Jaime--I am sorry to hear you were unhappy. Part of high school for me was also very unhappy for a couple years, and I remember well the sweatshirt/jeans combo. Interesting that you found an eclectic style in college, but didn't consider yourself a fashion person until your 40s.

Stylefan--some of those hippie clothes really do have artisan craftsmanship. I met a wife of a farmer who made money by sewing patchwork dresses, and she had sold them to MTM and Rhoda, or at least just Rhoda. I will always admire that era--I wore my Dad's suede CCR jacket he kept from high school.

Ms Maven--wow, you lived through the exact fashion change described in my mod clothing. That's amazing. Did you ever see the original 1988 movie, Hairspray? It's about, sort of this cultural revolution experienced through clothes, dance and hairstyle. Thanks for sharing the photo.

Nuancedream--then you and I have similar fashion dreams, with stuff holding us back. I once almost bought a white, sparkly Dynasty-era dress for NYE, but no one cared. And I've always admired any dance-floor clothes. I keep meaning to pick up the white dress and gold shoes from Saturday Night Fever.

Lyn67--sounds like a fun journey, with great sneakers. Funny what you say about the rocker look. "Edgy" is so popular with fashionable women, but it's not me, either. Kristen Stewart and others look amazing in it. But I'd look better in the blue uniform you mentioned, rather than a moto jacket and waterfall necklace.

Olive Green--that does sound like a cohesive boho style. I love boho when it's loud. I'm glad you kept some of that, and, you're welcome!

Helena--you really can say a lot with makeup, which is why that great Kevyn Aucoin book just has models wearing black
tees and things. I love 90s makeup so much. Have you seen this video? Brown lip liner forever. https://www.facebook.com/TheHo.....1167833941

Dee--you sound super fun. Your description is giving me pants and sneaker envy. I live for a great athletic shoe/pants combo. This sounds like straight out of Dazed and Confused.

Ginger--it can be hard to dress how we want. I wanted sky high bangs in elementary school, but nobody helped me, so I had a strange cowlick. You probably could have dressed retro back then, but it requires a lot of confidence and research. We had a group of guys at my school who dressed like straight greasers (50s,) and that was the late 90s. But their hair was always just so, and they did not delineate from their white tees.

Jen--hmm. Maybe I would like to start dressing mod, too. I'm glad you "lived" the 80s...in its mainstream pegged jeans as well as artistic skirts. Sounds fun. I loved the 80s, too, but that was my elementary years. Cool girls' clothes started then--ruffly mini skirts over capri leggings with a turquoise leopard print sweatshirt. I really do miss the 80s.

Irina--that's so interesting. Tailored clothes hearken back to yesteryear. Were you in control of what was made, or your parents? I looked at photos of Princess Di just now, and it looks like she favored simple cuts. Do you also like Carolyn Kennedy?

April--it sounds like there was a lot of pressure to be preppy, which fits in with all those John Hughes movies--anyone who was anyone was preppy in those. Glad you found your thrift store--it is awfully hard to keep up with a trend if it's not really you.

Rachylou--hmm, I picture like, a Parker Posey or Ione Skye vibe. Maybe Carrie Fisher. Because those three styles are so different, and these women have that three-layered personality. I can picture that parka...

LaPed--I feel like a lot of us alternative people figure out that we have some inner prepiness. I knew a goth girl who came to school in great grey corduroys. I asked where she got them, and she quietly said: I thrifted them, they're Abercrombie.

slimcat--sometimes quiet style is the best style! I am curious about those booties. Chelsea boots?

Jaileen and Nuancedream - you are bringing back memories! Especially Soul Train.

I didn’t have the discipline to adhere to one fashion persona. Nerdy and pimply and flying well under the social radar.

My high school years were 1972-1976. And a big mish-mosh of styles. Maybe just one item from any category.
Granny skirts and dresses, carpenter pants and overalls (“real” ones from the hardware store), a skirt made from bell-bottoms (and sewing rhinestones on them), elephant bells. The Gatsby influence (from the Mia Farrow/Robert Redford movie): high-waisted trousers with novelty knit tops. A pair of 501’s. Dearly beloved Kork-Ease sandals to wear with rainbow socks. A latigo leather purse. A plaid shirt with lurex threads and pearl snaps. And a velveteen blazer.

I was not easily pigeonholed as a teen. Not by peer group nor by fashion. My best friends (still among my closest friends to this day) and I were not part of the cliques, but we were sort of adjacent to all of the groups — we got along with the preps, the jocks, the brains, the burnouts, the artsy types… so we got to go to all the parties basically. LOL Our environment (relatively affluent suburb of an east coast city) and the era was super preppy, and I certainly dressed with elements of that, but I didn’t like going too far in that direction. I wasn’t into punk music yet — that came with college, and even then my personal style was not punk. A little hint of it here and there but not much more. I had pretty professional public-facing jobs as a teen (receptionist in a real estate office, cashier in a nice furniture store), so I never got too daring with my looks. I’ll never forget that the first time some friends took me to a notorious local bar where all the punk and alternative scenesters hung out (John Waters was a regular), I was wearing purple palm tree shorts and a white tee. Kinda stood out among the black leather, LOL.

I still like a lot of the things I liked back then. Cobalt blue, burgundy, leather jackets, bootcut jeans… I could happily replicate some of my outfits from back then in a way that would suit me now. Likewise, even now I prefer my style to include a bit of juxtaposition and not be too much of any one note — not too feminine, not too preppy, not too rocker.

All the photos here are somewhere between ages 15-19. I think in order they are: 15, 16, 18, 17, 19, 17, 17

What a fun topic! I loved reading about everyone's style, and I love those pictures of you, Janet! So beautiful and stylish!

