TAC Fashion: Impacting Hollywood

Dress code is a curious thing. It's meant to keep people within certain bounds in their fashion choices. (Women, cover your knees!) Unfortunately, the fashion industry does not design clothes that fall within the same parameters. (Ralph Lauren doesn't measure his straps in ladies' finger widths).

So the women of TAC are forced to get creative. Every female student has a ready supply of tank tops, in a whole rainbow of colors, ready to be coordinated (or, in some cases, not-so-coordinated) with our off-the-rack possessions. People buy skirts intended to be worn underneath other skirts or dresses to make them meet the length requirement. Another necessity is an assortment of cardigans to cover up cap sleeves or (scandal!) spaghetti straps.

The resulting ensembles were occasionally (to my mind) ridiculous. We would occasionally head to LA for operas or concerts, sporting our unique creations. On campus, throwing a t-shirt under a dress was perfectly normal. When contrasted with the outfits of the general populous, they struck me as silly.

Apparently they struck some other important people as well - but not as silly. They seem to have left a distinct impression on two of the biggest-name designers in the fashion industry. Here are two TAC-like outfits worn by super famous, fashionable ladies.

First up is Mischa Barton of OC fame. Mischa played Marissa, and in her role she was a fashion idol for teenage girls everywhere in the mid-2000s, particularly in Southern California where the weather allows for her summery outfits.

In Season 1 of the hit-show, we see Marissa Cooper wearing a dress by Chanel to an important Christmas party. It is, essentially, a short strapless dress with a wide-sleeved, high-necked tank top under the top and a white pencil skirt under the bottom. Really, you can't get much more TAC-chic than that!

For a slightly more mature look (proving that you can wear TAC-inspired fashions well into your forties), I present Julia Robert's Golden Globe 2014 ensemble. This Dolce and Gabbana gown is simply stunning. And she's wearing a basic white button-down shirt underneath it. Kudos to Ms. Roberts for being able to wearing an office shirt under a lovely dress without making the dress look like a big, baggy, shapeless, hot mess. She rocks this look. I guess when you're this gorgeous you can get away with such innovation.

So while TACers desire to impact the culture with their philosophical and theological prowess (tongue-in-cheek comment, guys, don't freak out), it appears that we have impacted culture in a very different way.