<p>What percentage of students at Harvard regularly wear high-end, name-brand / designer clothing, e.g., that by Gucci, Versace, and big-name designers? Would one be out of place in the crowd preppier students in clothing by Lacoste or Polo, or are people at Harvard really not that judgmental anyway? </p>
<p>How does this differ between male and female students?</p>
<p>I hang out in Harvard Square a lot and a rarely EVER see any designer clothes. Even the few that can afford expensive clothes tend to wear thrift store threads instead, since hipsterism is all the rage now 
But have no fear; polo shirts are common, too.</p>
<p>Oh, lord, nobody wears Gucci or any other “name” to class. I’d say probably about 5% of the population (given that 10% are in finals clubs, so about half of them) have 1+ designer item in their closet that they might wear out to the fanciest formals.</p>
<p>I’d say the thing that stands out most is how many styles there are. These do tend to group by type/major. Most people are probably in jeans and a top, whether a polo for the preppy ones or a cute v-neck t-shirt for the normal girls or buttondowns for the more formal types or blouses/chunky sweaters for the more trendy ones. But I’ve also seen noticeable communities in hippyish skirts and scarves, or (usually government majors) who wear suits almost every day, or preppy guys (usually foreign or southern, sometimes from New England) who wear pants with embroidered nautical creatures on them, or dapper women in buttondowns and bow ties, or people in sweats after doing an all-nighter (very few people wear sweats regularly), or…there’s lots of types.</p>
<p>Maybe it’s because of the crowd I’m in, but everyone I know wears brand clothing like J. Crew, Vineyard Vines, and Polo Ralph Lauren. Polo is definitely the most common. Sweaters, jeans, khakis, button downs, are the most frequently seen on men, at least by me…</p>
<p>What exultationsy wrote. If there’s any ‘style’, I’d probably categorize it as ‘preppy’ or ‘preppy hipster’. People are generally well-dressed, but usually not in anything particularly flashy. I assume many of my classmates were from relatively well-off backgrounds, and some are likely extraordinarily wealthy, but it’s not a place where conspicuously wearing top designer brands will gain you much of an edge. In fact, it may even be frowned upon.</p>
<p>Ultimately, it’s not a place that values ostentatious wealth; most people care more about what you’re doing than what you’re wearing.</p>
<p>As Paul Graham once wrote: “What I like about Boston (or rather Cambridge) is that the message there is: you should be smarter. You really should get around to reading all those books you’ve been meaning to.”</p>
<p>How often is formal wear needed at Harvard? Formal as in suits, ties, vests, etc. (I guess I’m talking about Men’s Formal clothing but the Female counterpart applies just as well)</p>
<p>^^ Once a year, for example: [Harvard</a> College Freshman Dean’s Office § Having Fun!](<a href=“http://www.fdo.fas.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=k3806&pageid=icb.page437784]Harvard”>http://www.fdo.fas.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=k3806&pageid=icb.page437784)</p>
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<p>It’s possible that you might need it more than once. If you get invited to a House formal (e.g. The Lowell Bacchanalia, The Eliot F</p>
<p>Gucci/Versace etc. are glitz, jet-set, vulgar stuff. Old money, most UMC won’t touch them. On East Coast campuses you’re likely to see more traditional prep wear as mentioned above, Polo, J. Crew. At some schools the richest kids dress down. At formal affairs students may wear expensive brands, but they will be tasteful and not designer.</p>
<p>On the topic of Harvard fashion, is it common for men and women to carry messenger bags instead of backpacks? Kind of a random question but I’ve been slightly curious about it. :)</p>
<p>@RandomRhino: I’m going to say it probably doesn’t matter. Both are quite common.</p>
<p>Are there guys with dyed hair, spikes, studded leather jackets, etc? How about guys that try to look like Asian pop stars?</p>
<p>I’ll post reasons later, I don’t want the answers to be biased due to my reasons.</p>
<p>omni: it’s a population of 10,000 individuals. Who can answer that for you?</p>
<p>Click on each individual student’s name for a photo and interview: [15</a> Most Interesting Seniors 2014 | Magazine | The Harvard Crimson](<a href=“http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2013/12/5/15-most-interesting-seniors-2014/]15”>The Harvard Crimson)</p>
<p>T26E4: I guess the answer is either yes or maybe.
gibby: I don’t know if that was a joke or not, but I actually did that. No one there fits my description.</p>
<p>I’m asking because I have blue and I wear spikes, I’m wondering if I should include that in my application. It would make me stand out a bit, but I’m afraid they’ll see me as a “bad” student.</p>
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<p>Exactly! And if there were, they would constitute a small handful students out of 6,000 undergraduates. Get it now? You would be in the minority looking like that on Harvard’s campus . . . and therefore mentioning it might make you stand out in a bad way.</p>
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<p>I concur w/ Mr. G. “Look at me!” doesn’t work well in the academic world. What about YOU, not your outer shell, makes you you? This is what H and other schools will want to know.</p>
<p>^^^ Give that katkat a KitKat!</p>
<p>On the other hand, when I got purple highlights, regretted it, and mentioned this to my thesis advisor (old, male, generally slightly stodgy) on the theory that it would also be viewed as a mistake in the academic world, he told me I was being too conservative and that it was great. Would I want to try to do consulting with purple highlights? Of course not. But there are plenty of fields at Harvard where it’s fine. I’m by no means in a majority (! thank goodness) but neither do people think it’s a problem.</p>
<p>But still, if I had purple hair in high school, I likely wouldn’t have mentioned it in my application, or perhaps in passing…there are more important things to tell them in the limited space I have, you know? If you’re into Asian pop culture you can certainly talk about that without hanging it on your current hairstyle.</p>