Written by VSJ – September 07

W hat did you wear on the first day of school? Did you wear some low-riders or a tank top? Or maybe you wore some flip-flops and sweat pants?  Now day’s teenagers are determined to dress a certain way or even out shine each other everyday with the clothes they wear.  This month, I’m going to talk to you about the things that influence teenager’s attire and how some of us choose to make our own trends the next best thing.

When teenagers go shopping for tennis shoes, we usually go for the Air Force Ones, Reeboks, Jordan’s and Pumas.  Why do we go out of our way, and sometimes out of our parents pay checks way, just to say we have a certain pair of shoes?  Teenagers look at television on a daily bases.  We also listen to radio, play video games, and step outside for fresh air.  Everywhere we go, there is someone saying, “You should wear this shoe because I wear them and I think they’re cool.”  Most teenagers are followers, and choose to follow their idols, who are usually rap artists or athletes.  Sometimes, we may not like something, but purchase it anyway because it’s cool or “in style”.  There will always be fads and trends, but why do we find the need to let others pressure us to look a certain way?  I asked a couple students how they dress and who influences their style.

Well, today I’m wearing a Sean John shirt, Sean John jeans, and some white on white Forces.  I usually dress like this everyday; the basic shirt, jeans, and sneakers. The one main person that I [take] my style from is P. Diddy.  As you can see, I really like his clothes.  - Richard A. 16

I’m a Beyonce fan, so I like to wear heels with straight leg jeans and a nice fitted shirt.  I don’t always follow her sense of style to dress myself, but I really look up to her for fashion tips as far as what to wear and what not to wear.  – Qualey S. 16

Shoes are just the beginning of the “perfect” outfit.  There is always that one shirt, or jacket, or pair of jeans that you MUST have.  Why though?  Why can’t we just wear what we want to wear when we want to wear it without having to worry about what someone else is going to say because that outfit may not be “in style”?  That is the true mystery.  But, there are some teenagers out there that take their own style and make it what they want it to be.  Not all teenagers wear Jordan’s or Reeboks.  Some wear Proxy or a no-name brand and still make it through the day knowing that their style is their own and their happy with it.  Some teenagers are trend-seekers, while others are trendsetters.  I asked some (what I considered) trendsetters how they created their own style and kept it going.

My family doesn’t really have the money to always buy me name brand [items], so instead of having to stress about things like that, I just bought what I could afford and made it my own.  People ask about my style sometimes and sometimes they are surprised by my answer.  They expect me to say I spent a million dollars on my outfit because they think it looks really good.  – Mike T. 18

I was tired of giving into peer pressure, so I made my own style based on what I wanted to wear because I truly liked it for what it was and not because of the name brand.  – Twain S. 17