The Edwards Business Students’ Society has created a clothing line that includes dress socks and cardigans. On the surface, it may seem ridiculous, but I talked with the student behind the clothes and realized that student initiatives like this are what make the University of Saskatchewan awesome.

Amber Hoffart, a third-year commerce student, took over as the sales and merchandise director of the EBSS this year, and her main project has been to revamp the college’s clothing line. Hoffart wants the clothing line to reflect the forward-thinking student body while also increasing pride in the college. She believes that by updating the ill-fitting, low-quality clothing the college previously offered and replacing it with trendy and modern options, she will achieve these goals.

The clothing available now was all chosen by Hoffart herself, who went around the city getting quotes and choosing the items that the EBSS would offer. Hoffart had a team to help with marketing, but the whole initiative was hers alone.

The EBSS, as a non-profit organization, does not expect to make much profit off the clothes, but what they do earn will go back into student initiatives, Hoffart explains.

This new EBSS clothing line comes in tandem with the Edwards School of Business alumni centennial clothing line, which features more vintage-style clothes to commemorate 100 years since the founding of the business college. These two different clothing lines collaborated to bring the students a clothing sale at the end of September.

There will be another clothing sale from Jan. 8 to 12, and the clothes are all still available online. The alumni centennial clothing will be available until the end of the year, but the EBSS clothing will only be available online until Oct. 8 — so if something catches your eye, make sure you order it right away.

At first glance, I will admit, some of the clothes seemed a bit pretentious. “What kind of university student needs $15 dress socks?” I thought — but after talking with Hoffart and looking into it more, I decided that this is the kind of environment I want to be in — one full of students with ideas and the means to act on them.

This is just a really cool project, and I think that university should be a place that can foster more creative initiatives like this. Not only will the students involved get practical experience in the field they are studying, but they are also offering a service that others in their college wouldn’t otherwise have. I think that the university would benefit from more initiatives like this, taken by students across the colleges.

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Lyndsay Afseth / Staff Writer

Graphic: Jina Bae