Fashion from Freshman to Senior Year
January 27, 2020
The year 2020 is finally here and looking back at the past decade it’s clear that fashion has changed a lot. In fact, clothing has greatly evolved in the past four years from when the 2020 senior class entered into IB to now. From wearing bomber jackets and chokers in Mr. Crossen’s freshman year APUSH class to wearing VSCO girl clothes while studying for the IB exams, stories of how seniors have evolved in their style provide insight into not only the trends of the decade, but also how personal evolution is gained from the IB program.
THE STYLE THAT DEFINED FRESHMAN YEAR
The clothing that defined many senior’s freshman year was not as diverse as it is now. When asking the seniors what pieces defined their style as they first entered into IB, answers like Nicole Bleser’s and Kylie Lynne’s showed similarities with each other and with the rest of the grade. Nicole stuck with basics for most of the year, “leggings, tight jeans, [and] tshirts”, and Kylie did the same sticking with her “21 Pilots hoodie”, “tragic grey sweatpants from the Jeanette basketball team” and her “iconic pair of worn down uggs.” David Lemeni summarized his style of clothing for the time when he described it as “average” and “typical”.
When asked the question if they ever felt like they were dressing like their true self, the seniors reported a variety of responses. David said that he “definitely dressed like [himself] at the time, like the soccer player that [he] used to be.”
Meanwhile, Kylie responded saying she was not dressing as an accurate reflection to her freshman year self or to who she is now: “What I wore did not encapsulate who I was as a whole at all, but for me at the time and the way I saw myself, there was no better option for me clothing wise. This is mainly because I didn’t believe in myself or have the confidence that makes my style what it is today, so I really couldn’t see myself wearing anything else back then.”
THE UNSEEN EMOTIONS BEHIND THE CLOTHES
I, like many of my classmates, did not want to stand out from the crowd when I was entering into high school and this also caused me to dress like someone who I was not at the time. For example, I did not want to show people what bands I listened to so I swapped out my favorite t-shirts with whatever I saw on a Forever 21 mannequin so I could fit in and not have anyone think of me differently. There was much emotional baggage that came along with this choice that is not often seen because of how unsuspecting a grade level’s complementary outfits are.
Nicole said on the subject that she felt “as though [she] was dressing self-consciously” and that she “didn’t want people to notice” her. Kylie elaborated on the choice to dress for the purpose of avoiding feeling self-conscious by stating, “I had a very low self-esteem freshman and sophomore year and would make excuses for why I never wore things I genuinely liked to avoid being disappointed with the way I looked in them. But after getting over the negativity in my life and making a space for my own well-being, I decided to prove those that thought I had no style wrong and here we are.”
Kylie’s growth from being self-conscious freshman year to having self-love and confidence was something slowly learned by most of the seniors. In fact, learning to dress not for the people around you, but rather for yourself was something that even outgoing people struggled with before.
Jenna Alamat said on this subject, “I used to always feel the need to impress everyone around me, but I realize now that I come to school to learn, not show off my clothes.”
Nicole also grew in her confidence as a result of the times changing over the years as she learned more about herself and her relationships with other people: “I went through some changes in friends and I got a girlfriend and once I came out I knew that some people would be against it so I decided to not care what other people think in all aspects of me.”
SENIOR YEAR STYLE
The style pieces that define our senior year have a great amount of variety: “flowers”, “mesh tops”, “slippers”. Even the adjectives used to describe senior year style have more individual personality to them: “quirky, cute, edgy”. With the individuality now expressed through outfits, the question can be raised if seniors regret wearing what they did freshman year. David answered this question saying, “I do regret what I used to wear because looking back at, it makes laugh and also question what I was thinking.” Nicole also had regrets, yet they were on on clothes: “I don’t regret my style, but I do regret the mindset I had to want to conform in the form of my style.”
However, some seniors held a different viewpoint on the subject of regret. Kylie responded saying, “Not at all. I live to make fun of my past self and all her horrible looks, but without the drive to be better than I was I don’t think my style would be as ambitious and put together as it is right now. It also taught me a lot about myself, like how when I don’t put effort into my outfits its not because I don’t want to, but because I don’t feel like myself. It’s also fun looking at the style glo up comparison.”
Jenna also does not regret what she wore because of how it made her into who she is today: “Absolutely not. I don’t like to regret anything because it means I wouldn’t have learned from it. I learned a lot from my style freshman year, and it taught me to wear what I feel comfortable in and that I dress for me, not anyone else. It’s a reminder that I dress for myself now.”
Reaching senior year means reaching a more authentic version of yourself that starts within yourself as you grow more comfortable with the people around you and your settings, and blossoms out of you as your clothes begin to show who you have been on the inside all along. If there was any fashion advice that the seniors would give to the freshman before leaving the school, it would be to be understand that if you are not you in your clothes, be a risk-taker and dare to show who you are and take a lot of pictures while you’re at it!
