“It’s hard to keep up with everyone around you and try to be a part of every trend,” Clark said. “I feel like that’s where making good friends and connections helps save you a ton. There’s a lot of good people at Ole Miss that are more than willing to share and swap. You just have to put yourself out there.”
Similarly, Haskamp often chooses to rent clothes, something she sees as an easier option as well as being more economical.
“Renting clothes, you don’t have to worry about the stress of ordering it ahead of time and getting it shipped, and the prices are significantly lower,” Haskamp said.
Unlike Clark and Haskamp, Jesse Mitchell, a senior journalism major, says that he does not worry about repeating outfits for everyday wear. He believes this is a common stance among men on campus.
“I personally try to repeat outfits or parts of an outfit as much as possible to cut down on spending,” Mitchell said. “I don’t want to speak for everyone, but for guys I think it’s a lot more normalized to not worry so much about being seen in the same pair of pants or the same polo.”
Despite this, Mitchell — an involved student on UM’s campus — still faces frequent pressure to find new clothes for events, costing him between $60-$150 for each outing.
“Game days, date nights, parties and any event or social setting you can think of almost always requires its own outfit … Sometimes you just need a new colored polo, but sometimes you need a whole new outfit to fit with a party’s theme,” Mitchell said.
To help with the expense of needing new clothes, Mitchell uses resources like the UM Career Closet and also rents items that he does not see himself wearing multiple times.
“A great place to look is the Career Closet on campus that helps outfit students in need,” Mitchell said. “I’ve needed a belt for an interview before and they really saved me, and renting clothes is 100% the way to go when you know you’re only going to wear something once.”
Trystan Chevalier, a junior interdisciplinary studies major, keeps his clothing cost down by looking for cheaper options and choosing not to worry about having a new outfit for every occasion.
“I think repeating outfits is fine, but you could also switch it up a good bit,” Chevalier said. “Usually, getting cheap stuff from Walmart or Goodwill is a good idea for certain parties.”
Clark says that she has learned over time that one of the best ways to lessen the financial burden of needing new clothes is to ignore the pressure to have certain brands and take advantage of what cheaper brands have to offer.
“The older I have gotten, the more I realize people don’t care about the brands I am wearing,” Clark said. “I love to admire other people’s outfits and the fancy brands they afford, but there’s always a good dupe for each brand.”
