NHS Has A Sense Of Style

By Jeff White

  Whether it’s pants called Capri or garment-dye tees, faded polos or baggy cargoes, belly shirts or retro skirts, flowered frocks or ankle socks, fashion awareness is very much in style at Newtown High School.

  But does it define the high school? No, says freshman Katie DeWeese. “Fashion is what you make of it.”

  Still others disagree. Explains freshman Rachel Berliner, “Your clothing reflects your personality in high school.”

  “I think fashion is so much dressier in the high school than in the middle school,” adds another freshman, Katie Lahey.

  While a walk through NHS might yield the conclusion that fashion is ultimately in the eye of the beholder, certain types of clothing have become staples in many a student’s wardrobe.

  Like the cargo, those wonderfully baggy chinos with the roomy pockets stitched on the leg that never seem to get used. For guys, they have all but replaced the Gap blue jean as the principle pant that is worn every day. So formidable is the cargo craze that nearly every retail clothing company makes a version, each distinguished solely by the “poof” factor of the side pockets.

  “Everybody wears them,” explains sophomore Kuyler Bryant.

  But there is more to the male high school student’s wardrobe than the cargo; sweatshirts that bear names of retail chains like American Eagle or Abercrombie and Fitch, and long sleeve shirts worn underneath tee shirts are also popular styles.

  And then there is the matter of the hat, what freshman Mike Geason might consider to be the most important part of his wardrobe. They first have to have a certain look: dirty, broken in, with a lid curved in a crescent. Secondly, what is on the hat matters; specifically, what sport team the hat represents, according to Mike.

  For girls, ¾ shirts are the style, according to sophomore Carly Ciaccia. These are shirts that extend just below the elbow, and are complemented well with another female fashion, the capri, or ¾ pant.

  According to high school girls, khakis and jeans are on pretty equal footing, but many favor flare styles in both, where the pant leg flares out over the tops of shoes in a nineties bell bottom.

  Tank tops are also popular throughout the school, though the style for girls is to wear them under a loose, opened shirt.

  Both genders give equal billing to athletic and dress shoes. Trail running shoes are most widely worn, but some guys prefer the welted buck, and some girls have brought the platform shoe back into style.

 Sophomore Emmy Brancato worries, however, that too much emphasis is placed on fashion. “I think people are judged too much on their clothing. People put you into groups.”

  But it seems that while fashion is undoubtedly a critical part of high school life, it does not define high school life. The pressures of wearing the “in” styles or brand names ultimately succumb to individual preference and expression.

  “I just like to be comfortable,” contends Carly Ciaccia.

  “I don’t really think that much about fashion,” says sophomore Mike Hayes. “I go with whatever is on sale.”

  Matt Manto likes to wear an untucked oxford shirt and a tie over a pair of baggy pants every day. “Everyone has the same type of look, so I try to be an individual.”