Fashion spotlight
Developments throughout the years aren’t rare. Things such as technology, ideas, and even fashion trends tend to come and go or change for the better or the worse. At the Islands, students express themselves by the type of clothing they wear, leading to a variety of fashion choices circulating around campus.
With social media on the rise, influencers have become a great impact on society. Due to their status, celebrities have been able to influence the fashion industry on what type of clothing is in and what is out. The trends of 2023 consist of low rise jeans, cargo pants, extra baggage, more layers and varieties of colors.
One senior, Brian Hernandez, shares his insight of the fashion of today. Hernandez describes his own style as “streetwear” and makes sure to include his own twist in every outfit in order to stand out. His favorite fashion trend currently are knitted sweaters because of how they feel, giving him a sense of comfort everytime and especially how they look.
But one trend he is sick of seeing everywhere are Panda Dunks. “Almost everyone is wearing them,” Hernandez said. “Of course, this isn’t a bad thing but they have just become too overplayed.”
His favorite piece of clothing he owns are carpenter Wrangler jeans because they’re easy to style with anything, making it a staple in his wardrobe.
Hernandez also gives his own styling tips, such as experimenting with different clothes in order to find what you’re comfortable with or what doesn’t work for you. Lastly, he says, it’s OK to stick with one style but it’s better to have more options.
His do’s when it comes to fashion are to wear complementary colors and learn how to proportionate your outfits. His biggest and most important don’t is to never fall into trends because you might regret it in the future.
From his own experience, Hernandez bought the New Balance 550 that was on the rise in 2020, but now they sit in his closet collecting dust. He gets his inspiration from TikTok but is heavily influenced by the way his father and uncle used to dress in their early years.
Along with men, women have been changing the stereotypes of fashion designing their own styles to fit their personalities.
Crystal Perez, a junior, has developed her own creative way of styling clothes by surpassing the fashion norms of today. Although Perez doesn’t put her style under one specific category, she loves to surround her wardrobe with Earth tone colors. Her current favorite fashion trend that has taken the world by storm are the MSCHF big red boots because of how unique they are.
“I think we need to ban all skinny jeans out of the picture, completely ban them from the world,” expresses Perez when asked about one trend she is tired of seeing.
Her feedback to everyone is to wear what you think looks the best and what feels comfortable in order to truly express who you are instead of focusing on the current trends. Perez stresses her important do as oversized clothing; she adores the idea of loose fitting pants and sweaters. In fact, her all-time favorite piece of clothing she cannot live without are oversized jeans because she wears them everywhere all the time with any outfit and they allow her to feel comfortable throughout the day.
Her admiration for the 70’s has become the inspiration behind her style, specifically from David Bowie and Jimi Hendrix. Perez also states how punk shows have allowed her to expand her point of view on fashion, “I go to a lot of punk shows and people at those events dress pretty sick so I like to observe what they wear.”
Although streetwear and extra baggage have become the key points in fashion today, the biggest principal to style is wearing what feels comfortable.
