Style in MAPSO

By: Sage Territo

/600 Words

Photo Credit: John Bell

       Columbia High School (CHS) has a unique fashion culture easily distinguishable  from surrounding communities. Maplewood South Orange (Mapso) cultivate many different cultural enclaves through the arts, sports, clubs and academics. Furthermore, many student have style inspired by their cultural backgrounds. AP studio art even offers CHS students a chance to create a fashion portfolio and pursue design. There are many student run fashion brands that have gone on to be successful outside of CHS. Austin Romanuax (16') uses sneakers as a canvas and shares his work on Instagram. Zack Fryer (16') started the fashion brand ICC Street Wear at CHS and continued working on his online store after graduating. Phoebe Joseph (17') and Sage Ceaser (17') have modeled on the runway and in print.

      Though many students in CHS get caught up in brand name, others are more focused on using fashion for expression. Students like Vivi Charlap (17') embellish clothes with embroidery and patches. Other students like Amal Omer (17') wear t-shirts with political messages like ' Black Lives Matter'. Some students don't make a statement with what clothing they wear but where they get it from.  Tennessee Woodiel (17') buys clothing second hand to avoid fast fashions environmental impacts. However, some students dress solely out of necessity. Casual clothing can be used to conform as much as it can be used to stand out in a fashion scene cluttered with accessories and ornamentation.

      CHS students are aware that fashion is always changing but many kids still have key pieces of fashion they use throughout their life. Ino Cintron-Burch (17') has continued to repurchase converse sneakers since middle school. Other students have jewelry with religious iconography that they wear every day. Tattoos are another fashion statement students attempt to make timeless. Kids will tattoo meaningful things relating to family or their personal identity and experience. Piercings are used as self expression as well. Some may argue that CHS culture pull piercings away from the alternative fashion scene and into the mainstream.

      However, CHS isn't necessarily a completely open environment for self expression through fashion. Restrictive dress codes that target girls and black students means not everyone has total freedom of expression in their place of education. Rules like "no doorags" and no short skirts lead some students to wear clothing they are less comfortable in to appease authority.