I was in high school in the mid/late 90's, and was very much into the 60's-70's trends that were big at the time (pretty much what's trending right now, lol). I remember it being very important that my fashion choices reflected my taste in music, and was heavily influenced by britpop - low waist bootcut jeans (Levis 555) and what we called grandpa trousers (polyester dress trousers worn low on the hips), crop tops and baby tees (with bellybutton piercing naturally), Adidas tracksuit tops, anoraks, suede Gazelles or Pumas. Later I got into more 60's/70's folk rock, and wore a lot of bell bottoms and sailor trousers with cropped knitwear, embroidered pieces, etc. Not all the way boho, but definitely leaning that way. My hair was always long, and I didn't wear a lot of makeup. I loved thrifting, and wore things from my parents' (and grandparents') closet, and did lots of fashion diy's - like adding different colored denim panels in the sides of my jeans to make flares. Like many of you also mentioned, I didn't have that many clothes or outfits at a time, and what I had I wore until it literally fell apart.

I still love a lot of the elements of what I wore back then (still wearing the Gazelles!), and am influenced by it still, though I hope I wear it in a slightly more elegant way now!

Carol, I'm impressed with how you're taking the time to engage with and respond to each poster on your thread about their stories. You rock!

Awesome pics, Janet and MsMaven!

Fun thread. Surfer girl in high school; I grew up in a SoCal beach town. New wave in college.

Like Janet, I don't think I really dressed in an archetype way. To be honest, I can't really remember what I wore! haha! Most of the kids wore jeans and t-shirts, pull-over sweaters, sweatshirts. We all sort of dressed the same. I remember brown Bass penny loafers with pennies in them were a thing c. 1991 and I had a pair too. I guess that is Preppy, but the next day, could be Sporty with runners. I do remember wearing a black turtleneck with red, black and white plaid 5" shorts, black nylons and black loafers. Is that a Mod outfit? Regardless, it was fun to wear. I also grew my hair down to my waist. I didn't have lots of clothes either. I just wore what I liked and it was ok to repeat outfits. (Which makes me think more about consumption and how grateful I am for my closet full of clothes.)

Carol, I was completely in control of what clothes were made for me.

Irina, I’m convinced that’s simply brilliant - a cutter in every fabric store! The box cake of sewing!

I'm late to the party but what a fun topic! As much as I remember clothes, I really have to think about what I wore in high school. If I had to categorize myself, I'd say preppy for the most part, but I also wore things that were trending in the late '70's.

One thing that I remember very vividly was that I moved in the middle of my 9th grade year from St. Louis to Denver. In St. Louis the "jocks" wore wide leg jeans and the "freaks" wore straight legs. In Denver it was the exact opposite. Much of high school I wore Levi's 501's with plaid shirts and Nikes Senorita Cortez. And then I remember very specific outfits--my first day of 9th grade, a sleeveless, red, sailor collar jumpsuit with a white belt. I thought I was so clever when I layered a navy turtleneck under it in cold weather, LOL!!

Lastly, I remember the things I bought to make steam come out of my mom's ears...but things I really liked, like yellow overalls, painter's jeans, and a white short sleeved "shop" shirt with embroidery--mercedes, maybe?

College was more preppy although I also remember wearing a lot of plaid skirts, tights and cowl neck sweaters.

Sloper--it sounds like maybe your style was just...good taste. That's an impressive number of trends to try out. It's making me think...hmm, if I get some rainbow socks and platform sandals, where can I wear them? (I see Shelley Duvall in Nashville.)

Janet--where can I get that sweater in 2? Your "public-facing" look is great. Besides, some of the most punk-rock people looked super straight-edge--David Byrne, even a young John Waters looks like he's using his suit and tie to intimidate the everyman into feeling disheveled. Sometimes, when your personality is bigger than your 9 to 5 clothes, you stand out even more.

quietloud--we were in HS at the exact same time! Do you remember Delia's? Your outfits sound like such the zeitgeist of Delia's. I looked up some old catalogs online the other day, and had such nostalgia. I also wore a lot of what you wore, minus the Adidas track jacket. I also had friends fanatical about Britpop, and we would go dancing....especially in my mod clothes.

Angie--thanks!

cat2--SoCal is about my favorite place on earth, and I lived in LA for ten years. I can't imagine going to HS there, I feel like I'd never want to leave. I love a surfer look, especially the closer it gets to the beach (an old, hot pink ball cap, faded from so much sun....or hair that is almost dredded from too much seawater.) New Wave sounds hard to do.

BlueJay--that does sound like it could be a mod outfit. It sounds super cute. Black turtlenecks, and plaid in general, are two of my favorite fashion statements. I would have loved some penny loafers, but did not discover I liked them until later in life. Sounds like you had a solid closet.

Irina--that is so interesting, because it's not something people in the US do a lot. Most people don't even take things to get hemmed or brought in. It does make me think of a time when all clothes were tailored...and I wonder if people looked better dressed.

Dana--those items sound super cute. Especially the layering with the jumpsuit. It is funny how different cultures translate different style values. I had the same thing--I grew up in Boulder, and my favorite thing was to dress as hippie or grungy as possible. A male friend saved me some cargo shorts he wore for years to go rock climbing in--they were faded and covered in patches. I proudly wore them to orientation for college in New York...and learned that that was about the LAST thing you should wear there (at least 20 years ago). I would have been better off in some of the preppy clothes you mentioned.

In high school I was the girl next door that hung out with goth friends. By the time I hit university, I was fully dressed in black denim, leather and lace, but retained my long blonde hair as I had a part time job as a cosmetician selling Clarins make-up and skincare. That job was so much fun, the older consultants would experiment with all the new make-up colours on me, my make-up was always immaculate in those days.

Bijou--I would kill for someone to do my makeup. Sounds like cool clothes, too!