Campus fashions '95

Ebony, Oct, 1995

GRAMBLING STATE UNIVERSITY Grambling, Louisiana

With Long-Jones Hall, the main administrative building, as their backdrop, casually chic students Symone Isaac and Gerald Kimmons take a leisurely stroll on the campus quadrangle. Kimmons, 23, sports a Polo ensemble which includes a preppy garnet red button-down shirt, cotton accent tee and navy chino pants. His classmate, Isaac, a 20-year-old native of Sacramento, Calif., looks sassy and sweet in a breezy plaid mini wrap skirt with a classic Guess denim vest, ribbed sweater, over-the-knee socks and Enzo patent leather loafers. The Grambling pair is ready to set the evening aglow for a concert at Robinson Stadium. Kimmons, a senior economics major from Columbus, Ohio, strikes a dashing pose in a double-breasted Louis Feraud suit and Perry Ellis banded shirt. Whether in the bleachers or the ballroom, Isaac, a junior business marketing major, makes a lovely guest in this black satin slip dress with rhinestone straps.

AUTUMN brings out the creativity and personal style in serious collegians who endlessly search for fashionably functional ensembles to complement busy class schedules.

Bold reds, muted earth tones, plaids and prints are quickly becoming the dominant favorites among the nation's coeds. And although cotton still reigns supreme in the closets of most cost-conscious students, corduroy, leather and warm wool blends are also popular.

Yet the real fashion scoop this year is that the layered look is back, hiking boots are big, and sports caps have never been sportier.

Trend-setting college women flaunt their fashion savvy from early-morning lecture halls to late-night study sessions in miniskirts worn with over-the-knee socks and loafers, jumpers with cropped tees and lace-ups, and elegant slip-on gowns paired with classic pumps.

College men are just as well suited for the classroom or the concert hall in stylish banded-collar shirts matched with tweed blazers and brushed cotton trousers. When hanging out at the student union or cultural center, male collegians go all-the-way casual in soft henleys, fleece pullovers, jackets and rugged boots. The same male students know how to get down to business and dress for success, too, in double-breasted designer suits accented with chic, silk ties.

On the following pages, students from Grambling State University in Louisiana, Huston-Tillotson College in Austin, Texas, Shaw University in Raleigh, N.C., and Southern University in New Orleans, show off some of the year's best in back-to-school fashions.

HUSTON-TILLOTSON COLLEGE Austin, Texas

Crossing the campus greens, College sweethearts Shakitha L. Freeman of Houston and Jonathan Lavell Stinson of San Antonio, enjoy a "denim affair" dressed in coordinating Calvin Klein jean gear. A member of the gospel choir, Freeman, 22, wears a cropped jean jacket, baby logo tee and straight-leg jeans accented with leather belt and hiking boots. Stinson, an ordained minister and the newly crowned "Mr. Huston-Tillotson College," wears a flax heather henley, comfortable denim shirt and matching straight-leg jeans. Somersaulting with style, Stinson, 24, a senior physical education, English and religion major, displays his tumbling skills in a versatile Adidas nylon jogging suit. Freeman, a junior sociology major, is ready for a day at the gym or the library in her stylish novelty tee, leggings and Russell Athletic gray sweatshirt.

SHAW UNIVERSITY Releigh, N.C.

Understated sophistication sums up the fashion style of Shaw students Melvin S. Clayton, 20, a senior English major, and Lauren Samuel, a 20-year-old senior accounting major from Brooklyn. Clayton, a Raleigh native who plans to own a law firm in the future, is dapper in neutral-shaded Austin-Reed slacks, mandarin-collared shirt and a tweed blazer. Samuel, an All-American scholar and women's track team member, adds a complement in a black and mocha dress jacket with Oriental detailing, button loops and velveteen accents. Her outfit is completed with a matching black flair skirt. Both students are, at the head of the class. Clayton, whose great grandmother, great aunt and father--a Shaw math professor--attended and graduated from the university, now carries on the tradition in classic style in a long-sleeved denim shirt, beige slacks and matching flannel plaid bomber jacket, all by Tommy Hilfiger. Samuel shows off her fashion smarts in a Timberland outfit that includes brushed cotton pants, a knit print vest and navy long-sleeve tee, accented with a leather stadium jacket. When the school day ends at Estey Hall, the twosome are still in tip-top fashion form. Samuel sports the layered look in a Lizport wool, mandarin orange plaid miniskirt, cotton tee, and checkered blouse all topped with a wool vest and lightweight stadium jacket. Clayton wears a Tommy Hilfiger khaki ranger jacket with plaid vest inlet, forest green pants and combed cotton plaid shirt.

SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY at New Orleans

Erica Larkins, 23, "Miss SUNO" and an elementary education senior from New Orleans, is a swinging sensation in a free-form Catole Little zip-up dress with bead and sequin detailing. Kenya J.H. Smith, a 21-year-old political science major and student government association president, is ready for Capitol Hill or the school's annual ball outfitted in a Perry Ellis oxford shirt, charcoal single-breasted Krizia pin-striped suit and vibrant novelty tie. Taking a break, both Larkins and Smith are studies in fashion. Larkins has fun in a DKNY denim jacket, black denim miniskirt, red velvet sports cap and vintage sneakers. Smith adds a splash of color in a red fleece jacket and brushed cotton slacks.