It’s the time of the summer when the store aisles are stocked to the brim with multicolored folders, patterned pencil cases, and Post-its galore. While shopping for lined paper and an excessive number of highlighters may have been exciting when we were 12, the hard truth is that we aren’t kids anymore. In other words, there’s a new back-to-school shopping list we should be checking off now that we’re "adults" (whatever that means) and in college. This list is a bit cooler, and the essentials are bit different than the ones typically advertised on giant cardboard signs, but trust me when I say that, student or not, the selection ahead is one you need in your life stat.
In order to get the most accurate list of essentials as possible, I went straight to the source and asked Gen-Z college students themselves—specifically, New York Gen-Z college students. Since New Yorkers are known for seamlessly navigating through the hustle and bustle of the city, I figured they would know exactly what to wear to look great while feeling comfortable enough to make it through an 8 a.m. lecture, straight into their internship, and all through a fun college night.
For these students, having Manhattan as their campus means they don’t have the "typical" college experience, but it means their essentials are all kinds of necessary, versatile, and effortlessly cool, because NYC is a major fashion capital, after all. So what is exactly is in their back to school carts for the fall? You’re about to find out. Whether you’re heading back to campus in a few weeks, or you simply want to know what Gen Zers are into these days, you’d be crazy not to scroll and shop these picks ahead (including a few of my own).
Source: Who What Wear – Yusra Siddiqui