It's that time of year again. Whip out your jorts and load up the sunscreen because Alpha Psi's Rodeo is this weekend and things are about to get real. It's the moment we all wait for, an entire day dedicated to drinking beer, listening to good tunes and dressing like Joe Dirt. It's a time that brings people together from schools all around the South that are decidedly not as cool as Auburn.
With Rodeo comes the fashionably trashy, cute but redneck looks we never thought we'd be caught dead in until this marvelous event came about.
Rodeo fashion is an art of its own, an opportunity for Auburn students to get a bit creative with their looks. It's a time for sharpie-abs, mullets and handlebar mustaches.
Walmart usually runs out of Nascar shirts and temporary barbed wire tattoos are in abundance. What's not to love?
Playing dress up for a day is always a good time, but when it comes to guys, picking out a rodeo outfit usually isn't at the top of a to-do list. Most guys end up throwing on a wife beater and a favorite pair of overalls still dirty from the year before. Some grow out their facial hair and trim sideburns into lightning bolts or something snazzy.
Others opt for a pair of old jeans cut into a tight pair of jorts, a Lynyrd Skynyrd or any '80s band shirt with the sleeves ripped off, and a stenciled heart on their bicep surrounding the word "mom." There really is no wrong way to do it. The more cliche the better. Bring on the achey-breaky heart mullets, the 'Merica chants and the camo fanny packs. It just wouldn't be Rodeo without them.
For girls, things can get a little more complicated. It's not exactly easy to look grungy and cute, but Auburn gals have proved it is completely doable. The other schools that show up, however, usually have questionable outfit choices, but it's understandable. We can't all be fabulous.
For us girls, outfits are usually planned pretty far in advanced. While there are some people who like to live on the edge and scour Walmart the Thursday before, most like to have an idea about what they are wearing and what their friends are wearing as well.
Daisy Dukes are always popular, and thrift shops are a prime place to find cheap jeans that are perfect for destroying into Rodeo shorts.
Tattered, acid-washed, high-waisted shorts have been a popular choice in recent years, usually paired with tanks that say something like "does this shirt make me look drunk" or "save water, drink beer" across the front. The plethora of drinking puns written on T-shirts never ceases to amaze me.
When picking a shirt, be wary of the color, unless you are planning to wear sweat stains as an accessory. I would go with a trucker hat turned backward or a bandana used as a headband instead.
Some girls like to lean in a more hippie-vibe direction, with braided headbands, combat boots and shredded T-shirts, which is another way to look the part while being a bit unique. Last year, bright red lips were also in abundance, and bedazzled, plain, girly, simple, eccentric, colorful, patterned, every kind of cowboy boot graced the dusty camp ground.
For most of us, it's not our first Rodeo, but for those of you in it for the first time, Facebook stalking is always a great way to snag some ideas for an outfit and get the creative juices flowing. Every year is different, and only time will tell what new Rodeo fashion trends will develop this coming weekend. Either way, don't stress about it. At Rodeo, anything goes.
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