With the recent tuition hike, some University of Memphis students might have to start watching their pockets if they want to have pockets at all.
The increasing cost of education has some U of M students strapped for cash when buying a new back-to-school wardrobe.
“I don’t buy clothes much anymore because I have a very small income and I need to eat,” said Micah McNeer, a senior majoring in civil engineering at The U of M. “I probably spent $200 this whole summer, but that was because my clothes had holes in them and I couldn’t go around with holes in the crotch of my shorts.”
McNeer, who works part-time at a bicycle shop, said he often relies on his parents and student loans to help him out with clothes, rent and school expenses.
Jeremy Emerson, store manager for the Abercrombie & Fitch clothing store in the Wolfchase Galleria, said only about half of the college students who shop in the store pay for their own clothes.
The financial shortcomings inherent to being a college student can often pose problems, especially when students must pay top dollar for some popular clothing lines.
The Gap, a clothing store popular with some college students, sells a basic men’s T-shirt for $9.50, which is also the least expensive item available. Jeans cost an average of $38, according to sales supervisor Gaye McManus.
“Kids like to shop for a lot of basics here, like jeans and T-shirts,” McManus said. “We have a lot of sales for like $9.99 and $10.99, and you can’t beat that at Wal-Mart.”
Emerson also said the most popular items at Abercrombie and Fitch for college students are basic jeans and T-shirts.
“The whole store is geared toward college kids,” Emerson said.
The cheapest item in Abercrombie & Fitch is a pair of men’s boxers for $14.50, according to Emerson. A basic men’s T-shirt costs $24.50, while a pair of jeans sells for an average of $50.
Some students shy away from the popular brands.
“I hate the Abercrombie look — it’s crappy,” McNeer said. “I like a cleaner, nicer look. It’s not the price I’m concerned with. I don’t like looking like everyone else.”
McNeer said he has trouble affording his favorite brands — Structure and Banana Republic — but that he has not considered buying clothes from other outlets.
“I can only think of the mall as the place to buy clothes,” McNeer said. “I’ve never even looked at clothes in places like Wal-Mart before.”
Other students forego the popular brands altogether.
“It’s pointless to spend a lot of money on clothes when you can buy really cool clothes for really cheap,” said Grace Korzekwa, a graduate student at The U of M.
Target, a department store that carries a large line of clothes geared toward college kids and teenagers, sees a lot of traffic from fashion-hungry college students, according to Carmen Harchfield, a team leader for soft lines, or wearable merchandise, at the Colonial Avenue location.
“We see lots of college kids because we offer classy clothes at a lower price,” Harchfield said.
At Target, a basic men’s T-shirt costs $5.99 while a pair of jeans costs $24.99, on average.
Korzekwa, who spends about $30 a month on clothes, said individuality is one of the most important factors in buying clothes.
“People are probably just going to the mall and buying what they see in the front of The Gap,” Korzekwa said. “They’re not looking for style or individuality.”
Elisa Cooper, also a student at The U of M, said that thrift is chic. “Fashion is a 99 cent shirt at the DAV,” Cooper said.
Korzekwa agreed. “The real fun in fashion is seeing how much you can stretch your dollar and how individual you can be without scaring anyone,” she said.
