As hundreds of people file into the ballroom and an anticipatory buzz surrounds the temporary runway of the Woman’s Club of Evanston, a small blonde woman darts through the crowd. A nearby group catches her eye, and she sweeps over and nods her head sheepishly in response to the “congratulations” and “good lucks.”

“I’m not the talent,” she said. “They are.”

Holding my breath, I stared at the television screen from underneath my oversized hat. It was Saturday, June 6, 2015, and I was eagerly hooked on the third jewel of the Triple Crown – The Belmont Stakes. My grandmother, mother, and sister sat beside me in equally large, frilly hats to commemorate the occasion, all intensely focused on the race.

I had no idea what to wear to my first Northwestern football game. Simply, there were too many options! During the summer, I had curated the perfect wardrobe for gamedays, shopping in local Houston boutiques in the Texas Christian University section since they had a purple school color. My mom even found a designer on Instagram to make me a custom beaded bag strap for my clear purse that said “Go ‘Cats,” like the ones girls back home wore at their Southern schools. Would a dress be too much?