St. Patrick’s Day is the only time wearing a groutfit is acceptable.
The laudable St. Patrick’s groutfit — entirely green outfit — is a festive, classic Notre Dame take on the unfortunately way too common all-gray groutfit.
Over spring break, some of my friends chose to wear man tanks the entire week to embrace “Cali Lyfeee” — much to my dismay.
As if the pale skin shrouded in mesh and burnt shoulders didn’t give away their Indiana origins enough, the fact that one paired his green tank with green SAO sunglasses, a green Notre Dame hat and green board shorts solidified our South Bend allegiance.
Biking down the boardwalk on Saturday he was met with the comment, “Wow, that kid has the best St. Patrick’s Day outfit ever!”
Turns out Notre Dame’s excess of green athletic clothing will garner compliments once a year, so let’s take advantage of it.
To fully embrace the intentional groutfit, it must be that — intentional. This means minimize the mesh and don’t don the green Campus Ministry/Awkward Awareness Week/Leprechaun Legion shirt you got for free and now sleep in every night.
Chances are your mom/grandma/twice-removed aunt has bought you a green button-up “you know — for the Irish!” for at least one present since you made your fated decision in high school. Although you might have balled it up and thrown it to the bottom of your closet as “you wear The Shirt at games, mom” — pick it up, iron it (if you’re feeling particularly ambitious) and pair it with the green Gap chinos your mother also bought you “for school spirit.”
Now that you have the base, grab all those green game day/wild trip to NoLA beads you have hanging up as half-hearted room décor, dig up those sunglasses you got at DomerFest and are unsure why you kept and top it off with a classic Notre Dame baseball hat that I know you all have because I see a plethora of them in every Friday 8:20 a.m. lecture.
As a Notre Dame student the groutfit comes almost too easily; however, do not mess everything up by choosing red shoes or anything that will turn your hard work into a Chroutift — a Christmas outfit. We are trying to be festive, but sporting anything red will just make it look like you have your months confused or started pregaming too early.
Although the groutfit is a St. Patrick’s Day go-to, it is not the only option. Some other festive outfit themes could include channeling the rainbow for a progressive/creative/Lucky Charms take or a Trinidad James inspired ensemble.
Notre Dame students also have an advantage in the all gold errythang realm. Pull out your gold 2 Chains/game day beads (these things are so versatile), those gold leggings frequently seen in the front row of football games and ask that football player down the hall you frequently tell your uncle “you know” for his gold helmet.
This is a day to be creative, don’t waste it by choosing a cheesy T-shirt and stopping there. Dedicate your whole body — head, shoulders, feet and liver — to the cause.
