Starting in 2020, so much of the world seemed to come to a halt, including local businesses, classrooms, sports teams, and extracurricular activities. One sign universally upheld that the world must be coming to an end lay in the pockets of dirty, stained sweatshirts, flannel pajamas that were clearly over-worn, and even the wretched smell of fuzzy socks that hadn’t been in the washer since March of 2020 (Gross!). But now, in 2022, stores are making more money once again, and why is that? Because style and fashion are
in high gear again. People have started putting more thought and effort into their daily outfits, in many ways, just like before the pandemic. Just ask Alicia Freiin Von Richthofen from Cilley Dorm.
“I think me, I definitely wear a lot of, like, jackets,” she said. “I think jackets are the biggest thing in my closet–and boots and accessories. What I like to do is a simple, basic underneath outfit, and then have like a cool jacket or cool shoes or like cool jewelry. I really like to accessorize. Like, accessories are key.”
Alicia said that her daily outfit might differ depending on her mood. “For example, if I want to be more free, I’ll do a skirt. if I want to wear something more masculine maybe like basketball shorts or like a flannel.”
“I like to thrift. Thrifting–if you know where to go–you can buy incredible stuff.”
“You can get brand name stuff for really, really cheap, like five bucks, you know?” Alicia said. “And also, I think the style’s like a lot more interesting than if you go to a shop. Because everyone can go to Zara and buy, you know, a shirt. But, like, you can’t find the same copy of a shirt in a thrift store.”
When asked what her favorite outfit is, she responded “I think recently I’ve been obsessed with this, like, skirt outfit, like this black plaid skirt, these boots, like a brown tank top, and a brown jacket on top. I think boots–like long boots go with anything.” She sees makeup as a ritual, and is more interested in natural, everyday looks.
“What I do is I add dark eyeshadow to the water line, and then some like some eyeliner, some glitter in the corner, some blush, a little bit of mascara. Very simple, but like it makes your eyes pop.”
“I don’t wear that many shorts. Like my entire closet is more preppy, maybe like fairy core. I like skirts, dresses and jeans.”
Alicia said she had to leave a pair of “stunning white Gogo boots” at home, when she came to Exeter.
Kelly Kadis from Dunbar described their style as “Very androgenous. Leaning towards more masculine, I’d say. Sometimes I like to follow the street-look type of dresses. And sometimes I just like to dress like a dad.”
“I definitely put some thought into it. Like, I remember when I was little my mom used to say I should pick out my clothes the night before because it usually took me too long to decide.”
Why is what someone chooses to put on their body significant? I wanted to know.
“Because I believe that it expresses us,” Kelly said.
They added:”“Most of my clothes are second hand, not thrifted but by like my brother or my dad or my grandpa sometimes.”
Kelly’s favorite outfit is “a button up shirt. It’s striped blue and white, and it has like some patches of art from the classical era. I wear it a lot. I really like it.”
They said: “I used to do a lot of makeup when I was in gymnasium, because the sport I was doing required a lot of makeup. I used to do synchronized swimming, and we’d get all dolled up. But I kind of got bored with it. I went through a time when I didn’t like makeup at all, but now I like more natural, maybe some eyeliner. But it’s all like brown colors and some pastel.”
“I like to emphasize the art of my clothes. I have a lot of clothes that have like faces on them, and I like matching jewelry sometimes.”
Unfortunately, the seventeen-year-old, coming all the way from Greece, was not able to bring a favorite item of clothing they have at home. “It’s too extra for Exeter–but I have a blue suit that I wanted to bring, but it’s too extra, and too like winter-time.”
“The androgenous style I got inspired by my brother mostly because he doesn’t conform into the heteronormative normal styles. He likes to wear what he wants ear. Because in Greece all the boys like to dress a certain way, he likes to, like, spice it up a little bit.”
“We should be able to wear what we want.” Kelly said. This was the advice they would give to youth interested in clothing today.
Dimitrios Mesadakos, from Webster Dorm said, “I mostly wear sportswear. I like clothes that are, like, comfy to wear. But if I go out, I’ll wear more sportswear”
“Most of the time I just grab a t-shirt and find shorts that fit. If I’m going out to like a special occasion, I’m going to put more thought into it.”
“If I’m shopping for sportswear I might go to, like, a sports store. I might do a fast fashion store, even though that’s not the best. But I also like supporting independent brands online.” He said.
He’s never been thrift shopping but would love to give it a try. Demitrios’s outfit consists of “a blue Nike hoodie, some black, baggy cargo pants, like a ton of bracelets and stuff, and then some blue Jordan vans.”
The uniqueness of his clothing lies in the versatility of it. “My style changes a lot depending on the time of the year. Like I think I can definitely rock like a linen shirt and white pants. I can rock a suit. I can do streetwear, I can do sportswear, I can do formal wear.”
“I wish I had brought a suit just for fun, and I also had to leave like a couple of expensive shirts I like because I didn’t want to put them in the washer here.”
For some, fashion refers to the pieces of cloth you throw on your body to be deemed appropriate for other people, and for others it is a complex art form. It could take two minutes to pick out the perfect outfit or it could take two hours. It all depends on the model.