Top 3 Clothing Advice for College
For students graduating high school and getting ready to start their first year of college, this occasion is such a fun and exciting time. For the ones leaving home or out of state, it’s the big moment you have been waiting for — the chance to have your own place and be independent while you get the education you need for your dream career. As you prepare to move into your dorm or apartment, you may be having a hard time deciding on shopping for back-to-school clothes that are appropriate for college, including what to take and what to leave behind.
If you have already toured your dorm room, you may be very aware of how small the space is. Therefore, you have to be very careful about only bringing the essentials that you’ll have room for. This may be hard for the fashionista who needs options and accessories of all sorts. Since college is a whole different ball game, and some of our team members have been through the college experience themselves, here are a few tips on some must-have items (and others you can live without) to make packing and college life easier and more organized.
What clothes should you pack for college?
Keep it minimal. The less time you spend deciding on an outfit, the more time you have to grab some breakfast and make it to class on time walking across a large campus. Besides, unlike high school, no one is paying attention to what your outfit of the day is in a big university. Classes for the most part are held in auditorium-size rooms that have at least 150 students. You will most likely finish a whole semester with these peers and not recognize them. So, we’ve curated a list on what to pack for your first year of college.
How should you pack clothes for college?
In movies, you’ll see parents loading up a car full of boxes. However, that’s a lot more work once you get on campus. For space-saving storage, pack your clothes in airtight, reusable bags so that you can store them when you’re done unpacking instead of having huge boxes in your way. Once you get to your dorm, you’ll want to invest in shoe and clothes racks that you can hang stuff on. Storage bags are a great way to keep your bedding and towels clean and stored wherever you need them in your room.
How does your clothing change from semester to semester?
As previously mentioned, the fall semester will start warm and get cold, while the spring semester will start off cold and get warm. In the checklist above we have you covered for all seasons, except tops. We recommend that you bring at least ten short-sleeve tops that you can wear during the warmer months and use as an underlayer during the colder months. You should also bring eight to ten long-sleeve tops that you can put under sweaters and hoodies during the cold months.
A common question that comes up is whether or not you should hang or fold clothes? This depends on the space you have in your dorm or apartment. If you have a dresser that will fit some clothes, then we say all foldable clothing should be stored there. If you don’t have a dresser or have limited storage space in your dresser, then you should put all intimates and sleepwear in the dresser. Everything else you can hang, and use an extra rack if you run out of space.
Keep in mind that some dorms will provide hangers and other small items while others will prohibit you from bringing in certain storage items. Be sure to check ahead of time on items that are both allowed and not allowed.
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