Carrie Messina, history teacher

Q. How would you describe your personal style?
A. “[My fashion style] is pretty similar to now, I used to wear like, Converse shoes and just comfy clothes, or soft clothes.”

Q. What was a typical outfit for you?
A. “I used to wear jeans, with something cute like the combat boots that we use to have, and one of those big block Bennetton geometric sweaters, which I even see people wear now.”

Q. Where did you get your clothes?
A. “GAP, Banana Republic, Loft, things like that.”

Q. What used to be trendy?
A. “People used to roll their pants up in high school, and I didn’t think that would ever come back. That was shocking to me. Also the boots– the combat boots, which people still wear now which I see all the time look great, and again just comfy clothes. Leggings are definitely new though, I didn’t wear leggings a lot back then.”

Q. Where did your fashion inspiration from?
A. “It was more like ‘What did you see when you were literally at the grocery store? What did you see on commercials, what did you see on TV?’, stuff like that. There wasn’t any social media like that and it definitely wasn’t 24/7. And, you couldn’t buy things from anywhere, you couldn’t just order anything, so you could only buy things that you could find in stores in person.”

Q. How has fashion changed?
A. “It was so different back then. We had kids at my school that had crazy mohawks that were green or purple, and they shaved all the rest of their head. There were also people who had really long hair. Mine was super short, it was shaved in the back and it was just like a little bowl cut. People kind of tended to dress for whatever team they were on, we were all kind of homogeneous in that way.”

Alex Stephens, substitute teacher

Q. How would you describe your personal style?
A. “I usually like to dress professionally. I like to wear a lot of thrifted things. I don’t really wear a lot of accessories, like wearing watches or things like that. My main thing that I always like to wear are sweaters, which are my personal favorite thing to wear.”

Q. What was a typical outfit for you?
A. “In high school I dressed in a lot of different ways. I definitely think I wore a lot more hoodies, and I had times where I was wearing Hawaiian shirts, but overall I think my style stayed the same.”

Q. Where did you get your clothes?
A. “From what I remember from a lot of people thrifted their clothes, or went to classic stores like GAP or Old Navy. I remember certain stores like Zoomies, too.”

Q. What used to be trendy?
A. “The biggest trend that I can definitely say was popular was that everyone was wearing flannels. They were a really big thing, specifically the whole style where you have the hoodie underneath the flannel shirt.”

Q. Where did you get fashion inspiration from?
A. “I mostly got my inspiration to dress from my peers around me. I grew up in a big family, so I had a lot of hand-me-downs. A lot of my fashion choices were often dictated by the people in my family or what [they] were wearing.”

Q. How has fashion changed?
A. “The average person still dresses fairly the same, with the whole jeans, sweatshirt, and t-shirt combo. That is something that hasn’t really changed and I feel it probably won’t change.”

Haru Hernandez, senior

Q. How would you describe your personal style?
A. “My fashion style is rock-ish alternative, most people call me Emo though.”

Q. What is a typical outfit for you?
A. “A typical outfit of mine consists of mini skirts, lace tops or tank tops, any type of patterned or ripped tights, and platform shoes (I don’t go anywhere without platforms). I also accessorize to the max. My hair is usually crimped but sometimes I straighten it and put it into small pigtails.”

Q. Where do you get your clothes?
A. “I mainly shop for clothes at small businesses that sell alternative clothing, like Goth Mall and Demonia, and the popular shops at the mall like Hot Topic or Forever 21 for my skirts. Popular stores [today] are Lululemon, Brandy Melville, Hollister, Uggs, and Sephora.”

Q. Where do you get fashion inspiration from?
A. “I think the music I listen to inspires me to dress [the way I do] because it allows me to express myself and my taste (and pants are uncomfortable).”

Q. What is trendy?
A. “A popular trend that’s here is that socks go past your ankle. I think nowadays everyone is wearing Lululemon tights or yoga pants and sweatshirts, also low waisted flared jeans with crop tops.”

Q. How do you think fashion is changing?
A. “Korean Y2K has been coming to the Americas along with other styles and standards. Everyone wears what they’re most comfortable in and that is what is important.”