Dying to be fashionable

MELISSA HIEBERT STAFF & PHOTOS: DAVID LIPNOWSKI

Minji Kim Fourth-year arts	What are you wearing? Just a tank top, with a mini skirt. What is your opinion on fashion and models and their effect on body image? They definitely make everyone think that we should all be size zero, which I am, so I don’t really care, but some of my friends . . . They [fashion models] definitely promote body image complex issues. Do you consider fashion as an extension of your personality or something to cover your “shame?” I do think of it as an extension of personality. Do you think that reporting on fashion almost every year is a waste of precious journalistic space? I don’t know. I like to see it, and I guess I read magazines, so no.
Miles McEnery Third-year arts	What are you wearing? A shirt, I don’t know where I got the pants at, and skate shoes, Vans. What is your opinion on fashion and models and their effect on body image? I wouldn’t want to be one, but I guess it’s up to other people whether or not they want to try to be like them. Do you consider fashion as an extension of your personality or something to cover your “shame?” It can be both. Do you think that reporting on fashion lmost every year is a waste of precious journalistic space? Is there anything more interesting to be writing about?
Regan Hirose Fourth-year accounting	What are you wearing? I got these jeans from a store called Bershka in Spain, and [the shirt] is just from Dynamite, [the purse] is from Guess, and [the shoes] are from Zellers. What is your opinion on fashion and models and their effect on body image? I think it can have both positive and negative effects, deepening on how a person looks at it. Do you consider fashion as an extension of your personality or something to cover your “shame?” Number one. Do you think that reporting on fashion almost every year is a waste of precious journalistic space? NO! I do NOT.
Alan Simms Associate vice-president (administration)	What are you wearing? A suit, business casual. It has that casual professional look. What is your opinion on fashion and models and their effect on body image? My daughter who is 13 is very much aware of fashion, and very much aware of models, and I can honestly say it doesn’t have an effect on self-image, for her. She is very fashionable and she buys Vogue (or I buy them for her) and I don’t sense there’s been an influence. Do you consider fashion as an extension of your personality or something to cover your “shame?” I don’t have shame; I have a good selfimage. And it’s not just an extension. I mean, as a businessperson you have to meet certain standards, and I think it’s an expectation. Students though, you can walk around, I mean, there’s obviously a code and a standard, but it’s not the same as in business. Do you think that reporting on fashion almost every year is a waste of precious journalistic space? It’s part of life, right? It’s part of a huge campus network that involves 30,000 people a day, so yeah I think it’s relevant, just as relevant as culture, as music, as art, as science, it’s all part of it.