Students at Central High School in Kansas City put a lot of thought into what outfits they’ll start the school year in, with some even studying up on what they’ll wear before summer break begins.
They came prepared for the first day of class on Monday with the usual back-to-school supplies — pencils, notebooks and binders. But students also came ready to look and feel their best with crisp, new shoes, freshly painted nails and thoughtfully curated accessories.
While fashion trends cycle out constantly, students say there’s one look that never goes out of style: being yourself.
“Dress how you want to, you feel me?” senior John Guinn-Hillmon said. “Don't let nobody tell you (that) you can't dress a certain way because it's not enough or it's too much.”
Here’s a look at how students at Central High craft the perfect first-day-of-class outfit — and their do’s and don’ts to following their lead.
Dayona Harris
Grade: 12
Outfit highlight: Bluey-inspired hair
Do: “Be yourself, like express yourself.”
Don’t: “We have a dress code, so be careful.”
Trends: Sprayground and kid-inspired backpacks, like “Paw Patrol”
With her blue hair and matching slippers, Dayona Harris is hard to miss in Central High’s lunchroom — and that’s the point. “I want to come different,” Harris said. “I wanted to be… not center of attention, but I wanted to be noticed.”
Harris said her outfit is “giving school girl” with a collared shirt and pleated skirt -- but it’s also an homage to the children’s animated series “Bluey,” which follows a blue heeler puppy and her family.In one episode,
Bluey’s father, who’s also pictured on Harris’ slippers, reads a fortune cookie with a quote that Harris painted on the back of her shirt.
“It's my last year. I'm not ready to let go of high school,” Harris said. “It's basically like, stay young while you can.”
Despite her attention to detail, Harris said she didn’t begin planning her back-to-school fit until she bought her collared shirt a few days before class started. But the perfect outfit doesn’t have to be complicated — Harris said the key is to be yourself.
“Just by like your looks and like how you put stuff together, it can show your personality pretty much,” Harris said.
John Guinn-Hillmon
Grade: 12
Outfit highlight: Red Nike dunks
Do: “Dress how you want to.”
Don’t: Overdress.
Trends: Baggy fits
John Guinn-Hillmon was also rushing to put together his outfit just days before class started, but he thinks he pulled it off.
“I was thinking, ‘I need something light, but also need to come hard,’ because my senior year, you know?” Guinn-Hillmon said.
Guinn-Hillmon likes to go for a baggy look and his back-to-school fit reflects that. He says his Tupac shirt is a 2XL and his shorts are a size 38. He paired the look with his favorite red Bass Pro Shops cap and matching Nike dunks that he picked up at Crown Center over the weekend.
The shoes are his favorite part of his outfit and he pulled them off to show off the “hints of yellow.”
While he warned not to let anyone dictate your style, he also cautioned against overdressing on the first day of school.
“It's definitely a time and place to dress a certain way,” Guinn-Hillmon said. “You don't wear a three-piece suit every single day to school. You don't wear pajamas to court.”
Denis Mejia
Grade: 12
Outfit highlight: A backpack featuring “One Piece” character Chopper.
Do : Make sure your outfit matches.
Don’t: “Wear something that's going to make you look bad.”
Trends: Can’t keep up.
It’s hard to pick out the coolest part of Denis Mejia’s outfit. His layered sweater is accessorized with a pant chain that matches his assortment of silver rings. But Mejia's favorite aspect is obvious — a backpack featuring his favorite character, Chopper, from the long-running anime “One Piece.”
“I also wanted to get, like, a silly little backpack to wear,” Mejia said. “Big fan of ‘One Piece,’ I love Chopper, you know, so I decided to get it.”
His birthday is at the end of May so that’s when he got most of his clothes for the new school year. That includes his new navy sweater, which he said he needed to wear despite the summer temperatures.
Despite some teasing from friends for his disregard of the weather, Mejia said people should dress for their own preferences.
“It just depends on what you want to wear and what you feel most comfortable in,” Mejia said.
He recommends people make sure their outfit matches and don’t wear something that’s going to “make you look bad.” He likes his style, especially since he’s developed it recently, and just started to wear shorts.
Azyia Chatmon
Grade: 9
Outfit highlight: Her nails.
Do: Coordinate your outfit.
Don’t : Look tacky.
Trends: Jorts.
Azyia Chatmon can tell you the exact day she started planning the outfit she’d wear to start her freshman year — May 25, shortly after classes ended for summer break.
She built her ensemble around a new Chiefs jersey, matching it with red and gold Pumas and socks adorned with various chains and charms. Chatmon saw the jersey online and thought it was cute, so she paired it with a skirt she already had in her closet.
Her advice for back-to-school fashion is to avoid looking tacky.
So what is a tacky fit? “Not color coordinated and no type of jewelry and no type of accessories,” Chatmon said.
Chatmon’s outfit didn’t skimp on the accessories, with her silver rings and watch matching her mini purse. But her Lisa Frank-esque nails are her favorite part of the look.
