vulged, “I went to a ather was a lawyer, the Army’s general ng been in it for over I will never forget. hated that shirt and hite shirts you could replace his ties with rt of the scenery of hing from him. My ative personality.” old on to their roots other raised me this troduced me to a lot ove Prada, Express, ags, but not the logong out with now for
nts describe her style ed, “I feel like I am ‘60s and ‘70s and I ops, long skirts and hat trailed down my made so much noise … and one time I was ns covered my feet. oing now? I wish I y from What Not to
nd to use their clothover their students. ll get respect. I need y role as the teacher. g around in leather h, his students tend shoes” appearance, g upward much like leefully. vata would disagree metrically bend the room in tested, them more
comfortable around me. I wear a lot of Wet Seal, a little Hollister, and lots of Maurice’s for sure. But you won’t see me walking around with logos plastered all over my body. That is where I draw the line. I like to look classy, yet young – not juvenile.” But there is a gnarly hidden side to the short and sweet Favata She owns a large collection of leather; pure, buttery, black leather to ride her motorcycles. She confessed, “Yea, leather chaps, leather jacket. The whole bit. I look pretty cool when I’m all put together… If I had all the money in the world I would buy more leather!” While the teachers are divided as to how to use clothing as a tool for power in the classroom, they are also at odds over their thoughts on what we, the students, like to wear. Richardson commented, “The trend I would love to see disappear is the pants on the ground. Didn’t they write a song about it?! You know, I grew up with the notion that once you pulled your pants up, you were officially a man.” Devendorf admitted, “I’m not a fan of the skinny jeans on guys or the low slung pants. It just isn’t very attractive, but my kids were trying to tell me the history behind it but I don’t know. And the casual wear, the pajama bottoms and the sweatpants. They have their place, but not in school. Oh, and I’m not a huge fan of the Uggs either.” Many would agree. “Don’t like the Uggs,” agreed Cook. “Ugh… Uggs!” attested Favata. “The skirt with the Ugg boots is hugely popular and wildly unflattering,” added Jackson, “Although I’m really happy to see the variety in students’ clothing as of late. Usually, in the teen years kids tend to accumulate towards fitting in, looking like clones and not experimenting with clothing. I’m all for diversity. Fashion should be fun.” Indeed, fashion is about fun. From our teachers we can conclusively gather that it is about more than superficiality; it’s about aesthetics, experimentation, power relations, messages, art, architecture, fitting in, individuality, desire, culture, class and identity. It is quite risky to intertwine such diverting, energetic fashion within the strict constructed dress code of an OHS education. Nevertheless, this tension has always championed as the element that helps determine the spirit of an age and privileged fashion not just as a necessity, but as a process of dressing both our bodies and our state of mind. May fashion continue in its splendor, as Jackson ag reed: “Let’s never adopt school uniforms.”
Photography by Monek Cullen, Caitlin Sawyer and Mackenzie Oatman. Illustrations by Kimberlyn Bailey.
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