With a History final the next morning and his backpack strap broken, Campbell Munn ’19 described in an interview with The Phillipian how, out of pure desperation, he fashioned one of his belts into a makeshift backpack strap. After more than a year, Munn’s resourceful pink nylon belt backpack strap is now a staple part of Munn’s spontaneous style and is recognized around campus, according to Elise MacDonald ’19, Munn’s friend.
“I definitely think his backpack [adds to his style] because Campbell is a very unique kid and it’s very cool that his backpack kind of reflects that. Like you see it sitting in [Paresky] Commons and you know, ‘Okay, Campbell’s here,’ ” said MacDonald.
To Munn, his distinct style is mainly based on impromptu changes and his instincts.
Campbell Munn ’19 primarily bases his style off of impromptu decisions and his instincts, which change on a day-to-day basis.
“The majority of my style is kind of whatever happens happens. There was one time where I was so late to class that I ended up wearing two different pairs of shoes. That was a bit of a funny day. If I’m in the store and I see something interesting, I’ll look at it and say, ‘Maybe that’ll look cool if I wear it with that.’ And then maybe I’ll buy it and maybe I won’t,” said Munn.
Munn enjoys adorning his outfits with colorful, sometimes mismatching, socks, such as his bright purple argyle-patterned socks and bright red-striped socks, to brighten up his usual neutral statement pieces of jeans, a pullover, and a bomber jacket.
“The highlight of Campbell’s outfits are always his socks, whether they’re wet, wacky and wild, or just colorful. He’s always got new things to bring to the table in terms of fashion. He’s basically the Christopher Columbus of socks. Frankly, it makes my day when I get to see what socks Campbell’s pulled out for the party,” said Nick Demetroulakos ’19, Munn’s friend.
Even though Munn’s style is based on impulse, he still values looking presentable, a criterion strongly reinforced by his parents ever since he was a child.
“I’ve always been kind of conscious of what I wear. My mom would always, when we’d go out, dress me, and she’d be like, ‘You need to put on a bowtie.’ So my parents kind of instilled the fact that I need to be conscious of how I look and be conscious of the ways I dress. That vaguely influenced how I dress, not in the sense of what clothing I wear but in the sense of how presentable I need to look,” said Munn.
According to Munn, one of the most unique items in closet is a pair of red, white, and gold Campbell’s Soup Converse styled off of Andy Warhol’s “Campbell’s Soup Cans” and decorated with gold stars. After a classmate showed the shoes to him, he quickly decided to buy them due to the connection with his name.
“It says Campbell’s Soup, I mean I can’t not have it. And there’s been a recurring joke in my family. Every year, my mom would buy me a Campbell’s Soup memorabilia or something,” said Munn.
