Jared Lang
Fashions of the past
Jared Lang | Highlands Today
Published: October 10, 2012
It's finally homecoming week at Sebring High School and every day until the dance on Saturday features a special homecoming event. Tuesday was Thunder Games, SHS's version of the wacky Olympics. Today is processionals during school to introduce the homecoming court to each student. Thursday is the homecoming parade which will travel down and around the circle after school. Friday, of course, is our homecoming football game against George Jenkins.Published: October 10, 2012
As is custom, each day is also assigned a style for the students to wear to show school spirit and to make homecoming week a little more fun. In the past we've had rock star days, super hero days, and even worst fashion statement days. This year, Tuesday was fifties, Wednesday is eighties, Thursday is western, and Friday is school spirit day.
To prepare myself for this week, I did a little research into the styles of the '50s and '80s to see what looks I could pull off.
The '50s' pictures were full of men in long dark coats with the same fedora, all carrying briefcases. This looked like the style of more mature men in the '50s so I decided to look for some prep fashions. Upon typing "fifties preps" into Google I found tons of young teenagers wearing nice, plaid, button down shirts with sweaters of cardigans thrown over their shoulders. Since I have neither a 50s-style button-down shirt nor a sweater or cardigan, I decided to go for the typical greaser look.
I got out my converse, put on a white T-shirt, and rolled up my jeans. All I was missing was thick black hair and cigarettes in my sleeve and I could have been a star alongside Travolta in Grease.
For '80s day I contemplated being a big-hair rock star or slipping on one glove and a red jacket. This time, however, the prep look seemed a little easier and a polo shirt and nice slacks were already in my closet. I popped my collar and slipped on some loafers to complete the '80s look.
I haven't given much thought to western day yet but I'm sure my outfit will play on some cowboy stereotypes and will be pretty close to everyone else's.
After dressing from the past for a couple days, I began to notice some funny patterns in fashion. Many of the styles that I researched from the '50s and '80s seem similar to styles that are popular today. I read that towards the end of the '50s, Hawaiian shirts were beginning to make a rise, and in the past few years I have been seeing more and more people with these relaxed shirts. I even own one myself! Rolled up jeans also seem to be making a comeback though I doubt I'd ever wear mine like that.
The bright colors and band T-shirts from the '80s have been popular as long as I've been alive. Also, mohawks have been brought back multiple times and it's not uncommon to see a few around SHS even on normal days.
While reading about these fashions, I began to wander what style legacy the 2000's would leave. Most of the staples of our fashion will probably be about pants. Skinny jeans and sagging pants seem to make older generations collectively shake their heads. Aside from these and a few other new trends, much of our style seems to draw from decades past.
Whenever I hear my parents grouching about my generation's style, I just show them picture of themselves as teenagers. That stops them dead in their tracks.