By Ricky Thompson

Closet space and rivalries are limited; however, for freshmen roommates Danielle Dubois and Stacey Kideckel, sharing clothing is simply out of the question.

“I refuse to leave my room not fully made up,” said Dubois, who generally wakes up at 8 a.m. to prepare for a 9:15 a.m. class. “I just don’t like going out in sweats.”

Dubois uses her 60-minute morning prep-time to change into her American Eagle blue jeans, sky-blue cotton turtle neck with glitter and black stiletto-heeled boots.

Kideckel, on the other hand, does not share the same enthusiasm for an early effort. Consequently, she heads to class in more casual apparel, starting her days dressed in a pair of navy blue American Eagle drawstring sweatpants and a pink, side-shoulder, 1980s inspired long-sleeved shirt.

Dressing so casually allows her to take advantage of as much sleep as possible.

“I’m just not a morning person, actually, not at all,” Kideckel said. “I usually come back and then I’ll get dressed for my next class.”

The pair illustrates a divide among a student population at Northeastern – some who prefer to dress up rather than down for early morning classes.

“It’s almost like a competition it seems,” said sophomore Christina Rios, a political science and psychology major. “There are people that are definitely into the urban way of life and one of those ways is fashion.”

Rios said she believes some consumers vying to “keep up with the cutting edge” are causing practicality and value to take a back seat to popularity and expense.

“If someone wants something enough, they’ll pay thousands of dollars for it,” she said, noting the mystique that surrounds the new, exclusive items arriving on store shelves each season.

For the most part, Rios’ morning attire consists of a semi-casual lineup of jeans, a sweater and Ugg boots, while her afternoons are more formal so she “could go out for the evening right then and there,” she said.

Institutions across the country are no stranger to their sidewalks being viewed as catwalks.

According to Women’s Wear Daily, students studying at New York University and Howard University were named to the top of a list that compiled the 10 best-dressed campuses in the country.

Located in Greenwich Village, a predominately residential area in the west side of Manhattan, New York University boasts a similar student demographic to that of Northeastern: its undergraduate enrollment, which stands at approximately 15,584, pay a yearly tuition of $28,328; likewise, Northeastern’s approximately 14,492 students are charged a yearly tuition of $26,990.

Howard University in Washington, D.C. features an undergraduate enrollment of approximately 7,063 students.

Last September, Ebony Magazine said Howard’s female population is said to prefer “pleated skirts, pointy, high-heeled shoes, wide-legged, cuffed pants and girlie bracelets,” while male students can be seen sporting “fitted baseball hats, sneakers, white T-shirts, loose-fitting jeans and hip-hop-inspired jerseys.”

Howard’s yearly tuition of $10,840 makes it affordable for students “from diverse backgrounds, socially and economically,” as is stated by the Princeton Review, a guide that reviews different aspects of colleges across the country.

Middler Shelley Estephan, a finance and insurance and marketing double major, said the “diversified culture” of Northeastern’s student population makes observers more conscious of rising trends.

Estephan, an assistant to the fashion and beauty editor at the Improper Bostonian, has been working to develop the Northeastern Culture and Style Organization since last October.

The organization, which is still pending university approval, is designed for people to be more aware of fashion. Shows exhibiting the latest styles, as well as magazine correspondents and other industry experts are all possible events the group has outlined for the future.

In addition, they hope to bring individuals from the vast array of cultures at Northeastern together under one roof, rather than separate them through individual entities.

“I think appearance means a lot in the way you present yourself,” Estephan said.

However, freshman journalism major Guy Schoonmaker is not putting too much stock in the latest pages of Vogue Magazine.

“I wake up as late as possible to go to my classes,” he said, noting that he rarely requires more than 10 minutes to get ready for his 9:15 a.m. class. “I already have my basketball shorts on when I’m going to bed; I just slip on my shirt and sandals and I’m ready to go.”

Schoonmaker said he doesn’t dress up so he can get more sleep.

“It’s more of a time thing.”