I definitely incorporate my cultural and religious identity in my style, being a Muslim girl, I choose to dress modestly but that doesn’t mean it takes the fun out of styling or wearing clothes, yes, it can be pretty hard to style clothes modestly in summers but lets just winters is my happy place just because of that reason. When it comes to incorporating culture-that’s when I get uncomfortable- lets just say, it’s pretty tough. Obviously as a teenager I try my best to be myself but that calling for “fitting in” just doesn’t help. But this year, during quarantine I’ve learned to appreciate my Pakistani culture and actually started to not care for anything and made my cultural clothes a part of my “unique style.”
— Nawera Salman, Glenbard west high school
I don’t really have a particular style; except for my socks. Over the past five or six years, I have been steadily Increasing my Crazy Sock Collection. They can be anything from Captain America, Kool-Aid, Bob Ross, and Bees. I like to wear my socks because they’re something that makes me stand out. I’ve been made fun of for wearing my socks, and even got in trouble one time in football for accidentally wearing the other team’s color. But throughout the period I have worn them I have slowly become known as “the guy with cool socks”, and like that mantra. My socks give my apparel a little splash of inanity, and an insight into my personality
— Brady Jacobs, Lubbock, Texas
Looks Can Be Deceiving.
People often misperceive me to have an “unapproachable” or “angsty” attitude because of my style choices. Though my style consists of ripped jeans,old band t-shirts, and roughed-up black vans, my personality is quite the opposite of this “angsty” appearance, for I believe myself to be a friendly and loving person. My whole life I have always been the kind of person to sit next to the kid sitting by themselves at lunch and always welcoming and warm to anyone I meet, which greatly contrasts to my dark and grungy wardrobe. However, people in today’s world have the automatic response to analyze and characterize a person based off of looks and style choices; I wish for the people who assume my character by a single glance to know that I am a friendly person willing to have a friendly conversation with, not an unapproachable judgy teenager.
— Riley Higgins, Maury High School, Norfolk, VA
Clothing Can Give You Confidence …
To a lot of people fashion is a waste of time, and though I understand that I have to disagree. Clothing can help express so much, it can tell people how you’re feeling or the type of energy you give out, it’s also a huge part of many peoples culture. Clothing helped me so much because it gave me confidence, as a teenage girl it’s something I’ve always struggled with, but if I take the time to put together a look I know I will feel good in I feel a total shift in my day, it gives me motivation to do good things and to leave my house. Fashion is something that allows people to express so much, in other words, people speak through their clothing, if I’m having a bad day there’s a good chance you’ll find me in sweats, but if I show up in jeans there’s a good chance I’m prepared to conquer the world that day.
— Anna Davenport, Glenbard West HS
My choices of what I choose to wear, as far as my clothes, shoes, accessories, and makeup all revolve around how I see myself as a person. I see myself as an empowering, strong, independent young woman who is ready to change the world. I think about my looks and what I wear constantly. My clothes such as my shirts and pants are always bold, but not too bold; I want to be noticed but not in the wrong way. My shoes are mostly closed-toed, because I am always on the go, I need to be able to move fast. With my makeup, I strive for a natural look. I am always on my toes, I want to be able to look presentable at all times no matter who is watching me. My clothing is a symbol of what I aspire to be one day. My style is very important to me, it sets the tone for what I want my day to be off, and hopefully my life. My style is everything to me, if I don’t have my style, I don’t have my identity.
… or Make It Feel Elusive.
People judge other people based on their style ALL the time. I almost always find myself comparing the way I dress to the way other people dress, and caring what people think of me. I try to remind myself to be confident, but in our society today, it is so hard. This is why I experiment with new styles, trying to find something I like. I normally just pick out something I feel comfortable in, like hoodies, but sometimes I’ll do something I haven’t done before. What matters to me is that I still feel like myself after trying a new style. I suppose this does say something about my identity, even though I am still trying to figure it out like many other people.
— Anna C., Columbia, South Carolina
When I wake up every morning, It takes me a great deal of time to choose what to wear. It’s the fact that my mind can’t decide what is appropriate for the environment I am going to be in and how I may be judged by others. Whether this specific brand or type of clothing is out of style or its just not “cool” enough, my thoughts race through every possible outcome of wearing just one article of clothing. Just one. This phase took away from my self confidence. I felt the need to conform to the trends of society in order to be accepted and feel included. My style wasn’t mine, it was the style created that I needed to abide by that made me think I looked like the best version of myself. Was it the best version of myself? Today after looking back I would say no because I have learned that what I wear expresses my character and I can make a strong statement about who I am and what I believe in through an article of clothing or accessories. I don’t feel the need to dress nice everytime I walk out of the house.
