Many students walking by Coffman Memorial Union Monday were drawn to bright tents pumping out loud music as part of the Glamour 4.0 College Tour.
The fashion magazine and 22 of its advertisers visited campus as part of their tour of 10 college campuses around the United States. The tour, which is on campus through today, is focused on honoring successful college women and helping students make good product choices, said Deborah McKeand, associate merchandising editor at Glamour and tour coordinator.
McKeand said the name 4.0 refers to a perfect grade point average. “There are four years left until the new millennium, and we know this generation of college students are going ‘four’ it,” she said.
McKeand said the tour made a stop at the University for several reasons. “We decided on the University of Minnesota,” McKeand said, “because it has great diversity, it’s a great market source and it has a great population.”
The tour consists of various booths and games set up around Coffman Plaza, as well as activities that students can participate in.
A wool fashion show Monday caught the eyes of several students, seven of whom volunteered to be taken back stage and model fashions from the clothing store The Limited.
College of Human Ecology sophomore Emily Schulze, who was one of the models, said she enjoyed the tour. “You can walk around and there are a lot of free samples,” Schulze said. “My favorite was the milk mustache booth.”
The Milk Council’s booth offers students the opportunity to have their picture taken with a “milk mustache” like those seen in recent ads. The photos were taken next to life-size cutouts of celebrities such as Spike Lee and Tyra Banks.
One student’s photo will be selected to appear in a regional publication and on the Milk Council’s Web site.
“It’s fun to do even if you don’t get your picture anywhere,” said Lauren Vang, a sophomore in the College of Liberal Arts.
The milk booth caught a lot of attention, but several students agreed the best feature of the Glamour event was the abundant free product samples.
While students were collecting free samples of perfume and coffee they were approached by tour employees and asked to register to vote.
Jared Niemi was one of the tour employees wandering through the crowd registering students to vote. “Most people are already registered and that’s great,” Niemi said. “But I am getting a lot of good response.”
But despite Glamour’s display of high fashion, CLA junior Tom Lloyd summed up college style after the fashion show: “Fashion never changes,” he said. “It’s flannel shirts and jeans — T-shirt optional,” Lloyd said.