By: Jess Sorentino (University of Delaware)
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Crew socks. Shorts of all colors. Pinnies. Backwards hats and visors. Obnoxious sunglasses. Flip-flops and boat shoes.
Call it whatever you want, if you are a guy and these items can be found in your closet – probably even organized by color – you my friend, are a bro. A frat bro, lax bro, all you bros are exactly the same (physically speaking) and you’re taking over.
Do you notice guys dressing in this way around your campus? I do. Delaware has become the home of the bro. Typically, the bros come out in the spring during lacrosse season and fraternity events, but for some reason they sprouted up at an unusual bro-time this fall.
Maybe it’s because of the popularity of the style, with influence from things like BroBible.com and Mylifeisbro.com, and also summer hobbies like fishing and golf are very bro-esque. Since the warm weather carried over, maybe the guys who partake in these activities stayed in bro-mode too. I don’t know. It’s difficult to say, seeing as I’m not a bro myself.
A lot of the bro-wardrobe is based off of athletic wear, which makes sense as to why lacrosse players are considered “lax bros,” but at the same time, they incorporate senses of preppy and ghetto into their outfits in a way that the average person cannot pull off without looking like an idiot.
The bros also have their own language, adding the word ‘bro’ into their vocabulary as much as possible. They like to rage, and when it’s time for class, they typically carry a single notebook and pen in their hand. It’s kind of a part of their outfit. No nerdy bookbags for these guys.
I’m not sure how I feel about the bro take-over. They walk around in bro-packs radiating a sense of confidence at all times. As they carry out their daily bro activities, they attract stares from non-bros, who in turn feel awkward and inferior to them. This is an indirect result: the bros cannot be harshly criticized for this.
I am curious to see what happens once the weather starts getting cooler. Maybe the bros will hibernate and recharge for their regular spring season, or maybe they’ll start wearing typical cold-weather bro clothes. I have yet to know what that means, but I’m sure when they start wearing them, we’ll all be able to say….hey, that’s a bro. They’re back.
