Indiana Fashion
Since I now live in Indiana during the school year I have been introduced to a lot of ‘fashion' that I don't see living outside Chicago in the suburbs of Illinois.
One thing that is really popular here are muck boots. When someone told me about muck boots I had no idea what they were talking about. Then they showed me and obviously I have seen them around before (or at least in Indiana, not really at home) but I had never realized what they were called (or that they actually had a name). They are basically made as comfortable boots and shoes so that people who are working outside or on farms can wear them. But I also think that they have moved a little outside of the practical zone and are now made with the intent too that people will wear them in a more trendy way.
I also just saw a person wearing acorn slippers (which I actually heard were really comfortable) but I saw them wearing them outside so I kind of thought that it was a little weird.
Overall I have seen a lot of weird fashion statements in Indiana. But coming from Chicago I mean it a little differently. In the city, people are purposely wearing different things to try to make a statement and stand out to others. Here though (in Indiana at least) I feel like people are literally just leaving the farm to go to class or getting out of bed and leaving their dorm room with their slippers on. It isn't as much of a fashion statement as it is practical or a safety net for them.
Part of me was kind of disgusted when I first started going here. I used to think (as I spent like an hour getting ready before class) to myself that they just didn't care how they looked (and I think it was just how I was brought up to think being from where I am from). But then I gradually realized that they are just okay with themselves and aren't embarrassed to be seen out wearing what they usually wear around the house or when they are working and that was actually comforting because I realized that people were not only accepting of who they were, but they were also much more accepting of who I am as a person than a lot of people at home.