Highline students focus on personal style and the perceptions others may have about them, and their style, as the main influences on how they shop.
“Yes, I always wanna look presentable and good,” says Highline student Careuiana Otieno while sitting in the student union courtyard sporting pink slacks and an asymmetrical pink and orange top. She’s one of the few students wearing something that isn’t sneakers, loose fitting jeans, and a simple printed hoodie.
Many students focus on their style as a way of presenting themselves to those around them. However, unlike Otieno, many students heavily focus on athleisure and comfort.
Frequent items seen around campus at any hour are slides – backless open-toe sandals typically seen as loungewear. Some examples include simple solid-colored slides, Adidas Yeezy Foam RNNR’s, and typical the Nike black-and-white sandals.
Simple sneakers from several different brands also make an appearance, and to those who want to look presentable, while still keeping the athleisure aspect, they choose Nike Air Jordan’s, ranging in color and style.
Fall has started, the weather is slowly starting to change from blue to gray skies, and that means double-layering.
Several students have chosen to wear solid color hoodies under open and unbuttoned flannel shirts, a new trend that has appeared thanks to the rise of social media platforms like Tiktok. Another heavily-frequented item is the typical hoodie and jacket combo.
When taking a closer peek at the student body, many TikTok trends have found their way to campus. Some examples include heavy-duty baggy camo pants, typically green or black, Varsity jackets over solid color hoodies, and lots of sneakers.
“When I buy clothing I’m thinking about surprise and different trends,” said Yukino Murata about what she looks for when shopping for outfits.
Like Murata, several students also shop with those same ideas in mind, as seen with the intersections of trends from different seasons and time periods pouring in every day.
One example of this can be seen with the combination of streetwear trends that have ranged over the years. Once upon a time, there was a surge of Supreme and Adidas everywhere and now Supreme has been swapped out for Nike and Yeezy clothing.
Streetwear is no longer hoodies, tight jeans, and belts; but rather, loose fitting jeans, simple solid colored t-shirts, and neutral palettes.
“When I want to buy something for school, I want to buy black or white or plain colors,” explains Abdah Abdo. Typical shades worn are varying shades of neutral colors ranging from gray to beige to black and white.
Despite the influence of trends, there is still a constant focus on comfortability and practicality.
Students wear matching sets of sweatpants and hoodie combinations in neutral tones. However, they’ll add touches of gold or silver jewelry, clean and polished sneakers, with the addition of their headphones or earbuds.
As trends come and go, one thing will always remain constant on campus, and that’s the importance of comfort, even with aspects of more presentable outfits in mind. People want to look good, but they want to feel comfortable.
“[I] consider what I wear and colors and if they’re matching or if it’s too much. [I] want to present a certain way other than focus on a style,” says Otieno, summing up the typical ideas centered around campus fashion recently.
Style is the focus, presentation is the key, and comfort is a consistent priority.