Campus style '90: bold colors and simple comfort define college chic

Ebony, Oct, 1990

Campus Styles '90 Bold colors and simple comfort define college chic

COLLEGE students returned to campus this fall in an array of styles suited for their "on-the-move" lifestyles. Boldness and simplicity best define their style.

The essentials of campus style are showcased on the following pages by students from Bennett and LeMoyne-Owen colleges and Lincoln (Pa.), Morgan State, North Carolina Central and Virginia Union universities.

The typical coed's wardrobe includes traditional styles such as stone-washed jeans and blazers. But their dress also leaves room for the fashionable stretch leggings with blowsy cover-ups as well as the latest "Arabian" pants. Male students also have adopted a look of comfort and versatility. Their wardrobe includes baggy pants and other loose-fitting clothes.

Some students prefer the casual look of khakis with leather bomber jackets. Many of them, though, can never have enough sweaters, whether they choose to wear a crewneck with a cotton polo or the ageless cardigan.

Many students keep clothes for special events. That's particularly true of college seniors, many of whom have double-breasted blazers for those all-important job interviews.

Campus colors this year are more vivid than before. Neon pink, shocking green, radical red, electric turquoise and earthy brown predominate. Gold contrast with black, and navy with white in bold plaids.

The collegian's attire is fashioned mostly from natural and richly textured fabrics. Leather and wool are still favorites, but the new "poly" blends and washable silks are gaining popularity.

PHOTO : Bennett College, Greensboro, N.C. North Carolina Central University, Durham, N.C. Putting a professional touch on collegiate style are Terry Steed Jr., a North Carolina Central University biology major, and Wendelin Douglas, a Bennett College business major. Steed of Kalamazoo, Mich., is smartly dressed for interviews in the medical research field in a double breasted Geoffrey Beene blazer. Douglas of Richmond, Va., will impress banking recruiters in this collarless navy suit. Above, Douglas wears a classic jacket and shorts set. Steed sports a white sweater, navy shorts and turquoise jacket.

PHOTO : LeMoyne-Owen College Memphis, Tenn. Charles E. Yates Jr., 22, is ready for his business administration classes in this Generra cotton blend patterned sweater and Bugle Boy cotton fatigues. Marilyn A. Gunn, 20, a pre-med junior, is fashionably sporty in black cotton knit leggings and turtle neck topped with pigskin bomber jacket. At right, Yates, a Baptist minister and media director for the college's Ministerial Alliance Council, looks great in a lime green cotton Egyptian print shirt and cotton blend pants. Gunn, who has a full scholarship, is ready for classes and a lot more in this lively floral print jumpsuit with elasticized waist.

PHOTO : Lincoln University Lincoln, Pa. With carefree style, Tawana Stewart, a Lincoln sophomore majoring in psychology, and Frederick Thomas Jr., a junior English major, are ready for class or a football game at the scenic college founded in 1854. Stewart of Lincoln, Pa., sports a lime wool derby, Palmetto's wool "boyfriend jacket," a white cotton baseball polo, and stone-washed button-fly jeans. Thomas, a Philadelphian, is clad in a black and teal crew-neck sweater, a teal, mock turtleneck, and stone-washed jeans. Thomas is equipped to handle his student journalism tasks in a turquoise mock turtleneck sweater, a black, white and turquoise cardigan and black corduroy trousers. Ready to dazzle campus recruiters, Stewart, a Lincoln Gospel Ensemble member, wears a turquoise, double-breasted jacket and a stylish skirt, and Thomas wears a black suit with a white woven-collar shirt.

PHOTO : Morgan State University Baltimore, Md. Showing versatility, Lori P. Scales, a senior Morgan communications major, and Spencer T. Allen, a senior marketing major, could go to the college social or to a corporate work-study job in Scales' double-breasted wool ensemble by Jones of New York and Allen's double-breasted wool suit by Nino Cerruti. At left, Allen, of Lanham, Md., looks studious in a gold and black Basiks sweater and Levi Dockers. He and Scales of Ft. Washington, Md., also are comfortable in casual wear. She sports a leather skirt and fringed sweater, while Allen dresses in a leather bomber jacket, khaki pants and print shirt.

PHOTO : Virginia Union University Richmond, Va. Miss Virginia Union Faith Turner is smartly attired for a whirlwind of campus functions in this peach cotton blend ribbed-knit sweater dress and big shawl wrap. Jonathan Coleman, tight end for the Virginia Union Panthers, is a standout escort in this purple cotton shirt by Claiborne and black cotton pants and wool cardigan.

PHOTO : For those dressy campus affairs, Turner is a knockout in this hot pink, low-back satin cocktail dress trimmed in rhinestones. Coleman makes his own fashion statement in a Black wool suit with white shirt and purple print silk tie, as they examine artifacts featured in the school's Sellman Collection of African Art. These fashionable suede jackets (right) are perfect for fall's nippy weather. His is a Ralph Lauren forest green bomber, and hers is an anorak style in brown with fur-trimmed hood.