I still remember my first day of high school. Being one of the only freshmen in my 0-period class, I sat and stared in amazement at my older peers. Guys were wearing button down shirts, nice jeans, brand new Nikes; girls had perfect winged liner, cute sundresses, strappy sandals—this wasn’t middle school anymore, and I was beyond thrilled to finally be amongst a group of people who followed trends and expressed themselves through fashion like I did.
But then the first week ended.
I watched, horrified, as the façade came tumbling down. I get it, we all have our “lazy days”—you know the drill: hair tied-up, oversized tee and baggy sweats on. But I’ve been noticing for quite some time now, that lazy days have sort of turned into lazy everydays. I’m not a hater, but I’m just not about that life. You do you and I’ll do me.
I’ve always been a fan of dressing up because it makes everything, even school, an occasion. The most casual outfit I can accept is like a comfy sweater and leggings, because to me, there is no real difference in difficulty between throwing on a hoodie and joggers, versus a blouse and a skirt. It takes virtually the same amount of time, so why not just opt for the more fashionable option? After all, the world is your runway, and Carrie Bradshaw would not approve of anything less than fabulous.
However, nowadays it seems to have become dare-I-say-it, socially unacceptable to put effort into how you look and what you wear at school. Whenever I’m just a bit more done up than usual, I get sideways glances and snide remarks from many classmates, almost as if it’s a crime to look this good.
It saddens me to think that anyone would shame someone else for being herself, because how I see it, fashion is an art, a form of self-expression. I wake up every morning and check my phone — not to see if bae sent a good morning text, but rather to plan my OOTD using the Stylebook app. It’s something I genuinely enjoy doing, and I’m sure my fellow fashionistas out there can relate. It need not be empirically proven that dressing up makes you feel great. I revel in fashion, and savor every fiber, seam, and split! I wear what I want, when I want because I can, and what I choose to put on is my business and my business only. If you don’t care that much about appearances, all the power to you, but don’t put down others who do.
On top of that, just because I take time to look polished doesn’t make me shallow or superficial. It shows that I respect myself, and my teachers and peers enough to get up just a little bit earlier than I’d like to get ready for the day. And besides, there’s nothing wrong with wanting to look as beautiful on the outside as you know you are on the inside. At the end of the day, I’m simply letting my true colors shine through via my clothes, something everyone should do.
So, call me crazy, but if given the choice to wear a cinch-waist A-line dress or a loose crop top and pj shorts to school, I’d choose the dress a million times over. Life isn’t always perfect, but your outfit can be.
TCHS School Newspaper