Rediscovering the gold in old fashion trends

Illustration+by+Hyun+Park

Illustration by Hyun Park

Madeline Hussey, Assistant features editor

A glance inside the windows of a thrift store, a quick browse through the Macy’ssales rack, or a walk through the racks’ of reds, oranges, browns, and yellows, all prove that autumn is here. And with autumn comes the fall fashion trends worn exclusively during this time of year.

Like leaves changing color on the trees, senior Greg Neppl enjoys changing how he dresses for the seasons. He has a specific style of dress for autumn which is a stark contrast from his summer clothes.“I like to layer my clothing,” Nepplsaid. “I would wear a normal shirt, and then a collared shirt, and then above that a crewneck, and then above that jacket.”

Senior Lily Davis likes to take inspiration from many different clothing genres to create her own style, and anticipates many different trends coming back this fall.

“Really big styles like boyfriend-style jackets are super in, button-ups too, and big leather coats,” Davis said. “And then I’ve been seeing a lot of bright mix and match colors, like really saturated colors that designers usually wouldn’t mix together.”

Davis believes that the ’90s-inspired“boyfriend style”, made up of baggier clothes like jeans, is also here to stay.“Trends recycle over the years so there’s [a lot] of stuff from the ’80sand ’90s,” Davis said.

Melissa Pfister, South fashion teacher who considers herself trendy, agreed with Davis’s views regarding emerging trends.

“’90s [and] early 2000’s trends are certainly making a comeback,” Pfistershared. “There’s a theory in the fashion industry where they say fashion trends recycle themselves every 20 to 30 years. Now that’s not saying every single trend comes back, but some of those will make an appearance. So, it’s funny that we’re seeing [that] early 2000’sand early 90’s [fashion] because it fits right into that sort of theory.”

Pfister’s fashion 1 class is also studying the transition of styles and colors from one season to the next.

“We brainstorm different trends from[the] spring and summer of this year and then we tried to make predictions of what was going to be popular and trending in the fall,” Pfister explained.

Pfister, like Davis, is excited for the transition into more autumnal styles, and changes out her summer wardrobe in favor of her fall wardrobe to prepare.

“I love fall colors,” Pfister said. “Sweaters and leggings and bringing in those more muted down tones versus those bright [tones you see in summer]. I think that what gets me the most excited about fall fashion are those muted colors. I love the green right now – the sage and burgundy and a deep yellow and gold.”

Davis believes that fashion is for everyone, even if they don’t follow the popular trends.

“I feel like in high school a lot of people sort of just wear what everybody else is wearing,” Davis said. “Because that’s what’s comfortable and [they’re] afraid of judgment, but I think that clothes are really good for self-expression.”

Similarly, Pfister believes that anyone can express themselves through the different clothes and styles they decide to wear.

“I would say that fashion is for everyone,” Pfister said. “I think sometimes people think, ‘Oh, I’m not trendy’ or, ‘I don’t keep up with the latest fashions, but at the end of the day we all wear clothes. And being able to learn about how to have your own individual style and looking and feeling your best is one of the greatest things that we can do, so that we can show up every day and feel good about ourselves. Fashion can be such a powerful tool, and it’s fun.”

Davis summed up Pfister’s feelings in a short but sweet sentiment:

“Wear whatever you want to wear,” Davis said.

Neppl also thinks self-expression and self-acceptance through clothing is a defining part of one’s personality.

“People should just wear what they like to wear,” Neppl said.“And [they should] not really worry about what other people are wearing.”