With a new school year in hand, new fashion trends are painting the halls of Dripping Springs High School. With the inescapable grips of fast fashion taking hold over everything from athleisure to water bottle trends, the question is posed: how long will it take before the style game moves to the next trend?
Clothing is a key aspect to self-expression, especially among teenagers, and the variety of diverse styles among students exemplifies this sentiment. There are so many ways students can show their uniqueness through makeup, hairstyles, and specifically, fashion.
“I like seeing people’s individuality,” president of Fashion Club and senior Kirby Brandon said. “I feel like all the people in fashion club are super stylish and like to express themselves through their clothes, their makeup, and the way they present themselves, so that would be a trend that I like.”
Many of the styles that are currently popular are throwbacks to trends of past decades. While students embrace a variety of unique styles, there are some trends they hope to see more of in the future.
“There are definitely fashion trends with more of a ‘90s style,” senior Mia Pleasant said.
“I see a lot of Sambas, a lot of Adidas brands, and there’s also a lot of jorts, camo pants, oversized shirts and stuff like that.”
There are many ways to elevate the style game. There are plenty of cute outfits that students wear, but there’s always room to improve. Despite the wide range of styles trending right now, looking around it seems that athleisure still makes up a majority of school fashion.
“I don’t know if there’s one style specifically I want to see more of,” Fashion Club Vice President and senior Lexi Ylinen said. “I just kind of want to see more style in general. Like I want to see more than just athletic wear. I fully understand, I wear athletic wear half the time just because it’s comfortable, but I do like to see if someone wears a cute new top with jeans.”
Even though fashion choices could be simple, it doesn’t mean they aren’t stylish. Of course, simplicity isn’t everyone’s style, but it can be a start if you want to get into fashion.
“I really like baggy clothes or baggy pants and a crop top,” sophomore Lucero Alcaraz said. “That’s kind of my style so that’s what I want to see I guess, but I know everybody has a different style.”
Clothing isn’t the only massive trend at the school. Recently, Stanley water bottles have been facing some backlash. It’s not that they aren’t cute, but when weighing the pros and cons, the cons come out on top. Sorry, Stanley lovers—it’s not you, it’s them.
“One trend I hate is the big Stanleys,” junior Abigail Owens said. “I’m a germaphobe, so it’s the straws [I dislike]. The ones with the caps on them are the ones I love. They’re just really big and loud and if they fall down there is so much noise.”
Avoid buying something just because it’s trending. Popular water bottles like Stanleys and Owalas are getting a lot of attention, but not always in a positive way.
“I do not have [an Owala or a Stanley],” Brandon said. “I do have a Hydro Flask, but it’s really old. It was funny, like all of a sudden, everyone got Stanleys, and then everybody had Owalas, and it was just kind of excessive… I like being kind of more environmentally conscious, too… I’m into STEM stuff and overconsumption is a big thing in the fashion world, as we know, I’m sure. So I think if you like them, they’re fine, but don’t do it just cause it’s a trend.”
In fashion, there’s always the debate on whether you should dress comfortably or suffer in style. Of course, a lot of people would argue that they dress for both, which is a very common occurrence, especially at this high school.
“I go for both [style and comfort,],” Ylinen said. “It depends on the day usually, but often I’ll just do a t-shirt and jeans or a baby tee and jeans ’cause that’s…where I found my happy medium.”
Good news: Students don’t really care what you’re wearing. They might notice if an outfit is cute, but won’t judge you for wanting to blend comfort and style.
“It’s less of an ‘I don’t care,’ and more of an ‘I get it,’ because half the time I wake up in the morning and I just don’t have the energy or I just don’t want to,” Ylinen said. “So I totally understand not wanting to get dressed up for school to sit in a room for nine hours.”
Microtrends have taken over a lot of fashion in recent years. Purchasing fast fashion can be wasteful because they last for such a short amount of time, but they can also help you find things that you like.
“I think [microtrends are] fun,” Brandon said. “I think they’re a good way for people to try new things. But I think it’s silly if it’s something that somebody knows they’re not gonna like, but they just go for it because it’s a trend [that only ends up lasting] for a week.”
If you need any suggestions for where to shop, Fashion Club has your back, especially if you are into thrifting.
“I do a lot of thrifting with Fashion Club specifically,” Ylinen said. “I like Pavement down in Austin, and then sometimes if I don’t want to drive all the way down to Austin, the Goodwill [in Dripping Springs] will have some good stuff. I also shop at PacSun. I frequent there all the time, but other than that I like Brandy Melville sometimes.”
Fashion is a big part of how you feel as a person. Dressing up can be a great way to have fun, express yourself, and just let go of stress and worries. At school, what you wear can be important in affecting how you feel.
“I think the way you present yourself at school is really important,” senior Olive Orsak said. “I mean honestly, if I wake up and I don’t put on makeup or something I feel a lot less motivated to do work, and I think appearance-wise, how I feel can really affect my mood.”
Even if you feel like you are struggling to find your style, know that it can take some time to find what you like. For a lot of people, the transition from middle school to high school included a transition of style and that’s been continuing to develop over the last few years.
“I have always been into fashion,” Orsak said. “I’m not saying I’ve been good with fashion all my life, but that’s definitely been a passion of mine, especially [since] I got into sewing. My fashion, personally, from middle school to high school has changed a lot. I used to just wear leggings and a T-shirt and put my hair up in a ponytail everyday. And I think now in high school, I can express myself so much more with clothes, and I genuinely don’t care if someone else doesn’t think it’s cute, as long as I do, because [their opinion] doesn’t matter. But I was never really confident enough to do that in middle school.”
