Union students are in for a crazy ride as temperatures have plummeted down to below 0°F with wind speeds reaching up to 30 miles per hour. However, this cold weather is not stopping students from attending classes and getting to all sorts of stuff in their best outfits as they embrace functionality through their fashion.
The combination of hoodies, puffer jackets, and sweatpants or jeans, paired with Uggs or L.L. Beans is a staple across campus for students who value functionality over everything else. Articles such as beanies, scarves, and gloves that limit wind exposure while maintaining body heat can also be spotted on almost everyone.
Alex Belliard ’28 loves wearing scarves as she finds them cute, and she loves to pair them with oversized clothing as a personal comfort choice. She can often be found wearing her headphones to complete her look. Earmuffs seem to be a declining trend on campus compared to last year, usually replaced by hats or headphones, which serve the same purpose.
While a lot of students dress in a way that fits this general description, there are many others who use fashion to make a statement. Union’s diverse campus flaunts people of various different styles and inspirations, ranging from goth and vintage to sporty and business casual.
“My biggest inspirations at the moment are David Lynch, French new wave cinema, the color plum, and my mother,” shared Maren Kreutzer ’27. “ There’s something about understated, effortless chicness that really speaks to me. David Lynch knows how to set the mood; his snappy looks in Twin Peaks have utterly captured my aesthetic heart. I watched Le Samouraï by Jean-Pierre Melville and I simply couldn’t get that seductive, upturned collar, trench coat look out of my mind.”
“I really struck gold when my trench coat found me; it’s the statement piece I’d been missing for so long,” added Kreutzer. “And of course, it all comes back to my mother’s influence and her impossible beauty—I can only hope to match her in elegance. And as for plum: it’s the color of my soul.” Kreutzer thrifts a lot of her clothes, and her love for thrifting is not lost across campus.
Mal Mowatt ’29 was pictured wearing a sweater they thrifted on their first day at Schenectady, paired with a purple, black and yellow skirt from their school’s costume shop. “I’m not very good at dressing warmly, so I end up wearing not enough layers and complaining all day, but this outfit is one of my favorites” stated Mowatt. “My inspirations are how I feel in the morning, and the color purple. I love purple!”
Mowatt often shops from Salvation Army and H&M, and also raids their “brother’s closet for big shirts, and mom’s closet for big sweaters and button ups.”
Talha Khan ’26 also thrifts the majority of his clothes, since it is sustainable, affordable and allows him to get some great articles.
“One thing in particular is that it allows you to get creative and it’s fun to hunt for cool stuff,” said Khan. He also buys items from brands like Ed Hardy and Old Navy, especially on sales. He bought his winter fleece and sweater from Old Navy during a Black Friday sale and can often be spotted wearing it around campus.
It is evident from talking to people at Union that their fashion and clothing surpasses physical comfort and enters realms such as sustainability and the environment, as well as intersections between fashion and cinema. What are you wearing this winter? Let us know!
