Buckeye style guide: Ohio State leaders share where to buy their favorite fashion

Posted by author February 23, 2025 Shopping

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Dressing like Ohio State University doesn’t mean being constantly decked out in Block Os and Buckeyes.

Higher education leaders and style experts say it’s all about leaning into color, knowing what to look for and shopping local.

Playing with school colors

Elizabeth Bean Smith, founder of Wardrobe Therapy, a Columbus-based fashion consulting firm, and her team provide style and wardrobe services for individuals and organizations nationwide, including several Ohio State higher education executives and other local university leaders over the years.

One way to thoughtfully and stylishly represent one’s school, Smith said, is by starting with its colors.

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“We try to do more with color than logos,” Smith said, partly because many of those pieces can be more versatile in one’s wardrobe.

Smith said color can be discreet, like adding a tie or jewelry, or be the main attraction, “like finding a great scarlet dress and pairing it with a gray plaid blazer.”

Why go for a basic black suit when a gray one works just as well and can represent the university, she said. Or why not add a red sport coat or shoe to an otherwise casual outfit to elevate it?

Melissa Shivers, Ohio State University’s senior vice president for student life, said she loves to dress up for work and wearing so much color is one of the joys of working in higher ed.

“Here, we get permission to play with colors that are not typically seen in a formal business environment, but we get to play with it because it’s our school colors,” Shivers said. “Play that up! Have so much fun with that.”

She loves scouring online sales at stores like J.Crew and Ann Taylor for fun pieces in reds, grays, white and black, especially something with a little sparkle. But even on hectic days when she’s running late, Shivers said she knows she can throw a scarlet and gray scarf on an all-black outfit and still look on brand.

The thrill of the hunt

Ohio State President Ted Carter caught the attention of some Buckeye fans during the football team’s playoff run this winter for his OSU varsity jacket.

But Carter is quick to give credit to the family’s fashionista, Lynda, who gifted him the jacket over the holidays. The Carters showed up to the Rose Bowl sporting a pair of coordinating Ohio State varsity jackets, with Lynda in black and Ted in scarlet.

Lynda Carter said finding unique pieces is having an idea and knowing where to look. She’ll often type the words “red” or “scarlet” into Google with an item of clothing and see what pops up. That’s how she found a deep red faux fur coat and matching headband to wear to the Buckeyes’ National Championship celebration at Ohio Stadium in January, when the temperature was about 30 degrees.

“I like vintage, I like sustainable, and I like something that’s unique,” she said.

She also likes shopping at consignment stores or perusing online options like Poshmark and eBay. Thrifting online is how she found a pair of used Ohio State embroidered cowboy boots for Ted Carter, at a good price and conveniently in his size.

At this point, she’s got it down to a science and knows how to turn over their wardrobe when they move to a new institution. After all, the Carters have been married for more than 40 years and served at three different institutions together.

“It’s not my first rodeo,” Lynda Carter said. “I’ve been doing this for quite a long time.”

Shopping local

In a college town like Columbus, there are plenty of local options for buying Buckeyes gear.

Shivers said many of her favorite items come from The Buckeye Collection, a website full of officially licensed Ohio State branded items, and from the Ohio State Team Shop. Brands like Homage, Rhoback, Champion, Lululemon and Wrangler all have Ohio State gear.

She gets a lot of attention every time she wears her Buckeyes moto jacket from The Wild Collective and her checkered mock neck sweater.

But nothing was more popular this season than when she was traveling to the National Championship game in Atlanta wearing a simple white sweatshirt with a gold Nike swoosh on one side and a Block O on the other. She snapped a pic on the plane and posted it to X, where she was surprised to see how many folks asking her where she got her sweatshirt.

Turns out, the Buckeyes picked the exact same sweatshirt to wear to media day.

“It has become my favorite piece, but I’ve only worn once,” she said with a laugh. “I can’t wear that again. It’s too well known now.”

Sheridan Hendrix is a higher education reporter for The Columbus Dispatch. Sign up for Extra Credit, her education newsletter, here.

shendrix@dispatch.com

@sheridan120