In Scotland, it was once the print of your tartan that defined who you were as a person just as it made it clear which clan you were from. As in those days, certain expectations were held of individuals within each clan.

Nowadays, however, clothing tells you what an individual thinks of themselves and what they want you to think of them.

As an international student, it’s easy to spot the differences between clothing choices here versus those in the United Kingdom and in mainland Europe, especially when it comes to women. Fashion in Ames is different from fashion in Des Moines, from New York, and very different from fashion in Glasgow, Scotland.

At Iowa State, girls tend to wear hooded jumpers or cardigans covering plain T-shirts with varying styles, prints, necklines and embellishments. Typically on bottom, students here are wearing either jeans or leggings, and only occasionally are they wearing slacks. Some published journal articles actually suggest that this casual way of dressing could have been influenced by the lack of uniforms in high schools.

In the United Kingdom and Europe, though, many female students will wear sheer T-shirts, mesh paneled dresses, leather trousers or skirts, and the accessories that you pair with them define your social group or your clique.

At Iowa State, due to everyone’s similarities in dress, people tend to get to know one another on the basis of each individual’s personality or because of the interactions they experience with them.

At Glasgow Caledonian University in Scotland, on the other hand, your personality is defined by the clothes you present yourself in. Essentially, you wear the tartan of your clan. Branding of individuals is high in importance, and getting to know others based on actual personality traits is generally a secondary focus.

Typically, getting up in the morning, I will reach for leather trousers, little pumps and either a paneled top with chiffon or a chiffon shirt. My classmates would usually be dressed similarly, but the brands they are wearing will be different and the level of embellishment different as well. One of my best friends back home is stud-obsessed, and you will find her in a maxi skirt and studded belt (sometimes in heels and sometimes not) with a fitted top and full makeup on. I guess it is kind of like a look for clubbing in the United States, or at least a bar rather than just going to class.

It could be that we are simply rebelling from the conformity of uniforms because we do not get to wear our own clothes to school until college or university. We feel like we need to get our personalities across well as soon as we get that extra freedom that college life brings. So we dress in the hottest trends and some pretty risque outfits to show who we are.

I do not think that either attitude is right to be perfectly honest. I like that Ames has started to get to know me as a person and not a brand, but I like that Glasgow pushes me to be the best I can be at all times.

Sometimes in classes, we meet professionals, and they are always impressed by the general appearance of our class. It makes it look like we are more image-conscious. I guess. I think a happy medium could be found in between our lifestyles.