3 Tips on Having Style in College

Robert Reilly’s “The Substance of Style“ got me thinking about some practical applications for millennials. He claims that stylishness is propriety; is a permanent state of being. “It is the product of education and culture. It is instituted; instantiated. It is acculturated.” Though I’m working on acculturating myself to it, the crux seems to be in the transitional years between adolescence and independence that most spend in college.

1. Don’t let good repartee trick you into saying something stupid. A few of the most cringe-worthy moments of college for me took place in a witty class debate or in-between-class banter with a professor; I would forget the professor’s authority or dignity of a peer and say something too snarky. Worry less about being thought of as witty, worry more about being thought of as gentle.

2. Don’t separate your on-campus and off-campus life too distinctly. I went to school in a large city, where it’s easy to compartmentalize into a school persona and your outside persona. On the few days I made the mistake of talking myself into wearing leggings as pants, I sometimes ran into a distinguished philosophy professor. If you dress, speak, and act with class only when on campus or in formal settings, the facade won’t last long.

3. Do cheerfully network with your professors after graduation. One day I realized I was much better at sending a follow-up email to a professional I met at a networking event than a follow up email to a professor with whom I took great classes over four years. This is silly. Especially when it comes to professors with whom you get along well, take your new adulthood seriously and think of them as a wise friend. Because that’s probably exactly what they are.

Stay classy.