If you look around at Castleton State College students, what do you see? Jeans. Sweats. Band tees. You see many people who look oddly similar.

Is this the fashion statement students are trying to make – or can it even be called a fashion statement? The Spartan decided to do a little informal survey to find out what people wear – and why they wear it.

First year students are known to be the most “fashionable,” probably because they are still new to the school. They bring their own styles with them from home, and are sometimes a little slow to adapt.

Gradually this will change, however. It is expected that before long, most students will adopt the Castleton style; a composite of comfortable clothing.

According to most students interviewed, the general consensus is that Castleton fashion is made up of many different styles.

“It depends on what you’re into,” said senior Seth Tuper.

Many might consider the school’s array of fashion as a major faux pas. But, if you look closely at these costumes you will see how every person on campus makes this comfortable style into an individual style that displays their own personality.

Even professors notice what their students wear. It helps them understand a lot about their personalities and interests.

Adjunct communications professor Robert Wuagneux, who routinely dresses in wild colors with berets or doo-rags, wild scarves and funky shoes or boots, is as fashion conscious as they come.

“There are some people who like to make statements through apparel and others who don’t even think about it. I have seen some pretty dank things and some pretty beat attire while roaming the campus,” he said in a recent interview. “I think it comes down to who is watching and whom do you want to notice you. Even that can be limiting. Style is something that is so personal that to judge someone by it is a sham.”

There will always be trends for both males and females that you will find at Castleton.

We sport styles that make us easily recognizable as hippies, athletes and skateboarders. Then there are those students with stand-out styles that separate them from the rest and are hard to miss — usually females.

Girls are expected to be more fashionable. Student Becky Bammert said girls stay true to their roots more often then guys do, unwavering in their clothing choices. Wuagneux aside, many students we talked to said that the guys on campus can usually be found mostly in blue jeans or sports clothing.

On the other hand, the women were seen as wearing a lot of name brands such as Abercrombie and Fitch, American Eagle and Gap. The females are also more risky with their choices, like wearing a dress over pants accessorized by dangling jewelry.

It may not be the center of fashion, but it is our own.