I'd love to find you more pics of my high school styyyyle, but my photo albums are in Montreal, and my parents' are packed and deep deep DEEPly buried in storage. But I copied these ones from Swiss Girl's collection...
Grade 7--cropped hair with a rat tail; paisley scarf; gray blouse; turquoise capris. Looking back, I appear très new wave.
Grade 8? You see Prince is still on my locker. (That's Delyriam, who was later my roommate, later my brother's ex-wife.) And my friends and I kept a shared locked just for our dictionaries cause the schools made you buy Le Petit Larousse, about the size and heft of a Christmas fruitcake.
And with Swiss Girl who has crimped hair and probably her French Fry earrings. I am wearing a thin jersey sun dress with a loose print blouse, probably a hip belt, and chunky necklace/earrings to match. (I remember clothes better than I remember my life.) Hair still longer on one side, and permed.
Grade 8 or 9, judging by my hair. This was a great outfit. Navy blouse, print wrap skirt, navy sash, perfectly matched multicolored leather sandals, and a big bag. I'd wear this today (if my hips could still pull it off...)
Picture on the right is older than the one on the left. The outfit on the right was a knee length, shiny coral blouse with an interesting print, with a long blue corduroy jacket and large navy stones in the ears, and a coral necklace. On the left is a military jacket, I think my grandfather's (if not, then from a thrift store.) It was sharp, I tell you. Clearly a good year separates these, though my hair does grow fast. In grade 9 a bitch cut off my tail which might be why I abandoned the do.
Grade 10. I remember cause I noticed that suddenly people stopped making fun of how I dressed. Like, they all matured over the summer. That was it! I'd crossed the three year gauntlet and enjoyed fashion freedom from that grade onward. And became the one thing I dreamed of: Someone of whom other people say "She's so lucky, she can wear anything."
This is another sleeveless jersey sun dress of taupe with black dots; a lighter dotted taupe shirt over it; a fake ivory elephant necklace, I think pearl clip ons, and my fingerless gloves (thrift store--chopped off the tips cause my fingers were too long.)
There's a smile drawn on my hand. Must be grade 11 when I had my teeth wired shut after a jaw operation. Just a t-shirt here, though a very cute one.
Sigh. I'm very proud of who I was as a teenager. Sadly working in retail slowly eroded my wardrobe. Man I hate dress codes. At my current job it's much more liberal, but I never know which department I'll be in, so jeans/slacks prevail. Don't want to step on my own skirt when hefting a sofa.
But I have begun to replenish my Weirdness Wardrobe. I have an amazing caftan that my co-worker was all "Don't buy it! What are you doing?!" (I told her I looked like a goddess in it.) And my cow coat which I didn't get fixed up in time to wear in the winter. And a satin robe. I haven't worn them anywhere yet... but it feels right just having them.
*****
BONUS MATERIAL: The "Grade 9" song by the Barenaked Ladies. (My humongous binder was turquoise.)
6 comments:
Believe it or not I made a lot of my clothes in high school. I had my own style, also, not very influenced by my peers.
I wasn't too clothes conscious growing up: my mom chose most of them and some I would wear and some I wouldn't. I chose my own clothes to wear in junior high (from rummaging in my older half-brother's cast-offs left behind when he went in the marines) and ended up looking like the local gang members (so I had to lose the bandana and the plaid wool shirt). But I wore guy's clothes a lot. And clothes that didn't suit me a lot. I didn't really start to break out into my own style until my late 20s and now it varies between a simple uniform of jeans and tee shirt vs. my more interesting clothing and colors.
I applaud you for having such a sense of style at such a young age! I, too, had cropped hair and a rattail for several years (in my 20s, of course).
Good times! Man, we all look so SMALL and YOUNG!
I noticed those Prince posters right away! ... we never forget our first true love.
I had a terrible sense of style at that age. Still do, actually, but at least now I know what I like to wear. When I was in elementary school, I had a favorite dress (dark brown and black vertical stripes, zipped all the way up the front, gold collar)(I know you are jealous) and I wore it every time it was clean, which would sometimes be 3 days a week. My mom must have been so happy when I finally outgrew it. (great post, and love the pictures)
@JJJ - I would have loved to have that know how! Well, maybe I'll finally learn now.
@Skye - It amuses moi to think of you dressed as a gang member.
@Simone - Yes, well, SOME good times. In those photos, at least!
@widders - In some ways we really don't change at all.
@Barb - I AM jealous!
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