By SANDI SHAO and JESSIE LU
Many Jericho students have returned to in-person school with a refreshed and updated style. Students have come out of quarantine shedding their remote-learning loungewear in favor of innovative and eye-catching new looks.
According to a JerEcho survey, 76.4% of respondents reported that they had noticed those around them dressing differently after coming back from quarantine.
Approximately 40% of JerEcho survey respondents who reported spending more time after quarantine dressing up for school do so because they want to pay more attention to how they present themselves and realize how nicely-styled outfits make them feel more prepared for the day.
Conversely, others described that they preferred to dress more comfortably now instead of being trendy, and that wearing cozy outfits last year had reduced their desire to wear more uncomfortable but fancier clothing now.
Throughout his time spent in quarantine, junior Ethan K. made many changes to his wardrobe and style. He said that social media was a big influence on him during this time, when he could see influencers and keep up with new trends. As the new school year started, Ethan noticed many other students go through a style transformation as well. “I’ve been seeing a lot more jewelry, baggy oversized clothing, and more stylish rather than athletic wear,” he said.
Junior Matthew K. has been more active on TikTok, Instagram, and Pinterest, where he gets a lot of his fashion inspiration. He claims certain “aesthetics” pop up in teens’ wardrobes. “I see people wearing soft aesthetic, dark academia, grunge, etc.,” he said.
Similar to Ethan K., Matthew’s pre-quarantine and post-quarantine style has changed significantly.
Senior Isabella A. noticed a similar change in her mindset and outfits after coming back from remote school. “During quarantine, I personally went through a phase of getting to know myself,” she said.
This process helped her have a clearer understanding of what she wants to wear.
Isabella A. also noticed a similar trend in the students around her. “I feel like everyone is not afraid to dress up now, and because they were trapped in their house, they want to show the world they’re being bolder in expressing themselves,” she added.
For senior Alicia L., dressing up for school has always been somewhat of a priority. However, she noted that after quarantine the clothing she wears to school every day has changed. “I’ve been looking at my past outfits from last year before quarantine, and I realized my style has become a lot less basic this year,” Alicia said.
Alicia also noted a few unique trends among fellow students she has seen since the start of the school year. “In girls, I saw a lot of accessories, especially big claw clips, and I saw a lot more people with dyed hair and emo, e-girl clothing styles,” she added.
Senior Alicia L. feels that now that students are back in school, they are more fashion conscious. “I think one of the reasons why people have come out of quarantine dressing better is that now they have the motivation to express themselves more at school,” she said.
Teachers have also noticed a shift in students’ outfits after online learning. English teacher Ms. D’Antonio described what she had been observing in Jericho students long before the pandemic. “It was always black leggings, pin-straight hair, and shell top sneakers for girls. The boys for the most part wore comfortable basketball shorts, sweats, and T-shirts,” she said.
Ms. D’Antonio feels that not only have students’ styles changed, but clothing that was popular in the ’90s and early 2000s have come back to Jericho, and she suspects that it is attributed mostly to fashion trends on TikTok.
Ms. D’Antonio takes notice of fashion trends and how they come back after time. She said, “It’s cyclical. It’s a wave, and it’s just going to keep going and I think it’s great.”
Fashion accessories are also an essential component of an outfit. English teacher Ms. Palumbo has seen more variation in students’ hair and nail colors. “It’s been fun to see that people are taking time to change up their looks and doing stuff with colors,” she said.
Being a teacher who likes to have fun with her masks, Ms. Palumbo wishes to see more variations in students’ masks. She said, “I’m surprised that more people haven’t gotten funky with masks, because I expected people to be more outlandish or use them as statements.”
Some of the desire for change in students’ and teachers’ daily outfits can be attributed to access to digital devices during the day. Retail fashion and merchandising teacher Ms. Rogovitz explained this phenomenon. “Students were spending a lot more time on computers and devices and multitasking throughout their day. They could be online shopping, looking at articles, or checking out different trends,” she said.
Whether it’s dressing up or down, more than half of the respondents to the JerEcho fashion survey believe that students will continue to dress more fashionably in the upcoming school year. It will be exciting to see a more unique, expressive fashionable school environment.