Boston weather is so charming. The past few days began with temperatures around 40 degrees Fahrenheit, which inevitably dropped to 0 degrees Kelvin by the time I was out the door for class. This does not stop me from greeting each day with the hope that a sudden warm spell will descend upon the city, a belief which is actually not so absurd considering that Boston weather is consistently inconsistent and that there actually was a warm spell a couple of weeks ago.
During the winter, nothing quite revives this campus like unexpected warm weather, and with the balmy breezes come the usual spring sights. Loungers on the President's Lawn. Frisbees on the quad. Sun-worshipping fanatics in tank dresses.
C'mon, guys. It's still February, whether you like it or not. And while sunning yourself on the grass or tossing a ball around on the quad isn't harming anyone else, wearing spring, even summer, clothing at this time of the year is just plain rude. Why? Because your fellow students have to look at you.
Even the experts admit that looking good is as much for other people as it is for yourself: "it's out of respect," explains Allure editor Linda Wells. I ask the season-jumpers: is it respectful to show us acres of pale, dry skin? Must we wear teeny-tiny camisoles while in the library? And guys, why would you dress in head-to-toe golf pastels when the calendar clearly indicates winter is still here? Didn't your mother teach you anything? There is a time and a place for everything, and when there are girls wearing hoochie skirts with sandals and guys in tank tops walking around campus while the snow barely melts, the visual landscape is marred. It's like wearing florescent green - it just hurts other people's eyes.
Some examples, seen around Boston during the recent warm spell:
Offender 1: tall girl with messy blonde hair. Evidently thinks this is California. Wearing a slashed, deconstructed blue tank top, seven-inch denim miniskirt, and flip flops.
Offender 2: 20-something weekend warrior who fancies himself a Banana Republic shoot extra. Or the ice-cream man. Wearing a mint-green piqued polo shirt and blindingly white khakis with boat shoes.
Offender 3: daytime disco queen. Gold sparkly woven camisole over creatively spattered denim pedal pushers. Dressing for the season is the least of the problems here.
That said, dressing out of season is not a capital offense. In fact, given the onslaught of springtime images on TV, in magazines, and city billboards, it's understandable that an uncharacteristic warm spell causes people to forget it could snow tomorrow. Anyone who has attempted shopping in the past couple weeks knows that the only winter clothes available now are unattractively slumped on a sale rack in the back of the store, far from the inviting powder blue T-shirts and gingham prints sparkling in the store windows. Even entering a store can cause a momentary memory lapse as salesgirls and boys prance about in Hawaiian print shirts and sandals. Of course people look happier and perkier and more attractive in the spring. But we're not there yet. So don't force it.
That isn't to say we all should face the rare warm spell wearing layers of wool sweaters. There is a way to dress comfortably and reasonably given the weird weather; it's called using discretion. That means wear a T-shirt, not a tank top. Wear a light sweater instead of a heavy one. Wear pastels, but don't wear them head to toe. And put sandals and shorts away until April.
A remedy for beating the winter blues that does not involve assaulting other students' vision? Plan your spring break. Learn to luau. Decorate your room with pictures of palm trees (ok, I've actually done this). When all else fails, remember there are people worse off than you are. They are called the English, and they don't have sun from October to June. For the meantime, consider your fellow students. We all want to wear cotton pants and sandals and have a tan. Just don't remind us how long it'll be until we get there.
