A student walks through the door of their first period class at 8:29 a.m., narrowly avoiding being marked tardy. When asked by their teacher their reason for nearly being late, the student responds they lost time picking their outfit. For those not involved in fashion, this might seem like a silly excuse, but for students passionate about style, their outfit is an essential part of their identity.
“I think fashion is a way to show what you’re interested in and really represent yourself in the clothing styles, by choosing whatever you think is cool,” Phillip Leyendecker (’25) said.
While getting dressed in the morning may seem mundane to some, engaging in fashion can offer feelings of fulfillment and validation from others.
“I was in a very mean girl friend group in 7th grade that would always tease me about how I dressed,” Jaiden Sarros (’25) said. “They had a certain style and would always be online planning their outfits and saving pictures of them on Pinterest.”
In response to her peers’ criticism, Sarros decided to invest in her style.
“I started to be curious and look into it and actually found really cool outfits and different styles that I was very intrigued by,” Sarros said. “Then, in 8th grade I started to make my own cool outfits, and finally my friend group stopped pestering me.”
Through being pressured to consider the way she dresses, Sarros discovered her affinity for fashion.
“[Fashion] means a lot to me because, ever since 8th grade, I’ve had a deep interest in the style I portray,” Sarros said. “I also love when people say things about my outfits because I plan to create my own clothing business.”
Many become interested in their style once they wield it as a tool to emphasize individuality.
“When I was a sophomore, I was being more mainstream with more soft-core clothing, like knitted sweaters and carpenter knees and all that stuff,” Leyendecker said. “But then I realized I didn’t really like it that much because I felt like I was everyone else.”
Leyendecker’s prioritization of individuality is reflected in how he curates his style as well.
“I like putting my own twist on my outfits because I don’t like copying people,” Leyendecker said. “I like trying to change it up with different types of things to make my own outfits rather than copying others.”
While some, like Leyendecker, dress as a form of self-expression, others dress for practicality.
“The things that I wear, I actually use every day, like the hammer loop in my Carhartts,” Parker Harrison (’25) said. “In extra pockets and stuff, I’ll put like ratchets in there, or I’ll put screwdrivers in them.”
Harrison prioritizes comfort over cost when selecting pieces, but that doesn’t stop him from charging others top dollar for pieces. Harrison was the front-end manager for several months at Jeff’s Spot in San Luis Obispo.
“Yeah, I probably made like 25k every month off my sales alone and came out with like only 3k each month,” Harrison said.
Harrison managed to make so much money because of thrifting’s current high appeal to those into fashion.
“Because when thrifting you find cooler things that aren’t mainstream and also for a cheaper price,” Leyendecker said. “So it’s more mysterious.”
His decision to drift away from the mainstream led Leyendecker to win Best Dressed student of the class of 2025.
“Yeah, winning Best Dressed was cool,” Leyendecker said “Everyone supported me, and I felt proud of myself for putting myself out there and validated by others’ opinions.”
For many, fashion is more than just clothes—it’s a statement, a passion, and even a form of self-discovery. Whether dressing to stand out, stay practical, or express creativity, students like Leyendecker, Sarros, and Harrison show that style is deeply personal.
