Fifth-year pharmacy major Nick Taylor dresses with a dash of class and a dash of sass. Photo by Ben Caylor.

LEAH OLLIE | STAFF REPORTER | lollie@butler.edu

College fashion is constantly shifting in order to accommodate function, follow trends in form and reflect the changing nature of the world that students live in. Here on Butler’s campus, students are finding new ways to merge their leisure time with their professional life. Read on to discover the next of our Dawgs with Style through a Q&A style interview. 

Nick Taylor, a fifth year pharmacy student, brings a touch of class to his casual wardrobe. Hailing from Nashville, Tennessee and citing years observing style and culture on Butler’s campus, Taylor shared a bit of his fashion inspiration with us. 

THE BUTLER COLLEGIAN: How would you describe your personal style?

NICK TAYLOR: A big thing for me is just making sure that I feel comfortable in my clothes. I don’t like to wear really tight fitting or uncomfortable clothing, so I want to look good but make sure that I feel comfortable at the same time. As far as describing my fashion, especially when it’s hot outside, I just go with the athleisure look with cool t-shirts and things like that. I used to be really big into sneakers, but not so much anymore. I still occasionally rock a nice pair of Air Forces or something like that. 

TBC: How has your lifestyle impacted your style?

So as a future pharmacist, we do have to dress professionally a lot of the time. So I try to find nice button-downs that are just something a little bit more business casual. I really like different looks with nice fitted shirts and fitted pants with stylish shoes. I definitely have liked dressing up a little bit, but I prefer to have my regular pair of jeans and t-shirt.

TBC: As you’ve developed your own individual style, what are articles of clothing that you feel like everybody needs in their closet?

NT: Definitely nice sweaters are sort of the thing that I gravitate towards, especially when it’s cooler out. I feel like you can wear a sweater if you want to look nice for class, if you’re going out to dinner, whatever you want to do —- I feel like you can dress sweaters up or down.

TBC: What is your favorite article of clothing in your closet right now?

NT: I got this shirt at a thrift shop on the south side of Indy, but it’s one of my favorites for sure. It’s just white with teal stripes, and it’s got some different features on it like pockets. I also have a pair of gray fitted pants that I think go well with just regular clothes, or also if I ever want to dress up for my rotations or for work.

TBC: In your time here at Butler, how have you observed fashion trends change around you?

NT: This is my fifth year at Butler, so I definitely have seen a lot of different trends come and go. I think something different about Butler versus where I grew up is that trends really do come up and down really quickly at Butler. But one thing that you constantly see is just people wearing their normal sweatpants, like when you have to rush out of the dorm to go to class and everything. 

I definitely think that there were a lot more like jean jackets and things like that being worn when I was a freshmen, at least primarily for women. For men, I think it’s always been the consistent brand t-shirt that the fraternity guys wear and things like that. I know that the short inseam running shorts stuck around quite a bit. Now when I’m on campus I don’t spend as much time just walking around. I’m really just stuck in the [Pharmacy and Health Sciences Building] for the most part, but I think that some things have changed, but people still really do follow the fashion trends at Butler. That’s something that is interesting to observe because I feel like every year people have something new.

TBC: How has your own wardrobe changed and evolved over the years? 

NT: In high school I didn’t really have a lot of reasons to dress up, so I think that by now while entering the start of my professional career, I have found more outfits that have more of a mature style. I wear more button-downs, I try to make sure that all of my jeans and things like that are nice. I kinda avoid routines, and I do like [casual] looks still, but for me, as someone who’s entering a professional world, I pay a little bit more attention to the types of things I put on.

I do like to wear nice things [in which] I could feel comfortable if I were to meet someone [of influence]. For example, I met a legislator yesterday who was observing some of our pharmacy presentations, and I had on a nice sweater and a nice pair of pants; you just never know who you might run into. I feel like I do spend a little bit more time making sure that I’m dressed up when I leave the house.

Fifth-year pharmacy student at Butler University, Nick Taylor stands outside the Pharmacy and Health Sciences Building on Butler’s campus. Rocking a loose-fitting sweater and chain, Taylor exemplifies fashion with comfort. Photos by Ben Caylor.