Homecoming

need I say more?

Homecoming: it’s as American as apple pie and artillery, a ritual practice by highschoolers across the 50 states involving dress up, democracy, and –of course– football. You simply could not get the quintessential American teenage experience without the “big game” and the week of costume infused hype leading up to it.

Originally just a game alumni were invited to attend, homecoming has taken on a whole new meaning as high schools and colleges have adopted the practice of a complex weeklong ritual. Nowadays there are 3 pieces to the archetypal homecoming: the week before, the game, and the dance– every element with its own outfits, just waiting to be explored.

The real hype for homecoming in Catholic school, of course, comes in the week beforehand, when drab uninspiring uniforms are swapped out for bold costumes and coordinatedensembles. While I’m sure public schools (and all schools without uniforms) put on a decent show for hoco week, there’s something particularly sensational about a Catholic school’s spirit days. As us students are freed from our hideous confines we tend to put on a phenomenal aesthetic showing.

With this in mind and the pressure on, before breaking out my outfits, I made a trip to the thrift store to stock up on some important elements and essentials for the week ahead. I find that going second hand for a lot of the more common costume elements is a great way to commit to the themes of the week without making expensive and consumeristic purchases. When our Monday theme was (inevitably) pajama day (probably because that’s what most of my peers want to wear anyway) I turned to my local St Vincent De Paul for a pair of classic black and white pajama pants that I paired with a costco children’s long sleeve top for a fit that was surprisingly cute. Other gems from the trip included a preppy green sweater and this picture which embodies most of my feelings most of the time:

The crop top was a stretch but I went un-dresscoded

After easing into spirit week with a very chill Monday our thematic complexity was elevated with a twin day. Not looking to go out of my way in order to create the perfect matching outfits, a few of my friends and I ended up planning a black top+blue jean combo that I iterated on by leaning hard on the classy side and creating an outfit not unfamiliar to readers who saw the summer edit, though you’ll notice my jewelry game has certainly taken a step up with the addition of this vintage gold wristwatch also from the thrift– and while it may not actually work (as in tell time) it is sophisticated enough to earn a spot on my regular jewelry roster. While, due to a number of circumstances, I didn’t get a photo with my designated twins (and also because most of the school also happened to prefer basic black outfits for match day) my “twins” were numerous. Though I need not fear missing out on my opportunity to twin because another would arise with Wednesday’s theme: Character day.

yes I had to take the photos in my school bathroom- it was a long day

Originally I was perplexed by this theme, characters? I’ll admit the vague inspecific nature of it had me wondering “should I skip out;” I mean, how do you even pick the perfect character? To find the mix between cool and cute, aspirational and representative– it truly is no small feat, however I received a piece of advice that will forever change how I approach any outfit prompt I cannot seem to tackle: wear what you want first, find the character later. This simple mindset switch made Wednesday’s theme overwhelmingly easy. I decided to debut a new favorite outfit of mine: my Emory crewneck (YTI) with a black athletic miniskirt (the clothing swap) and black boots (St Vincent de Paul). This preppy chic little ensemble quickly fit into the mold of a uniform fashion icon herself: Blair Waldorf (Gossip Girl). As alluded to, I wasn’t the only person dressing like the queen of NYC herself, though, and another person at school was dressed to impress in an outfit reminiscent of my Good Shepherd Days, with a touch of east coast elite.

By Thursday I hate to admit I was getting a little bit of a fabulous fatigue (and I mean how can you even top Blair Waldorf?) But I was determined to make the most of this week of freedom, which meant pulling out all the stops once again for a favorite of mine: Throwback Thursday. This theme, which I feel as though sometimes I live out in non throwback times, was difficult precisely because so much of my wardrobe is sprinkled with a vintage touch. To find something that felt appropriately different from my day to day while still being cute and wearable meant going to my blazer collection. As of right now I have approximately seven blazers, each with their own unique aspects and eras but the one that truly filled the vintage requirement was a red plaid xl piece from the Salvation Army. It truly captured a quintessential 80’s moment and was truly fabulous, especially when paired with a classic pair of dingy Converse and a blue denim skirt. While I’ve done many a vintage day this one felt like something really new for me as I avoided my usual collection of plaid pants and turtlenecks. It was a great exploration into some other vintage eras. Though The eighties certainly get a fair amount of fashion slack, I was pleased with my ensemble and wouldn’t hate to wear it outside of a theme (in fact I have worn this blazer to a mock trial competition).

The final day of homecoming week comes with the most hype, between the dance, game and court announcements. The final Friday is a gateway into the most exciting weekend of the 1st semester, yet to get to it I had to face class color day. Class color day is where each grade is assigned one school color to wear with the intention of creating a mosaic of spirited students; yet for all those plagued by garish, ugly colors (or in my case one ugly color) it can be the final straw for thematic dress. In a moment of major oversight by the class of 2028 representatives, 10th graders this year were forced to wear yellow. Yes, yellow. When I first heard this announcement I was struck by a chord of fear: yellow as a color not only is generally terrible with my skintone but also decisively too summery for a school that’s been keeping many of their classrooms at arctic temperatures.Yet, I cannot lament too much, because the outfit I did end up choosing was decisively adorable. I chose to wear a self tailored yellow sundress topped with a cropped white sweater. This sweater was crucial to the fit because it allowed me an otherwise dress code not approved pair of spaghetti straps in my cold school and when we were sent outside for a sweltering pep rally I was well dressed for the near 90 degree weather. Despite my initial concern this look closed off my homecoming week on a sweet, chic note and with it ended my stint of relative fashion freedom.

This long held tradition was a great opportunity for me to look at my closet in a new way and get inspiration for new outfits. While I didn’t attend the dance I did go to a crushing football game (we lost 30-0) and you can expect a post on what I wore there in the weeks to come (I’ll give you a clue: I made it- as in I sewed it).

In the meantime stay fabulous my dear uniform restricted friends and those that love them. Don’t let the bast**** get you down.