Nothing too profound here today, but I’m just curious about how you see what matters to youth’s clothing and style choices change as they make school transitions. Have you observed some truly awkward trends that teens have tried (please don’t remind me of my leisure suit in middle school or ‘body wave’ perm my senior year) en masse at your local high school?
Yesterday I sat next to the 13 year old son of a friend and I did a double-take to make sure it was him and not Justin Bieber. He look just like the Biebs – hair crowded forward around his face, white jacket, exact clothes (he looked like the photo), and the shoes (very important!) were one of Bieber’s favs. I chuckled and thought “It’s all going to change next year when you head to high school.” 
Based on watching countless boys make that transition in my local school, they soon cut their hair short, take on the more industrial approach to style, and wear nicer button down shirts. Then, four years later at college he’ll sport as much facial hair as possible, wear old T-shirts from the local thrift shore, and sport an abundance of university apparel. And sweat pants.
I realize the actual apparel items change from cultural context to context and area to area, but it IS amazing how much we change the ‘markers’ of what is appropriate to wear. And it doesn’t change in adulthood either, does it? Most adults look to others to determine what defines “business casual,” what do others wear to church, work, or while socializing. And we change.
The truly ‘cool’ kids at our high school are those who have their own style, their hair is unique to them, and they don’t look to anyone else but their own choices for what to wear and how to look. They’re rare, but they exist – and their confidence is striking.
So, what fashion and style boundaries exist in your context? What do teens have to change as they move up each ‘level’?
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