Shifts in College Game Day Fashion
Written by Maggie Bond
Collegiate athletics have historically been treated with the utmost importance throughout certain universities in the United States. Within collegiate sports, also comes a phrase for the clothing worn by fans, coined as “game day fashion”. Fashion choices for game day apparel have, in the past, been standard and dependent on region. Now standards of fashion for game day are shifting, and shifting fast.
In particular, game day fashion has widely different standards in various regions of the country. The SEC athletic conference contains schools mostly in the southern parts of the United States such as the University of Alabama and Vanderbilt University. At these universities there is a lot of funding going into sports, and in turn a large amount of revenue being made. With the financial hype around college sports comes school spirit from students, alumni and community members. While SEC fans’ game day outfits certainly do reflect school spirit, this does not usually include just a mere t-shirt with a school logo on it or a university branded hat from the book store.
Dressing to the nines is seemingly a requirement of SEC football game days in the U.S.. Historically, southern schools have always opted for a more formal dress code for sporting events. The University of Alabama has records of over 100 years of game day fashion, all of which include semi-formal wear. In 2023, while flip flops and sneakers may have taken the place of loafers and high heels on game day, formal attire still remains a constant for SEC college football. The heightened dress code is never enforced, but rather an unspoken social expectation. There are even blogs that recommend outfits guiding individuals to “trendy” outfits for game days. Even so, in the age of increasing creatives within the college merchandise industry, these expectations are diminishing, and might even become obsolete at some point in the future.
Universities in the Big Ten Conference hold wildly different standards of game day fashion than those in the SEC Conference. Logo-ridden merchandise from the book store is totally acceptable apparel for a football game, and overall the dress code is extremely casual when compared to an SEC game day. School spirit is still equally emphasized, but there is a lot less pressure on an outfit for a game day in the northern and midwestern regions of the country. In the past, game day fashion has been a mildly irrelevant topic in Big Ten schools. This however, has been changing in recent years, and many individuals are stepping outside of the box to bring their personal style into a game day outfit.
Many different businesses have noticed this shift and have catered to the desire for more unique options for game day apparel. Companies like Recess Apparel and Hype and Vice have attempted to make more “out of the box” pieces to be worn on a game day. Initially, having an option for game day apparel that was not from the university bookstore created a lot of buzz around these companies. Eventually, even the once never-before-seen designs became oversaturated, and the buzz dissipated. On top of that, there were still not many options for people to assimilate their personal style into a game day outfit. That was until recently.
Wisconsin native, Natalie Cesarz, is a junior here at UW-Madison. Recently, she has started selling custom game day apparel via her Instagram account, @scrapsbynat. There she showcases unique patchwork apparel, promoting several different universities. She was inspired to start creating the pieces after noticing that certain aspects of game day apparel at UW-Madison were overused. In turn, she wanted to create clothing for herself and others to express more personal style.
When asked about this shift, Cesarz said, “...[Game day fashion] depends on your school and your personal style because you’ll see so many different things on game day, which is also what I love about it.”
Cesarz, as both a student and as a fashion creative, said she has noticed a shift toward more personalized clothing for game day in addition to thrifted pieces and vintage pieces being incorporated into the mix. Slowly, but surely, game day fashion is shifting into a field where a person can express themselves by what they choose to wear, as opposed to conforming to a limited set of options for apparel.
Regardless of region, it is so incredibly important to note that game day fashion is taking a turn to be more representative of personal style. This is not only because of the environmental benefits of upcycling and thrifting, but also because of the fluidity that comes with less expectations and more creative freedom when it comes to fashion. Breaking through these barriers is creating space for designers like Cesarz and their businesses to flourish, while also expanding college fashion as a whole into a realm of new thinking surrounding fashion and how it can be applied to college life and sports.
Edited by: Lauren Veum, Nicole Borras, Brett Byers, Alex Speier, Caitlin Robaczewski, Helen Song
DEI Reviewed by: Katherine Rubinstein
