That feeling when you feel like you’re being stared at, the self-conscious feeling, where you feel like the elephant in the room everyone is addressing. That is the feeling a lot of us feel when we dress differently or dress the same as others for validation. A lot of times, looking for validation kills creativity, but you’re not alone.

Around our school, we are known to see similar outfits all the time; it’s repetitive like a trend. “I see a lot of people wearing black jackets, a lot of oversized hoodies, baggy sweatpants, and baggy jean shorts,” said Carla Rich, a senior here at Osbourn High School. 

Some people are earlier to fashion trends than others and may be influential for other people to wear the same thing. “I’ve been dressing like this from my freshman year to now,” said Carla Rich, who likes to dress similarly to a lot of people.

Another influential source for people to curate outfits is social media. “I find big inspiration from certain posts and would try to replicate them with my outfits,” said Maliya Trammell, a sophomore here at Osbourn High School.

People who dress the same as others intentionally may think that wearing clothes in uniform reduces peer pressure and anxiety because people get picked on for being different all the time. “It lowers the chance of people being made fun of and people feeling insecure about standing out,” said Katie Ho, a freshman here at Osbourn High School.

Although there might also be roadblocks in the way for people to dress to their ideal standards. “The clothes that I like and the style that I like are very expensive and sometimes hard to find, especially from Hollister, because they’re pretty expensive and always out of stock. But if I can’t find anything in my price range or in stock, I like to go to Shein,” said Katie Ho.

For those who dress differently within our school and have their own personal style with the help of social media, there are labels to each and every fashion style, so it’s pretty easy to find inspiration when searching the internet. “I would say my style is 2016 fashion or 2000s fall fashion, and I would look on Pinterest to seek inspiration,” said Maliya Trammell.

The world is too big, and life is too complex to only revolve around yourself and always worrying about everyone else’s opinions. Dressing to your liking and not anyone else is one step forward to being a brave and creative individual. “Think outside the box and do what you want to do because you’re not going to remember these people after high school,” said Maliya Trammell. 

So, what would you call your personal style, or what fashion style do you wish to acquire? What is your opinion on dressing according to trends, and do you see any fashion trends here at Osbourn?