Just because it says USC doesn't mean it will sell, says the cambus' bookstore's Holly Galloway, emphasizing the importance of decoration and - especially in LA - the fit. (All images courtesy of USC bookstore)

From the time students drain their pockets into required textbooks to the semester’s end, occasions to hit the campus bookstore floor serve one more pleasant purpose: Shopping for wearable school spirit. And conversations with bookstore buyers and merchandising managers at the University of Southern California, Purdue and Duke Universities reveal that sporting school colors is just as much an avowal of alma mater allegiance as it is an action that unifies students across this nation’s collegiate scene

Colored in commitment

 “We’re seeing that school color is very important,” observes Steve Briggs at Purdue’s University Bookstore. “We also do the fashion colors, but it seems like the school colors have become a little more important. I think it’s more of a loyalty thing.” Alongside essential black and gold, fashion Ts featuring an arched Purdue in white, teal, lavender, hot pink and orange continue to diversify the store’s offering.

At Duke, these non-traditional rainbow or Skittles Ts in red, lime green, fuchsia, bubblegum and hot pink still make an appearance despite being outsold by conventional hues. “The college market’s a very traditional market,” reports Thomas Craig, Duke University Stores. “The six-inch block Duke white-navy-and-royal T-shirts are always going to be the best-selling Duke apparel because of tradition.” Stealing some spotlight from the staple shades, pink is one color making its way from fashion to foundation in academic apparel. “Pink is now considered a basic color for all schools whereas eight years ago it was a fashion color, along with the other Skittles Ts,” comments Craig.

The selection of both garments and graphics available on the average American college campus is every bit as diverse as today's typical student body.

In a Conference far far away, these color commentaries hold true as the USC Trojans revel in cardinal red—a best seller and school trademark—with a little pink on the side. “Occasionally, we can bring in some pinks for women, but by far, cardinal and black are our best sellers,” says USC Bookstore’s Holly Galloway. “Cardinal always outsells anything.” On the heels of the recent football blowout over the Ohio State Buckeyes, the USC store was abuzz with business, with most after one cardinal piece of game-day clothing: “The hot item is probably the number six Nike jersey. Number six is Sanchez, the quarterback,” she remarks.

Branded at bookstores

Describing USC as a “Nike school,” Galloway explains that the bookstore devotes a large section to this activewear brand from which it directly purchases fully-decorated styles. “We buy once a year, and Nike’s done it a long time, so it’s pretty simple. We are offered the line and then we go through and pick out what we think will sell. But typically we try to buy the whole line.” Schools with big-name sports programs employ big-time brand programs to deliver their logo and insignia to the masses. This is evidenced by the Trojans, Boilermakers and Blue Devils entrusting a portion of their school gear to contracts with Nike and others such as Champion, Cotton Exchange, Under Armour, Gear and Russell, to name a few.

Leaving their name in such sources’ hands means offering brand recognition to buyers, but schools rely on these relationships for more than embellished apparel. “I’m looking for them to come up with new styles and design ideas,” Galloway says of her name-brand sources. “If they don’t come up with it, I’ll have to find it from somebody else. Because we carry so much product, we don’t really have time to do that, so I need those brands to have what I want when they show me the samples.”

All our sources agree that apparel providers must conceive of inventive designs, creative color renderings, and cut and fabric innovations, so students can change their styles as frequently as their majors.

Though trusted brand names offer many conveniences, buyers still count on local decorators when needs fall outside turnkey territory. “We have some local companies we do business with,” says Craig, explaining that in-town embellishers give it the old college try when special orders come round. “We created a custom-order department about fifteen years ago to go after the student-department business and offer them an item at a much discounted price. We use a lot of local businesses for those orders, and they have restrictive licenses to print Duke merchandise."

While students themselves may head the list of bookstore customers - as they shop for pens, pencils and, well, books - one mustn't forget about the growing numbers of both alums and fans of all types.

Style stats

The academic market’s current demands include more stretch of its collegiate clothing, especially in the women’s department. According to Purdue’s Briggs, there’s an increase in Lycra and other stretchy materials, “More so in T-shirt-type material. Sweatpants continue to grow.”

