COLLEGE GAME DAYS ARE THE NEW SOUTHERN FASHION WEEK

College football games are becoming runways. Girls are spending more time and money on their outfits than ever. Planning out what they will wear months in advance has become the popular course of action. Girls are surfing the web looking for the perfect game-day attire. 

The fall football season is incredibly important to the student bodies of southern football schools. Most notably, schools from the SEC and Big 12 conferences have students that go all out for every game day. The University of Oklahoma is no different. Girls from OU spend hundreds of dollars to look their best on game days. Buying new outfits for every football season and always saving that extra special outfit for the Red River Rivalry. 

“To me it's a huge part of my self-expression, I get to show off who I am in all of my outfits” says Avery Bennett a University of Oklahoma senior. 

College football games are becoming runways. Girls are spending more time and money on their outfits than ever. Planning out what they will wear months in advance has become the popular course of action. Girls are surfing the web looking for the perfect game-day attire. 

The fall football season is incredibly important to the student bodies of southern football schools. Most notably, schools from the SEC and Big 12 conferences have students that go all out for every game day. The University of Oklahoma is no different. Girls from OU spend hundreds of dollars to look their best on game days. Buying new outfits for every football season and always saving that extra special outfit for the Red River Rivalry. 

“To me it's a huge part of my self-expression, I get to show off who I am in all of my outfits” says Avery Bennett a University of Oklahoma senior. 

Bennett is extremely fashion-forward, always looking her best and put together. She creates power points for outfits months in advance utilizing what she already owns and adding pieces to make her wardrobe look new. 

“Especially now that we are older I feel like you don’t want your closet just to be a sea of red going into our lives after this, so I feel like I’ve tried to pick out pieces for these past two years that I could see myself wearing in the future,” says Bennett

While social media makes it seem that everyone is always buying new outfits every year, that is not always the reality. Students here at OU will often use items from previous years and add accessories like pins and stickers to make their outfits seem brand new. 

One vital factor of OU game day culture is the importance of the OUTX game. The outfits worn for this game are considered to be the most important of the season. Girls will buy all new outfits just for this one game. 

“OU-Texas is like the biggest fashion show because you also have to impress the UT Fans because they spend probably a lot more money on their game day outfits than we do,” says Lexi Conley, a University of Oklahoma senior. 

While OU students commit significant financial investment to their game day attire, it still does not compare to the intensity of larger SEC schools. Girls who attend schools like UT, Ole Miss, LSU, and Alabama spend thousands of dollars a year on their game-day attire. While it's important for OU students it doesn’t quite compare to the money school atmosphere of these schools. 

With OU joining the SEC next fall not only will the stadium become more of a runway but the game day atmosphere itself will be intensified to match the culture of future rivals. 

Written by

LK Cox

 “I wanted to make some (stickers) that were non-Greek so everyone can wear them,” says Mollie Kate McClendon a University of Oklahoma senior. 

McClendon started an online business selling Game Day stickers to students at OU to fill a gap she saw in the world of game day fashion. Most buttons and stickers are run by Greek organizations and she created a space for those who aren’t a part of Greek life to dress up and enjoy the game. 

Game day shopping affects the boutiques in the Norman area. These stores cater to the wants of college girls and offer a wide range of game-day attire. 

“On a night game day, we can make upwards of 4,000 dollars,” says Alyssa McPhetridge a University of Oklahoma junior who works at the Clothing Bar 

The desire to look the best on game days positively affects the Norman economy and helps support Norman locals.