Whether it be shopping, closet cleanouts, or waking up in the morning and choosing an outfit, conforming to clothing trends seems to be a norm not only at Campo, but everywhere. Some students may second guess an outfit because it may not be “in” at the moment, but what happens when students do choose a creative outfit that expresses their personality? Does conforming to the trends make it easier for students to walk into school confidently? To find out, I asked students to share their personal experiences and opinions about clothing trends.
Creatively expressing yourself through clothes may make it tough to go to school with confidence in your outfit and yourself. Sophomore Isabelle Culinco shares her personal opinions and thoughts about clothing styles and expressing herself: “If something is like ‘in’ or it’s trendy, then that’s what I would buy. I don’t necessarily always try to fit with what other people wear, but subconsciously I do. Sometimes I wear clothes that are more colorful and neon, but generally I do overall conform to what other people wear,” she said.
Culinco speaks about how cute clothing items may be subjective and may not be her particular style, but if they are trending at the moment, she may conform to the new styles to feel more comfortable. Culinco also touched on how she is more comfortable when wearing something more colorful when she is with her friends who won’t judge her.
Sophomore Donovan Bantique stated, “When I conform to society’s standard of what is appropriate to wear at school, it makes me feel more comfortable walking into school. If I’m more creative with my outfits, I’m more likely to feel uncomfortable and scared to be shunned by peers.” Bantique feels as if he is the odd one out when he dresses creatively so normally he conforms to the styles that are “unjudgeable” because he feels more comfortable when he looks like everyone else.
“I am easily influenced by the newest trends and others at my school by what they choose to wear and so I choose to conform to everyone else’s style most of the time because it makes me more comfortable and I fit in better. If I did not follow the trends then I wouldn’t be as confident in my style. I also like to follow trends off of social media platforms,” said junior Danielle Lee. Lee feels as if she is influenced by her peers and social media to see what is trendy and socially acceptable to wear. Like Bantique and Culinco, Lee feels pressure to conform and walk into school wearing what is trendy at the moment.
Trends come and go and some students may feel more comfortable wearing what is trendy at the moment in order to fit in and not be judged by their peers, while some students choose a creative route when it comes to clothing and walk into school confidently.