Like school colors, comfy wear-to-class basics with straightforward designs also command cash at USC. Galloway says Russell tackle twill sweatshirts and classic Trojan USC Ts always outperform fancier fashions. But keeping things interesting, she still takes a chance on trendier choices, with good results so far. “Most of the styles that were coming through that we did buy were based a lot off of the Abercrombie and Fitch look; a lot of vintage-looking sweatshirts. The basic stuff always sells best here, but those styles have been doing really well.”

Old-school style has also made its way back, back east, notes Duke’s Craig, who’s observed throw-back gear growing ever-popular in recent years. “If you opened up your grandfather’s cedar chest in his attic and pulled out a Duke sweatshirt from nineteen-forty, that’s what kids want now—that vintage, old look.” This, he says, even goes so far as coveting grandpa’s old hat… sans dust.

But in another few years, college coeds will pack away those very same styles for their grandkids. “Tight’s in, tight’s out. Loose-fitting’s in, loose-fitting’s out. All items are cyclical, so what’s popular today is not going to be popular six years from now.” As fickle as fashion can be, some styles’ shelf lives are interestingly extended as they travel west to east. “Usually, if it’s hot on the West Coast, it’s going to be hot on the East Coast in another year,” comments Craig. “The West Coast always has the fashion first.”

Briggs takes his cues by studying students. “We watch the kids that come in, what they’re wearing. Over the last few years, every third student that came in had a North Face jacket on when it got cold.” That was a good clue that they could sell the high-end brand. Also observing embellishments, Briggs sees spots along with a trend that’s earning a regular slot throughout the industry: “The biggest trend I’ve seen so far this year is the multi-processes on a shirt—screen printing and embroidery; polka dots within the screen print. We’re seeing a lot of subtle designs.” He likens mixed-media designs to what he’s seen in the resort market and at retail and says its popularity on campus is “Getting there. It gives it a different look, a different embellishment that I think is subtle but classy.”

One item noticeably absent from student wardrobes nationwide is the crew-neck sweatshirt, replaced on all campuses by its hooded stepbrother. “We definitely sell hoodies and zip-up hoodies better,” Galloway reports. “Crew necks continue to be very slow sellers,” Craig agrees, mentioning a particular resurgence in white fleece hoods on women. “We went through a period where you couldn’t give away a full-zip hood and now full-zips are very popular. It’s more of a fashion look with the big hoods, and older people like me prefer crews, but we sell one crew for every ten hoods. I don’t see it coming back any time soon.”

In a sea of hoodies, who might that one conspicuous crew-neck buyer be?

Alum, et al

Outside the student body, collegiate colors are most frequently flaunted on the backs former scholars, with more than just a hood between these markets’ preferences. “A lot of it’s fit, because students tend to be smaller, so we have to be able to carry things that real people, real women can wear,” Galloway remarks. She says glitter and foils sell well to the alumni women. “They love their glitter.”

Gearing up for games in fair and stormy weather, alumni are also part of the sports-fan market. “We service the community as well. Los Angeles needs a team and it’s USC,” Galloway laughs. “What’s great about USC fans is they typically don’t just wear one USC item to a game. They have the scarf and the hat, which is nice.”

Beyond the student and alumni buyers, there’s a general fan-base that this business model rallies as well. “Everybody has some kind of affiliation usually within the state, so that’s a big part of our market,” reports Briggs. For Boilermaker enthusiasts, he carries team and coach-like clothing, but also covers his bases with basics for game day. “They’re going to wear a shirt, a hat, some side apparel—we sell a ton of socks—and then shorts, sweatpants and jackets. Just your basic apparel, what a normal person would wear.”

A team’s performance combined with a healthy spirit of rivalry not only plays into what devotees are buying, but when they’re buying. And at Duke, March couldn’t be any madder. “Most college bookstores would do sixty-five percent of their business in the fall and probably thirty-five percent in the spring. We’re forty percent in the fall and sixty percent in the spring, mostly driven by basketball,” Craig reports.

Whatever the purpose to each purchase, fans, alum and students alike will hold onto school styles they’ve collected for years… which is way more than can be said for those forsaken books the store wouldn’t buy back.