Fashion trends throughout history have come and gone throughout the decades, always resurfacing at one point or another. During the 70s, it was Edwardian inspiration, and during the 90’s, the sleek, boyish silhouettes from the 20s were back again. But what about trends on campus? Since RHS’s opening, have we seen the rise and fall of trends? To find out, three people on campus were interviewed about their views on the subject, their favorite and least favorite trends on campus, and more.
Fashion, as we know, is a cycle. According to MasterClass Articles, fashion comes in cycles consisting of five stages, introduction, increase, peak, decline, and obsolescence. Essentially, fashion trends come to life, become popular, hit their peak, start getting old, and die. Mrs. Siska, an english teacher on campus who has been teaching since 1997, explained the phenomenon of fashion trends being recycled on campus, “I definitely see things that are coming back, because fashion is kind of cyclical. So I remember a long time ago, there was the trend of when you wore overalls, you put one overall down, and then that trend went away. And so anytime I would see overalls, it would just be normal overalls. And then I see that that trend is back.”
There has recently been an increase in trends from the 2000’s resurfacing on campus; think low-rise jeans, crop tops, and lace camisoles. Ms. Masnica, who graduated from RHS in 2016 and began teaching theatre here last school year, described her affinity for 90’s style pants, “I really do like the oversized baggy jeans with like, kind of distressed tear, not too much, but just a little bit.” Sofiia Voloshyna, a sophomore here at RHS, also expressed her love for the early 2000’s inspired fashion which has taken over campus, “I really like the low rise jeans that are wide leg, and I really like crop tops and tank tops.” Siska cited her love for accessories as her favorite trend on campus currently, “I kind of like when jewelry, like, usually women, usually girls, they have jewelry that accentuates, like, I really like that. I like the like, people wearing a lot of different bracelets and bangles, or whatever they call them, and like, really kind of unique, cool rings. I like that.”
Though there are plenty of examples of recycled, well-loved trends on campus, there are also many which are very well-hated. Voloshyna expressed her disdain for some of the trends on campus, “ I feel like camo is now overrated. I don’t really like flare jeans either. Like the skinny flare.” Siska stated her dislike of several of the trends on campus,” the off the shoulder, or the strapless like, that’s something I don’t really care to see.The muscle tanks, yeah, let’s just wear a regular tank, people.And super, super short shorts, like, I don’t really care to see anybody’s booty. Ms. Masnica also voiced her annoyance at dress code non-conformance, “This is gonna be, I’m gonna get canceled. This is gonna be controversial, super, super low cut tops. I’m just, you know, I think that it’s a little bit trying to be old too quickly, like you got time for that. So in high school, you know, just have fun, explore your fashion sense. But like, don’t feel like you gotta do the lowest cut tops”
Even though trends are a constant cycle, for many there are some trends that they wish could stay on trend forever. For Mrs. Siska, that is parachute pants, “ I loved parachute pants. Like, I would love to find some parachute pants again. And I wish I’d kept mine from the 80s, because that would be in it.” Ms. Masnica stated that her dream trends would be from the 90s, “I love the 90s. Like, 90s fashion for for me, I think was, like, iconic, but I’m also a big sucker for the 80s. Like, I really like 80s, yeah, the big hair, the like, fun makeup. I just think it was a really awesome time for expression and self expression. And there was kind of no rules. Everything’s super neutral [now], so I’d love to see some of those bright colors be brought back.”
Because trends are a cycle, there will always be some that should stay back instead of get back into the fashion sphere, namely the dreaded skinny jean. From Voloshyna, “I really hope that skinny jeans will never come back.” From Ms. Masnica, “ I hope the miss me jean trend never comes back. I’m kind of over skinny jeans too.. Mrs. Siska was the only one to not bring up skinny jeans, instead critizing “sagging”, “ there was a lot of like, baggy, like sagging, and because we had an issue, and we had to, like, implement a rule, like, no sag.”
All of these constant trends lead really only to one question, how do trends affect the people on campus? Do people really care what their peers are wearing? For Mrs. Siska, it doesn’t really matter what others are wearing, “ I think I just kind of have my own unique style. Like today, I’m obviously just wearing very casual things, but I usually dress up. I usually am kind of a skirt or dress or nice slacks.” Voloshyna states that she would be a little lost without the help of fashion trends, “ I think my style is very affected by trends on campus. Because I started wearing shorts and sweatshirts, I started wearing Lulu leggings, and I also started wearing rainbows”. Ms. Masnica states that her style changed significantly as she began working here, “After I taught last year, I bought three pairs of baggy pants that I now wear, and I get complimented on by the students all the time, because it’s the clothes that they’re wearing also. So I do definitely think that style on campus has influenced my style, but I still feel like, especially because I’m a teacher and like, I switch back and forth from more casual clothing to more professional clothing. So when I’m in my more professional clothing, there’s nothing that from the students that they can really relate to with that. But for my casual wear, absolutely, I’m definitely taking notes from the kids.”
In short, there are some beloved trends on campus and some despised, but we are all affected by the changing world of fashion trends. Who knows? Maybe this time next year we’ll all be in skinny jeans.
