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Myles Jones

Shirmara Anderson, Myles Jones, Carlos Callahan, and Mariah Dean are all Merrillville High School upperclassmen who have been dressing to impress this school year. The four students agreed that MHS style culture has changed a lot since COVID has emerged. Outfits have been piling up, and people have more time to focus on the way they dress.

Quarantine changed a lot of people for better and for worse. Some people gained weight, some people lost weight, some people look better, some people look worse, some people dress better, some people dress worse.

Anderson said quarantine gave her plenty of time to think about her style.

“I’m a really planned person,” Anderson said. “In seventh grade, I used to plan out all my outfits for the week, but [with quarantine] I couldn’t do that…So I just had a bunch of outfits planned out. When quarantine ended and everyone could go out again, I just started wearing all my outfits.”

Like Anderson, Dean is known for her unique sense of style. Quarantine also impacted the way she dressed.

“COVID happened and I hadn’t been out as much, so every time I do go out, I have to look nice,” Dean said.

Since coming back to school the most popular shoes have been Nike dunks. This is an era where name brand clothes and shoes aren’t the end all be all. Clothing items that one would’ve been made fun of for wearing just two years ago are now trendy.

“When I used to wear baggy pants people would call them ‘dump trucks,’” Anderson said.

Now baggy jeans are trendy to wear.

When Jones wore cargos one time in middle school, he realized that it “wasn’t the move” but they circled around a few years later and now everyone wears them.

“Back in 7th grade I wouldn’t say I couldn’t dress but I would wear straight Jordan’s and I’m trying to change that up right now”

Like many of today’s teens, these four students gain inspiration from sites like Pinterest, YouTube, Instagram, and Tik Tok.

“I take inspiration from a lot of different places and mix it together to how I like it,” Callahan said.
These students agree that to find the best look, one should know yourself and your body and not be afraid to experiment.

“You don’t have to be like everyone else, but it’s okay to get inspiration from other people at the same time,” Callahan said. “It’s no rules to it. You can do what you want to do and be yourself.”

While style is unique, the students believe the fit of clothes can make or break an outfit.

“Know how your body is, know how the clothes fit on yourself…cause me… I’m a really skinny dude so things that [some people] might be able to wear might not look right on me,” Jones said.

Despite what your style may be, Callahan believes that it’s important to feel comfortable in your own skin and express your personality through clothing.

“First thing people see is your clothes, and I just like to leave a good first impression,” Callahan said.