While walking the hallways of the high school, students can be seen wearing the typical hoodie-sweatpant combo alongside someone else with jeans and a t-shirt. There might also be the occasional statement piece — such as a belt or bold jewelry from a student’s latest thrift store haul. Regardless of the place it was purchased or the timelessness of the article, clothing has been used for self expression by students for centuries. 

According to Jordyn VanderVeur, 12, popular brands have really resonated with the current generation of which include Adidas, White Fox, and Brandy Melville.

“People just kind of tend to stick to the basics and then accessorize with jewelry,” said VanderVeur. “I think that’s why thrifting or buying secondhand has become so popular recently; people just want a plain t-shirt or hoodie that they can stack things on top of.”

VanderVeur transferred here from a charter school they attended growing up which was a transition that really opened their eyes to clothing as a form of self expression. Similarly, Anna Chaulk, 9, is a freshman that entered the high school just a couple months ago.

“I immediately noticed a difference in fashion when I came to high school,” said Chaulk. “People are way more comfortable with what they wear, and there is a dress code that is a lot more lenient for them to do so.”

Adding on to this, Chaulk underscores the clothing trends that seem to linger even outside of the classroom. 

“[Whether they’re] studying for a test at home or taking it at school, people like to be comfy. Hoodies and sweatpants are something a lot of people wear, and a lot of people like to think that it doesn’t count as a trend,” said Chaulk. “But you also have to see that those hoodies are usually Abercrombie, Pacsun, or some other popular brand. Even with the basics, the people of this generation are big followers and kind of just hop [on] to trends blindly.”

This tendency to “follow” others doesn’t come as a surprise as alumni Hailey Bachura, social studies  teacher, claims that students in their  high school years had similar behaviors.

“I graduated in 2015, but not a lot has changed since then regarding the basics that people wear,” said Bachura. “You’d have your couple kids who were ‘fashionable,’ but a lot of people just wore sweatpants.”

Although this aspect was similar to now, Bachura notes that self expression wasn’t something students were scared to possess; there were definitely ‘followers,’ but there was a lot more diversity outside of that than the high school has now.

“There was one kid on my first day of sophomore year that had half his hair dyed bleach blonde and the other half a dark brown,” said Bachura. “Another one had spiked hair that almost resembled a mohawk. He looked like the Statue of Liberty.”

After noting the trends they had seen in the hallways during their years as a teacher, Bachura reminisces the difference in comparison to their own high school years.

“Today, you see a lot less clothing. People wear cropped and off-the-shoulder tops with shorts that don’t cover much,” said Bachura. “In my high school years, we wore MissMe Jeans, Ugg boots, and Rock Revivals. We didn’t really wear anything with inappropriate messages or dark brands, and that was only 10 years ago.”

Overall, it is clear that fashion is an ever-changing aspect of high school allowing students to express themselves as they go through different stages of life, trends, friend groups, and more.