Fur-real fashion: the rise of squirrel couture on campus

Inside the underground fashion scene of UC Davis squirrels

A largely overlooked sub-squirrelture has been quietly branching outside the boundaries of campus style: the squirrel community of Davis, otherwise known as members of the United Rodents of UC Davis (URUD). Often dismissed as background wildlife on campus, these small, fast-moving residents who regularly scurry across bike paths with concerning disregard for their lives are, in fact, active participants in a surprisingly sophisticated and trendy fashion scene.

Recent observations and interviews with several prominent squirrel figures reveal the aesthetics and trends currently driving the community nuts. To conduct these interviews, a squirrel-ator (squirrel translator) was developed by The California Gaggie and Professor Twiggy Nutmeg of the UC Davis squirrel campus.

The rise of “acorn-core”

This upcoming spring season has been dubbed “acorn-core,” an aesthetic centered on natural materials and foraged textures.

“We wanted to start a style focused on embracing locally sourced, biodegradable materials instead of synthetic nesting pieces like discarded midterm bluebooks, scantrons and plastic matcha cups from the recycling bins around the Quad,” Harper Hazelnut, a first-year nut-rition science major, said. “Personally, I like to wear acorn caps, layer with bark and sticks and accent my outfits with leaves. It’s my forest-chic twist on acorn-core.”

Chestnut “Chet” Leaper, a fifth-year design major with an emphasis in environmental nest-thetics at UC Davis’s unofficial squirrel campus, described acorn-core as a stylistic and philosophical moment.

“This style is a movement: a return to authenticity, where we value our garments not only for appearance but also for their practicality, and occasionally, their edibility,” Leaper said.

Tail-oring, literally

In squirrel fashion, the tail functions as both an accessory and a statement piece.

Current trends focus on volume and controlled movements, with particular attention paid to the signature tail flick. A well-executed tail flick can display a squirrel’s confidence and agility, and sometimes act as a passive-aggressive signal.

To better understand the nuances of tail-based expression, several squirrel figures weighed in on what makes a tail moment truly stand out.

“The human students think it’s just fluff,” Walnut Whiskers, a second-year squirrels-science major, said, pausing mid-foraging to demonstrate a controlled tail flip. “But there’s a technique to it. A soft flip says, ‘I’m relaxed and ready to rummage across the Quad and possibly ruin a picnic.’ Whereas a sharper flip says, ‘I saw you take my acorn and I will remember this.’ It’s communication and couture.”

More experimental squirrels have begun pushing the boundaries of traditional tail presentation.

“When the human students come to take pictures, they expect us to be candid — like, are they nuts?” Pineconia Nutso, a third-year tree-ator performance major, said. “My signature look to make them believe they’re getting a candid is the ‘wind-swept chaos with intention.’”

The look is achieved by strategically dangling off a tree branch and letting the breeze create a naturally dramatic silhouette, followed by a sudden, gravity-defying leap.

“It’s about the exit,” Nutso said. “Anyone can sit on a branch, even the human students try it sometimes. But, not everyone can leave a branch while looking absolutely squirrel-icious.”

Introducing the new and controversial, “trash-chic”

While acorn-core currently dominates the fashion scene, a more controversial trend has been gaining traction: “trash-chic.” The novel phenomenon has been trending on platforms like Squirrel-Tok where squirrels post get-ready-with-me videos and tag the style, #trashchic.

Characterized by the bold use of human-made materials including chip-bag wrappers, coffee cup sleeves and the occasional chipped piece mysteriously acquired from bike-collisions off the roundabouts, trash-chic really digs into the chaotic-squirrel-energy on campus.

“It’s edgy, it’s disruptive, it’s slightly stinky,” Cashew Barkson, a fourth-year urban foraging major, said. “Why would you limit yourself to nature when the entire Memorial Union trash can is basically an outlet mall?”

Critics such as Professor Twiggy Nutmeg of the tree engineering program argue that such aesthetics, like trash-chic, stray too far from traditional squirrel values.

“There are just so many squirrel-cerns,” Professor Nutmeg said. “It should be about sustainability, sure, but we have to think about safety and quite frankly, the noise level. Some of these materials, like chip bags, make so much noise, squirrels risk the danger of being chased by the turkeys.”

Supporters of trash-chic insist otherwise, explaining that the aesthetic reflects contemporary realities and tree-fting.

“We are living in a post-recycling-bin world, so it’s important to use your resources,” Barkson said. “Also, this Trader Joe’s garlic naan bread wrapper? Waterproof. Revolutionary.”

Despite their small size, the Davis squirrel community continues to make a big impression. When it comes to fashion, they’re always one step (or leap) ahead, and occasionally running directly across a moving bicycle.

Written by: Iqra Ahmad — arts@theaggie.org