Was there a girl in your high school whose style you idolized? - YouLookFab Forum

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Was there a girl in your high school whose style you idolized?

April

Veteran

I seem to be musing over the past a lot these days...

I'm wondering if you, as a high school student, had someone your age who seemed to have it all together style-wise.

As I have said before, I was in high school at the end of the disco era -- very early 80s. The rage was for designer jeans and spike-heeled slides, usually from Candie's. Gloria Vanderbilt made jeans in an array of colors, and there was a girl in my school who seemed to have every color, along with matching top and matching spike-heeled shoes. I mean *matching* -- not coordinating, not "well put together." We all thought she was the coolest thing.

UGH. When I think of it now, I'm horrified. It seems label-obsessed, consumerist, devoid of any personal style, and utterly uninteresting.

How about you? Did you have a peer fashion icon, and how much has your style changed since then?

General

16 replies

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Queen Mum

Veteran

I graduated in '83 so I know just what you're talking about April. I don't remember anyone in particular, and I didn't hang with the "cool" crowd, but I do remember every year in the yearbook the page devoted to the "most likely, or best" awards... you know, most likely to succeed, best hair, best eyes... etc. There was always a "best dressed" girl and boy and all I knew was that I was never ever going to be remotely close to getting that title

Anonymous

I graduated in 1994, so bangs were teased and jeans were rolled. I went to a very small high school and decided in the early 1990s that teased bangs weren't for me, nor were jeans long enough for me to roll them "properly" (I was 5'9" in HS). As a result, I had the long layered hair, no bangs and no rolled jeans. I like to think I was ahead of my time, although I got a lot of grief for it.

So, in short, the answer is no.

marianna

Veteran

I graduated in 2005, when all the "popular" girls wore Juicy Couture tracksuits with "Juicy" written on the bum, excessive Abercrombie and Fitch and Hollister, and mini skirts with Ugg boots (I am from California!) I don't think there was one girl I particularly idolized, but I was envious of how the "popular girls" dressed in general. Looking back, I see that their fashion choices were ridiculous! Yuck!

Kristine

Veteran

I was in high school in the mid/late 80s so I have a lot of the same memories. We had a lot of the Janet Jackson style, long dusters with shoulder pads, leggings, broaches, boots/booties, hair teased up and hanging over our eyes, lots of black or graphic patterns.

I recall one girl was very popular and pretty. She was preppy so we all found it odd the day she showed up all in black! I guess she was reinventing herself. We kind of resented it because we dressed from discount or thrift stores and she had the money for "our style" in name brand versions. I don't think it stuck though and she went back to preppy pretty quickly.

Maya

Veteran

Not at all. Our "best dressed" girl looked about as bland as can be. The popular girls in my high school were spoiled, rich, label-obsessed, wore too much makeup, and were utterly boring to look at. I remember being glad no one thought I was pretty because the girls who they DID think were pretty were, at best, unremarkable to me. There was no one worth idolizing. I really disliked my high school and still do.

I graduated in 2002. I don't even remember my peers having any defined style, unless "yawn" was considered a defined style.

Alecia

Veteran

I was in school in the early 90s. I remember the big looks being grunge or, at the opposite end of the continuum, looks pulled straight from Clueless.

I felt like such a fish out of water with my own clothes at that time that I was generally envious of girls that would take a chance and own the au currant looks. I never felt like I could do. So glad I'm past that.

Louise

Veteran

I remember envying the skinny popular girls. I now realise how ridiculous and boring their 'uniform' of jeans, slim fit white ts and quiffed fringes looked x

Itari

(website)

You probably know that I wouldn't have been myself if I'd idolized anyone I didn't like the preppy look then and I still don't; in fact, there was no one whose style I could admire. I liked some certain items, but I didn't really idolize anyone.

chellebrate

Not really that I can remember. I haven't been in high school for 20 years, so it was all about 80's fashion. I remember wishing I had more money, so I could afford labels at one point. And, I know there were a lot of girls that I felt dressed better than me, but no one that stood out as being a style idol.

Inge

(website)

Smile April, I'm loving your threads;-)

Hm, idolized, not really, but I do remember being fascinated by a Spanish/gypsy looking girl when I was 12. She was in her last year, so probably about 18, quite tall, with darker skin and the most gorgeous shiny black, very long hair. So different from all the other girls in school. AND she had ear piercings all over one ear (still very unusual in my neck of the woods back then;-), and she totally worked that look.

RoseandJoan

Veteran

My style crush is very similar in nature to Inge's. We wore a very strict uniform at High School. Navy box pleat skirt (two inches below the knee), light blue shirt, navy and cranberry striped tie, navy blazer with the school badge. In the winter you could add navy tights and a navy sweater. Yes I know April you are swooning at the thought...but this one girl Catherine was a complete rebel, she had skin the colour of cafe au lait, bright green eyes and black hair, she used to alter her box pleat a line skirt to a pencil skirt and tie her tie in amazing intricate knots. Her uniqueness was absolutely fascinating.

Sharon

Veteran

I'm an '80's girl, too. I remember 2 things - black stretch jeans and a friend of mine who wore "boho" type style which I admired so much and attempted to emulate.
It took quite some time for me to work out:
1.That wasn't really MY style
2. She had a completely different shape to me, and the things that looked great on her looked terrible on me.

One of the joys of getting older is getting a bit of objectivity about yourself.

April

Veteran

Sharon -- so true. In high school I would have worn (did wear) anything to fit in. With age I have gotten *much* more selective about what's "me" and what's not. Not sure why it took so long, but better late than never!

Anonymous

For me HS was in the late 60's/early 70's. I think we were into non style. We all wore jeans and T shirts and sandals.
I don't recall envying anyone else's style in HS.
When I was still in elementary school there was a girl who wore a different dress every single day of the year, and with that new dress everyday, she had a color matching brand new pair of Keds. I still wonder how her mother pulled that off, and why.

taylor

Veteran

Sandy, That is SO true. Late 60's early 70's... No style or labels that I can recall at all. Boys jeans and tee's, long hair everyone looked kind of grungy...the original grunge I guess.

Now the 60's..Jr. High.... Mini skirts , boots, neon green and pink. I remember in Jr. High 1968-69 there was a girl who had opaqe tights (panty hose was new then) in every color, mini skirts and high heels boots. I thought she was the coolest, richest girl in the school.

Anonymous

I don't remember fashions at all in high school in the early 60's but think we still had to wear skirts and blouses or dresses then. No jeans or tees (Can you imagine it!?). I do remember having a lemon yellow wrap around skirt that I felt fab wearing. I also remember a senior girls' tea where we were required to wear gloves and hats. Dress changed so rapidly in just a few years in the 60's.