self expression through fashion

For a long time, clothes mainly served a practical purpose. Fashions came and went, but the average person didn’t have a lot of room for personalization since the clothes making process was both laborious and costly. However, with the increasing speed of global transportation and advanced machinery came greater access to clothing at lower cost.

Now with the internet and online shopping, fashion is more accessible than ever, providing many people with more ways to personalize their style. Sites like Pinterest, Instagram, and especially TikTok expose people of all ages – primarily teens – to countless niches.

Of course, having an expansive wardrobe with all the latest trends is quite expensive, but we still have far more variety available than people of the past. This allows people to mix and match what they like to form a style that resonates with their identity.

English teacher Lena Pressesky, when asked about her opinions of the connection between fashion and self expression, noted that “I always feel my best mentally when I feel like I look like myself.” She described her personal style as “bohemian eclectic,” and went on to explain that she enjoys exploring multiple different niches as well. “I don’t like to put myself in any boxes […] I like to be able to kind of pull from different genres,” she said. Choosing what makes us happy, regardless of fitting a specific box, is at the core of self expression.

Generation Z is especially keen on

Katie King

making choices that don’t limit us. Chloe Chao, a junior, thinks that fashion can show different aspects of yourself. “There’s the side of like, [being] comfortable and then also just using [fashion] to present yourself,” Chao said.

On the other hand, Chao believes that some trends can be harmful. “[Fashion is] a cool way people found to express themselves […] At the