SKHS Students Sport the Latest Fashion Trends
Parading down the boisterous hall a group of girls sport the latest trendy clothes. Some students stop and stare while others appear to take mental notes concerning what these trendy influencers wear. The clothes appear new, the hair done, and the makeup neat and clean.
The second-floor hall in front of Ms. Hathaway’s room at SKHS appears to be a runway during the height of fashion week and these fashionistas appear to be the stars of the show. These fashion-conscious teens step in sync with not only each other but the beat of the music that blasts from Hathaway’s doorway.
Since the beginning of time styles have been shifting in high schools across the world. In the 50’s poodle skirts stole the runway. In the ’60s and 70’s it was bell bottoms and tie-dye shirts. In the ’80s acid-washed denim stole the crown. In the 1990’s and 2000’s low-rise jeans and the super grunge look appeared.
Nowadays, however, it seems like the popular style depends on location, and everywhere has a different bricolage of fashion.
In the halls of South Kingstown High School, students might notice how almost all appear dressed so similarly. Many wear black flare leggings with crop tops and joggers tucked into socks as well as flannels over sweatshirts. With the exception of a few who challenge the status quo, some may say that expression through fashion is very limited at SKHS.
Ella Bloys, one SKHS junior, is one student who appears to care about what she wears and does not appear to match a single soul at the school. Bloys said she takes pride in her eclectic mix of fashion but gets most of her inspiration from the 1970s.
“Classic rock inspires me a lot!” Bloys said. “I love the outfits [people of the 70s] wear and I love to go on Pinterest and scroll for hours for inspiration.”
Sustainable clothes, many say, are the best way to shop and the trend appears to be getting more and more popular.
“I get most of my clothes from thrift stores,” Bloys said. But like most Bloys doesn’t always stick to sustainability. “I try to shop sustainably but sometimes I can’t help but buy from Amazon too,” Bloys admitted.
Textiles, Fashion Merchandising and Design professor and department chair at the University of Rhode Island Karl Aspelund said that students have been thrifting for generations. “When I was younger and working as a designer,” Aspelund said, “I’d be shopping the second-hand stores a lot.”
Social media influencers produce fast trends, trends that start and end quickly, and many young adults fall prey to buying such clothes to keep pace with the trends, yet only wearing the clothing once or twice before moving on to the next fashion style of the moment.
“I don’t really like quick trends because it creates more waste and fast fashion generally isn’t great for the environment,” Bloys said. “My rule is: wearing the item at least three times is getting your money’s worth.”
Aspelund agrees. “I’m not happy about how the world has developed in this way,” said the former designer and URI fashion professor. “I am very concerned about the environmental impact of the apparel industry and ‘fast fashion’ is only making things worse.”
Though Bloys and Aspelund dislike quick trends, not everyone concurs.
New York fashion school student and designer Sofia Grossi, who was interviewed by email said, “I think [quick trends] can be cool” However, Grossi added, “I think the ability for a trend to start and blow up and end in such a fast time is kind of insane.”
Trends from different decades seem to always come back years later and in the past few years trends from the late 1990s and early 2000s appear to have taken over the fashion world. Still for others, the 60s and 70s hippie styles offer inspiration. One thing is sure: no matter how people categorize their styles, they always appear to have some sort of inspiration from past decades.
“I love the claw clip trend and the Y2K revival on Tik Tok,” Bloys remarked.
Fashion varies from place to place. Some could say that South Kingstown High School is very fashion forward and some would say that SKHS is one of the most basic towns known to man. It all depends on the person.
Bloys and Grossi appear to agree, however, that SKHS is a bit behind the times when it comes to fashion.
“Not a lot of people dress too differently, but I think that’s just because some people haven’t found what they like yet,” Bloys commented.
Grossi was a bit more direct. “I do not remember SK being a more fashion-forward school/town,” said the SKHS alum.
Bloys concurred. “I think [SKHS] is very on trend but not very fashion forward,” she said.
Dressing differently Bloys and many others believe can provide solid judgment and perspective to anyone who steps outside of societal norms.t Even in a city like New York which is known to be very out-there and fashion-forward, there are always people who will judge others.
The former SKHS alum and New York fashion school student Grossi shared her advice for students who desire to question trends and pursue their own styles. “Do not care about what other people think,” Grossi advised. “BE YOU & Follow your dreams, whatever you want–you have the power to make it happen.”
