Trendwatch 02/15/2024

By IZYAAN BURNEY and JANIBEK SUBKHANBERDIN

This week, we chose four students, one from each grade, to share with us their stylistic influences, what themes they play into, and what vibe they aim to give off. Prep Claire Xiao @claire._.xiao plays into themes of minimalism and coquette styles. Lower Corrinne Welling @i_like_pans_23 is all about thrifting, using colors, textures and layering to curate they’re outfits. Upper Abigail Sears @abigail_0o0o uses second-hand clothing websites to obtain different pieces of clothing, while Senior Nat Welling @nat.4878 emphasized the use of passed down clothes from family members. 

When thinking about their outfits, many students focus on a specific aesthetic. Xiao, for instance, explains her vision: “this changes pretty often but some are Asian streetwear, Stockholm style, minimalism, [and] a little bit of coquette.” 

For some, like N. Welling, fashion boils down more to expressing parts of her identity than to aligning with a specific aesthetic. C. Welling echoed this sentiment, explaining that, for them, a key part of their fashion sense is breaking down certain boundaries. “I think [of] a combination of masculine and feminine,” Welling continued, “I just hate the idea that we have to wear certain clothes.”

However, students don’t always find themselves aligning within a specific aesthetic or idea. For instance, upper Abigail Sears detailed that “some days I’ll dress in a full private school preppy [look]. I love a black dress or a suit with a tie.” Sears continued, “But some days, like today, I have a button down and a bandana on.”

Students highlighted the different places they purchase their clothing from, from online searches to exploring different thrift shops and buying at big-brand stores. C. Welling described the current outfit that they were wearing, saying, “This shirt is from a big chain of different, small, curated thrifted clothing things in Boston, which was really, really cool.” They went on to say, “I really love the material that this coat is made of. It’s the first thing that I ever got from a yard sale. And it will be the best thing I ever get from a yard sale.” Sears reflected similar views, “Online shopping can be really difficult, but second hand stores like Depop, are really solid.” Xiao echoed. “To be honest, a lot of my clothes are my brother’s or thrifted!”

  N. Welling also described her use of passed down clothes, “One of the few benefits of being a day student is that I can steal clothes from my parents. My dad has a ton of old button downs, which - though a bit oversized — are cool,” she said. N. Welling continued to mention her shopping habits at big-brand stores: “Target is also nice.” 

Xiao agreed, citing “Brandy Melville, Ralph Lauren, [and] Uniqlo.” 

These different styles all help create the students’ desired images. Inspired by her aesthetic, Xiao aims for people to take away a “clean/minimalist vibe.” For N. Welling, who reflects that she has grown to care a lot less about how others perceive her, the hope is to “look cozy and comfortable and approachable on the path.” On a similar note, C. Welling uses her clothing as a facet to express their individuality and how they hope people see them. “I want you to, like, notice, that like, I am dressing the way I am to express a part of my personality and I’m a really loud person and I think my clothing reflects that.”

These Exonians received their fashion influences from a variety of places, from online websites to their upbringing. Xiao mentioned, “My biggest style influences include Kazuha, myself and my pinterest boards” Nat Welling also utilized Pinterest, which is a website where people can find different recipes, decor and style inspiration. She described, “I love Pinterest! I don’t really look at it all the time for day-to-day stuff, but it’s certainly had an impact on my own aesthetics/sense of style.” Corrinne Welling remarked about getting fashion inspiration from another online platform, Instagram. They said, “At one point I was following this guy…he would get dressed like every morning and he would dance in the mirror to like soft jazz and put on his neon pink fishnets. And that made me so happy.” 

  Sears commented on her fashion awakening during her childhood, “If I think about it, when I was younger I really, really liked fashion. Like, I never would wear kids’ clothes.” She went on to say, “I always would wear women’s petite, extra small clothes. Like, even when I was like 10, I didn’t like how kid clothes were put together.” 

To these students and many others on campus, fashion is a tool for self-expression and a form of challenging social norms – their style extending beyond just appearance and forming an integral aspect of their identities. Drawing from a wide range of inspirations to convey their aesthetics, hopefully these students can inspire you too to dress how you want, to communicate what you want, and to feel welcomed doing so.