Does fashion affect teenagers in highschool?

"i would not want to hang with any one who can't dress because it will make me look like a nut."
This is a common feeling of many teenagers among us. Over the years trends have changed tremendously. From Levis, to Cani jeans, to Hollister. ABercrombie, H&m,Hollister,Polo, if you ain't got this than your not following the latest trends. Does fashion truly affect a students identity in high school? This is a topic that I have decided to investigate.

From what i see teenagers classify themselves into different groups; popular(the highest), normal (middle/Unbarred)and weirdo's (uncool/picked on). Some members of these groups discriminate against each other. The main factor of this separation is fashion. People tend to hang with people who look and dress like them. Image basically changes your identity. If "south pole" is your whole wardrobe you are going to get teased, and if top notch clothing like "Abercrombie" is your whole wardrobe then you are going to be admired. This is just the way that it goes. I had interviewed someone from the "inn crowd" and the response that they gave me was; "don't wear old name brands because you will get clowned, I may even clown you." Which means that you will get teased and laughed at. Then I had interviewed some one from the "inn crowd." They acted like a witness and told me; "I see people every day get flamed because of what they wear. This means that they are harassed. Last I was in shock because I was able to hear from some one in the weirdo crowd who said; "I don't care about them people who are in the "inn crowd" they always got something to say about the clothes I wear (rocawear, south pole, and g-unit). This proves that clothing affects who you hang out with in school and how you interact with others.


From observations I can see that respect is something that many teenagers thrive on. There is a certain level of respect that many teenagers want. Some more than others. The main reason why many teenagers are self conscious about what they wear is because they want to be respected. " If I wear clothes that look a mess I would get get teased" This is what one teenager said to me and many other responses that were given to me were similar to this. One thing that many teenagers fear is humiliation and having a bad reputation. Rather than being known as a loser most teens want to be known as the ish, they want to be cool. " I would not want to be known as the dengy girl but as the girl who got lay's." This means that rather than have a bad image this person would rather have a decent image. For the most part many teens want to have a good reputation and want to be respected.


Fashion can represent a number of things. It can represent how a person feels, where a person is from , and also how much style a person has. Being that teens are young they want to really express their style. In high school it almost seems as if the ability to have your own style is a talent. " I don't just weare what I wear to fit in but I also wear it because i want people to see how I express myself." See I have also had many statements like this one. According to many teens in my school self expression can reflect on who you are, and your personalty. "It is not what you wear but how you wear it" In many cases there are people who turn things thet are a mess into something that is the best. In school these people are called trend setters. These people bend the rules of the trends and make their own. Also there are people who just don't care about the trends but just make themselves look good no matter what they wear. That is because your attitude can change it all. "Certain people can pull off certain things" said by a trendsetter in my class. This information proves that name brand does matter but only to a certain extent. Also it makes it known that in high school style is what really counts.

Here are a few tips for every teen currently enrolled in high school. If you are into name brands and want to be "inn" wear all of the latest trends and keep everything that you wear up to date. Wanna be a trend setter then wear all of your own styles and dress don'ts up into do's (be different). And if you dint care about fashion then be you and wear what you want. Remember your whole appearance depends on your attitude and confidence.