By Daniel Harizman ’19 & Zach Horowitz ’19

James Bowles ’18 hops out of the steaming hot shower still tired from a long night of studying.  He opens his    closet to find a clean, crisp, camo hoodie with “Anti Social Social Club” written in pink lettering across the left side of the sweatshirt. He quickly throws it on along with a pair of slim black jeans.  Bowles looks over at his long line of Chuck Taylor sneakers, deciding on which one to lace up for the upcoming school day, and glances at the mirror for a final evaluation.  Then he heads off to Staples High School where his adherence to men’s fashion is rare.

According to Jack Sharkey ’18, “A typical guy [at Staples] wears khaki and either a basic shirt or flannel, nothing too loud. People don’t want to be different and stand out; they want to fit in.”

But Bowles admires fashion.

“In terms of designers and things like that, there’s a lot I’d like to do but haven’t yet. I have a lot of Supreme clothing, though that’s more skateboarding-based, ” Bowles said.  “I really look up to people like Raf Simons, who’s now heading design at Calvin Klein. [I also admire] Rick Owens, and the people at Vetements and Ader Error.”  

There are even some faculty who have a unique fashion sense. Staples social studies teacher Drew Coyne categorizes his style as “casual preppy”.

“I don’t wear as many ties and suits anymore, but it’s more out of ease and moving from class to class each day.  Still there are certainly days when I wish I could wear my LL Bean moccasins to work,” Coyne said.

Nevertheless, many students still believe that the way a guy dresses says a lot about him, and, for some, dressing the same as everyone else just won’t cut it.

Fashion aficionado Xi Jones ’17 believes people should “dress to impress” on a daily basis as, “You never know who you’re going to meet on any given day,” Jones said. When asked about the type of style he sports, he labels it as his own, “modern-whimsy.”

“[My style] gives a nod to traditional styles of dressing, but I add my own hint of fabulosity to it,” Jones said. “You can tell what type of person they are by their dress down and how often they dress down. […] Personally I want my style to say that I am an intelligent yet friendly person.”

Although Bowles and Jones dress very differently, they both don’t need an excuse to make a concerted effort with their outfits. This puts them in contrast with  most male teens at Staples who won’t dress up unless they are dressing up for game days.

“I support dressing in a shirt and tie for game day,”  varsity basketball player Evan Vishno ’19 said. “It shows a sense of professionalism and also breaks up the monotony of dressing casually on non-game days”

But Vishno went on to say that he would not consider dressing up for non-game days because it is a “hassle to plan everything the night before or wake up earlier.”

However, Luka Autard ’17 finds that it is worth the added effort, as  he finds having good style is appealing to people.

“It’s just nice to wear clothes that are nice; [you] get plenty of compliments,” Autard said.  “It boosts your self-esteem.”

Avery Smith ’19 is usually one to dish out compliments to those who tend to dress differently.

“I love to see guys that go out of this norm and wear bolder items that make more of a statement,” she said. “I love fashion and I love to see that guys do, too.”

Individuals are noticed when they do things that are new and unheard of. For that reason, Bowles finds great value in experimenting with clothing.

“I really like things that are dumb or get people talking. If someone feels compelled to comment on what I’m wearing, even if they’re just making fun of it, I think it’s cool,”  Bowles said. “People really just care too much about the wrong things.”