<p>Dean J correctly notes some great places to shop for men’s clothes in Cville. Eljo’s is a staple of generations of UVA men, and the Young Men’s Shop carries popular brands like Vineyard Vines and Bill’s Khakis. If the preppy/ivy look is your style, you can also go online to brooksbrothers.com, rugby.com (Ralph Lauren’s preppy college collection), and gant.com (an Ivy League staple for a few generations). Most of these sites have a “sale” tab or link and you can find some good deals at the end of each season. Also, while it is true that UVA does have a strong traditional/preppy style chosen by many students, especially Greeks, you will feel comfortable sporting any style you wish.</p>
<p>I’d just like to point out, I go to a school in SC where most people are extremely rich, or extremely poor. The rich ones always wear Polo, Sperry’s, typical prep gear. Most complimented me on my toms (guys and girls alike). The, I guess you’d call them, Scene kids I hang out with told me I was pretty preppy just for having boat shoes. I would say that a lot of the scene kids are snobbier (I love my friends, they’re just kind of snobby about music, fashion, etc.) If people want to look similar, why should it matter? If fashion is an art, why should everyone participate. Not every plays music, or paints, so why should everyone want to wear the weirdest, most unique things they can find? I’m fine with the preps who all look the same at my school, I’m fine with the scene kids at my church, so to me the fashion is irrelevant. In other news, OP, personally I like flat front better. Pleats look kind of weird to me.</p>
<p>UVa is pretty eclectic fashion-wise, but you certainly see a dominant preppy trend down Rugby. I never really thought all too highly of the people so desperate to “fit in” that they had to copy their surroundings in order to feel some sort of acceptance and validation (this is more of a critique of some of the people I knew who literally changed who they were and how they behaved because they wanted to join a particular frat). Some people really like the prep style, the hipster look, skater clothes, etc. and that is totally cool. I just wish that more people would pick a style for themselves, and not one that was based on or dictated by their surroundings.</p>