As humans, we find ourselves in an unfortunate predicament:

We all have to wear clothes.

This obligation has been around since

history began. Adam and Eve had a good idea in just walking around naked. Then the Greeks got low on closet space, so they started wearing their clean bed-sheets. The Romans had big closets so they tried to incorporate metal into their wardrobes, but they needed the metal for making bullets to fight Napoleon. Then the Indians came up with a good idea. They made their teepees out of the same material as their clothes. Whenever the roof sprung a leak, their pants became shorts. And now in the 21st century, we have a fashion of our own.

Life isn't one big parochial school, so we avoid wearing the same things, trying casually to express ourselves. Whether our goal is to be comfortable, to stand out or just to be that guy with the $100 pair of socks, we all must decide how we cover ourselves.

Being a guy, I hate shopping. I'd rather watch "The Wedding Story" marathon on The Learning Channel than go buy a new wardrobe. I'm perfectly happy with those corduroy pants I've had since my freshman year, of high school.

But even guys must care a little about fashion, as clothes are part of a person's image and personality. If we walked around wearing sweatpants all the time, most people in this world would be lonely and single. Clothes can express an appearance of power, indifference or they can just plain make you look damn sexy.

There are only so many things our personality can get for us in life, so for the rest we try to make up for in our appearance. That's why we "dress up" when we have job interviews, attend church or go on a date.

But even though I dislike fashion, that doesn't mean I ignore it and have no opinion on the subject. So here are a few things I've noticed about fashion at Purdue.

Six.

Yes, six days in a row I've noticed that someone in class was wearing Abercrombie clothing. Somebody's gotta let that guy know that there are other stores out there that make clothes too.

What is so great about wearing clothes with the logo all over it? They're not paying you to advertise for them. I remember the early 90's saw a growth in that type of stuff when Nike started putting a "swoosh" on everything, but I thought that fad was just a fad. Abercrombie has officially helped bring that back. Yay for them.

And why Abercrombie? Is it the catalogs with scantily clad guys all over them? Is it the "bargain" prices? Is it the plaid carpeting in the store? Someone let me know, I'm curious.

What's with everyone owning leather jackets all of a sudden? No wonder the price of milk is going up, there's no more cows left.

It's bad enough that it costs $250 for something you're going to lose anyway, but there's something even worse:

Both of my parents own one.

No offense, Mom and Dad, but I am in no hurry to start dressing like you.

I'm perfectly happy with a fleece vest that cost a fraction of a leather jacket and can rest assured that I'll never see Dad wearing the same.

Want a get-rich quick scheme?

Move to West Lafayette and start a "black pants" company and make a fortune selling them to college women.

Most times worn tighter than the underwear they tries to cover, they've become so notorious that they've been given many racy nicknames.

On the weekends black pants have become as constant a part of the wardrobe as shoes and makeup. I bet some girls look out of place if they aren't in a pair of them at a bar.

And then there's the shoe thing. Over break I found myself standing next to my sister, looking her straight in the eye. Did she grow? Am I shrinking? No, she's wearing shoes with a three-inch sole. I think most women own at least two pairs of these shoes.

No fair. If only short guys like me could get away with the same.

So what conclusion can come from all of this?

Now more than ever people are using fashion as a form of expression, and as long as it looks good, they don't care how expensive, repetitive, unoriginal or revealing it is.

And fashion is one of those industries that rely heavily on customers promoting their products. We didn't start buying cargo pants or leather jackets from some big "cargo pants and leather jacket commercial" during the Super Bowl. Instead, most customers get their ideas from others and end up subtly copying them.

Therefore, we all must wander this earth searching for the appearance we want. And along the way, we run into peer pressure, high credit card bills and laundry.

Too bad the Adam and Eve thing never caught on.

Till next week, guys.

Brian Dillon is a junior in the School of Technology.