Walking around the UT campus this past few weeks, I’ve noticed what I suspect is a trend. Frat boy-types seem to be wearing their jeans in a much lighter shade of blue than what’s been fashionable in recent years. I don’t know if you’re still haunting the UMass campus, Jamie, but if so, have you noticed this at all? Or have any of you readers noticed it?

And if I’m right about this trend, does anyone know who put the word out? How do the early adopting frat boys know that it’s time to go light instead of dark blue in their jeans, Ray-ban instead Oakley in their shades, Tims instead of Chucks in their kicks, dogtags instead of puka-shells in their neckwear, etc.?

I have a sense, for instance, that a lot of young black guys take their fashion cues from hip-hop (I’ve noticed a lot of young Kanye’s walking around), but I don’t really know where frat boy trends originate — are they handed down from on high from the Abercrombie/Hollister HQ? Is it what they’re wearing on the latest teen soap on the CW?