Alright folks. It's been a little bit since I last wrote in this one, but I've recently been having some of the funniest incidents related to clothing.

It sounds ridiculous from the start, but here's what's been happening. Over the past year or so I've taken a great interest in early-to-mid-20th century clothing, especially forties and fifties stuff. For instance, I have this mustard-yellow skirt and a sleeveless white blouse that I often wear to class with a pair of ladies' oxford flats. (Also, just wanted to mention, all we ladies want in our skirts is pockets. Both of the classic skirts I have right now have pockets, so I consider that a great triumph.)

So anyway, here I am, walking around campus in my fifties throwback fashion with my oxfords and old-school messenger bag, and all these guys just start turning into gentlemen.

And it's not anything like flirting either. College boys who don't know me will go to open the door for themselves, notice me out of the corner of their eye, do a quick double-take, then step back with the door and casually tell me to go first. It's kind of hilarious, honestly, and it makes me proud that (at least at my university) chivalry isn't quite dead yet. Either that, or they think I'm an adult at first glance and then don't really want to just drop the door on me when they do realize that I'm the same age as them. My guy friends, guys that I know, usually don't react much. Probably because they know I just like to wear that kind of stuff.

Senior men are even better. They recognize the style as something that would have been worn when they were fifteen or so, and they immediately light up upon seeing a girl that still wears that kind of thing. They smile, say hello, and generally talk to me like they might have talked to anyone when they were growing up around people with a different sense of politeness. One gentleman held the door open for me when I was exiting the business building, and then happened to be walking into the building across from it when I came back from my car and held the door for me again. Similar things have happened with a couple of the other professors, and it's just so sweet. I don't know why they find it so nice to see something like that, but I'm glad it makes them feel like they're back where they came from.

As for girls, the ones my age usually either tell me that my outfit is cute or just kinda... look at me. And then go on about their business. Middle-aged ladies will look at me strangely for a moment, and then smile and say hello. I don't think I've come across any ladies the same age as the men who identify with the era so much, so I don't know what their reaction might be. But, in general, it's been a funny and honestly kind of rewarding experience. I think if I went really over-the-top in trying to look exactly like a college girl from the fifties, I might get more strange looks. As it is, its kind of a fun experience.

My co-workers just take one look at me out-of-uniform and ask me, "what are you wearing that for?"