“Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening.” –Coco Chanel
I would not presume to know much about fashion, but I am glad that “fashion” by the above definition is as widely spread as the venerable Chanel believed it to be, because
“Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society” –Mark Twain
Where you find clothes, you find fashion. Thankfully, Harriton is blessed with students that choose to be more or less clothed. How fashionable are we?
What Harriton wears cannot be grouped as a whole into any general terms, because someone would probably be insulted, and they would be justified. What any one person wears cannot be grouped with the entire student body because fashion is a personal choice. That being said, there are some trends that are undeniably obvious:
STRIPES
Stripes are huge at Harriton. Stripes existed long before this year, but now there seems to be an overabundance of them. Walk down the hall and stripes will be thrown at your head: white and blue, red, green, black, black and grey, stripes on shoes, stripes on sweaters (one particular blue and cream hoodie has been seen on more male students than one would believe to be possible), and stripes on backpacks. Walk down the hallway and count the number of students you see wearing stripes. I dare you.
PLAID
Plaid is even more prevalent than stripes as a pattern. Plaid was always one of the most beloved prints in fashion industry. Great designers used it as the safest option to envision of winning style collection. Perhaps it reminds people of warmth by a fire and lumberjacks. Plaid is highly accepted, more traditional than stripes, and is sold in almost every store that Harriton students choose to frequent. As a result, plaid covers Harriton.
LEGGINGS
Jean leggings are covered in this category. Leggings are reputedly just as warm as pants (and less bulky), or just warm enough for the trade-off to be worth it. Leggings are worn with skirts for those days when you just want to be a girl and wear a pretty skirt but it’s less than fifty degrees outside, and you realize you would look ridiculous if you didn’t put leggings on. Leggings are also worn with shorts. Leggings were not intended to be worn as pants. Yet, they are.
BOOTS
Clarification: UGG boots are not covered in this category. This is not a reflection of poor opinion against UGG boots, but rather a decision made in recognition of the fact that the change that created this trend encompasses different boots.
Boots, like plaid, have existed before. They’ve existed since winter existed. The change now is that every girl seems to own a pair of boots along with her obligatory pair of Converses. It may be a reflection of the larger fashion industry out there. In Harriton, they are usually made of leather or suede, with lengths varying from ankle to knee. There are floppy suede boots with flat bottoms. There are also sharper, laced up patent leather boots, studded boots with clacking wooden heels, myriads to be bought in the stores, rarely a pair that’s found on more than one owner, enough to make the heart full. Chances are the boot-owner will be wearing her leggings and a plaid or striped sweatshirt.
OTHER VAGUE TRENDS DESERVING OF MENTION
Oversized tops, paired with leggings and boots. It appears to be a throwback to the eighties, but it’s not unattractive, and it’s very warm. It makes wearing leggings in lieu of skirts or shorts acceptable.
Military trends. This is also an influence of the fashion industry at large, but Harriton is mostly impervious to it. There are some olive green shades, some military jackets, but nothing too big. Harriton is cocooned inside suburbia.
Ski hats. They have pom-poms, and they protect your ears. Enough people have ski hats for it to be mentioned, and they’re adorable.