Hallway runway

Students dress confidently to express themselves and encourage others to feel confident in their identity

Maize junior Jade Pharis said her experience growing up and figuring out her identity was not the easiest thing to deal with, especially in middle school.

“Some people would look at me and notice that I don’t look like them,” she said. “They’d call me slurs, yell at me in the hallway and try to push me over when they got the chance. I’ve been told I’m mentally ill for the way I dress. … Of course I still get comments like that, but not as often. Even back then when they told me those things, it never hurt. If anything it made me more motivated to dress this way.”

For many students fashion allows them to express themselves in a unique way and share their personality through it. Expressing themselves through fashion however, can cause more criticism to occur from peers, but it also can empower people to feel confident and secure.

In other ways, people like Maize senior M.J. McCollum look back at who they used to be, opening their eyes to help identify how much they have grown.

“If [people] are remembering the girl with the biggest bow and sparkly shoes in Derby Elementary School, that would be Molly Jo, a little different, but still cookie cutter,” McCollum said. “If it’s the girl from Maize High School, who currently wears bold colors, flares, and bright red cowboy boots, that would be M.J., a self-assured senior. She waves at everyone in the hall and finds commonalities with everyone she meets.”

For many students, their appearance changes depending on the environment and their mood.

“If I feel like I’ll have a good day, I’ll usually spend less time worrying about what I’m wearing,” Maize South sophomore Yasmine Bellamarcos said. “If I feel like I’ll have a bad day, I try to cheer myself up by dressing nicer, so that at least I look good while I don’t feel too great.”

These students also want people to feel like they are approachable and believe dressing a certain way can earn you respect. Many compliments that are received can turn into conversations and get people noticed by others they may not expect attention from.

“Fashion socializes me by starting conversations with people I wouldn’t normally talk to about where I got my outfit that day,” Maize South senior Axie Sanchez said.

Some trending outfit aesthetics currently are skater boy, hippie, alternative and street wear attire.

During the pandemic, many people used this time to dig deeper into their identity and with social media to assist, it kept trending outfit aesthetics alive. For Maize South senior Kadyn Broughman, this time allowed him to get inspiration and experiment on social media before wearing his styled attire to school.

“I used to not dress up for school,” he said “I used to only dress up for my Instagram, but recently I feel like I’m in a good state of mind that I feel comfortable and confident wearing what I actually want to wear and not caring what people think of me.”

Fashion is a creative outlet for people to gain confidence, feel authentically themselves and inspire others to do the same.

“Expression is really important to me,” Pharis said. “I think emotions are what make people human, so being able to express how I feel through what I wear brings a fascinating quality to who I am as a person. I feel like I can conquer anything. It is cool to wear what you want. It takes effort yeah, but it is so worth it.” — Lily Robison

What ways does your fashion socialize you? Students will compliment my outfits and it helps to start conversations with people I am not familiar with. — Maize South sophomore Yasmine Bellamarcos

Who is your biggest influencer? Dolly Parton and Kacey Musgraves because who they are, how they dress, and how they act truly. — Maize senior M.J. McCollum Where do you get your clothes from? I really like to thrift. I also like buying clothes at Uptown Cheapskate since I work there. — Maize South senior Kadyn Broughman How does your fashion match your personality? I have a big personality, so to express that, my clothes have to be just grand. — Maize senior Jade Pharis What is your fashion aesthetic? I would say casual chic with some street style and a couple of preppy pieces. -Maize South senior Axie Sanchez

Illustration by Ty Brack