As time goes on, fashion trends continuously come in and out of style. Even a staple, such as denim, has changed drastically over the past few years. With the dramatic low-rise skinny jeans that were all over the early 2000s evolving to the high-rise skinnies in the 2010s, eventually combining with the 90s baggy denim to create the wide-legged jeans that are everywhere. Over the span of two decades, even a clothing item as simple as jeans has undergone very drastic changes. And denim is not the only thing affected by the ever-changing interests of fast fashion. West Albany High School is not immune to these changes. As styles have evolved in pop culture and media, so has the fashion culture at WAHS. The staff at WAHS have been constant observers of these patterns. 

     Erik Ihde

     Going to high school in the 80s, history teacher Erik Ihde was constantly surrounded by

neon, parachute pants, and Adidas without laces. 

     “Run DMC never tied their shoes. In fact, they [the kids at the time] would oftentimes ‘top’ the laces [or take them out].”  

     For Ihde, layers and bright colors were “the thing”. Everyone was spotted in a pastel or neon color palette, paired with a good pair of jeans and some Adidas or Nikes. Whenever planning his outfits for school, one of the trends that stuck out the most to him was the layering. 

     Ihde had two button-up shirts with bold tropical print on them. He knew that he wanted to combine that with his pegged jeans for the ultimate first day of school outfit.

     “I wore the pink [button down] one underneath, [and] the purple on top. Pop[ed] both the colors, I rolled [the sleeve] so I had a purple shirt that rolled and you could see the pink one.” 

     Ihde was extremely proud of that outfit and the “Pink, pink, purple pop!”

     Pop culture staples like “16 Candles”, “Back to the Future”, and “Miami Vice” are influences on how people dressed. 

     “What the cool people were wearing in those movies and shows and stuff, that was it.” 

     The absence of the internet and social media made trends more limited. Which is a striking contrast to the diverse styles found around the halls of west albany. 

     “It’s a lot more expressive. You can walk through [the halls] and there’s 10 different styles.” 

     When looking back, Ihde remembers that in the 80s, everyone owned levi’s 504 jeans, and everyone wore pastels. The ability for self-expression was limited by the social constraints around them. This new individuality that Ihde has noticed throughout the years is his favorite part of this new era of fashion sweeping our school. 

     “My favorite thing about now is there are so many kids that [are] comfortable having their own [style]. They’re like, ‘This is my stuff’, ‘This is who I am’”.

    Krissy Rasmussen

    For English teacher Krissy Rasmussen (Ras), fashion and shopping have always been a huge part of her ‘fashionista’ lifestyle. 

     “I have always loved shopping, not just like, Oh, I get a new thing, but like, I have just always loved shopping, and I loved fabric,” she said, “I cannot sew for the life of me, I cannot design, but I just have always known what it would feel like if an outfit was perfect.” 

     Growing up in Oregon, Ras was never the first to join a trend, but she did love participating in each one that caught her eye. 

     “Embracing those new trends–just it felt so meaningful–even when you look back and you think ‘Dear God, why was [it] like that?’”

     As the trends changed, Ras was sure to follow. Staying up to date with all the latest ‘fads’. In her early middle school years, she wore more wide-legged and baggy style clothing.. 

     “I wanted it not to be falling off of me, yeah, but I did not want something that was very fitted.” 

     As she went through her high school and college years, she entered something she deemed the ‘Brittney Spears Era’. 

     “I was a Britney girl.” 

     During her high school years, it transitioned from the loose-fitting cargos to the snug low-rise bootcuts. 

     “I am horrified to say that I readily embrace the snug low rise with the baby tee or the crop top.” 

     After so many years of skinny jeans being the main staple in many fashion pieces, the return of the wide-legged jean was a refreshing change for Ras. 

     “I forgot what it felt like just to put on a pair of jeans that were comfortable.” 

     Ras’ love for fashion transcends even the eras she has lived in. One clothing trend that she wished would come back would be the 50s dressing norms. With the long dresses and makeup always done. Very similar to the way they dressed in Amazon Prime’s iconic TV show, “The Marvelous Ms. Mazel”.  

     “I wish that dressing [up], just to dress, came back in fashion.” 

     Whenever Ras dresses nicely, it makes her feel just as beautiful as the outfit she’s wearing. 

     “I love to put on just a beautiful outfit, just to attend something.” 

     Each outfit that she puts together for herself is a way to show her growth. Each era that she has lived in, each experience that she has had, is displayed in the clothing that she wears. 

Marty Johnston

     Fashion trends ebb and flow with the times. It can vary based on the time period and the environment around them. This is something that history teacher Marty Johnston noticed throughout his high school career. 

     Johnston attended two high schools. One in Northern California, and another in Lebanon,

Oregon. Growing up in California, his wardrobe consisted of many surf T-shirts or jeans, and skater shorts with his long hair and a puca shell necklace. Johnston was a real-life ‘surfer dude’ in his early teens. 

     After moving to Lebanon to finish out his high school career, he noticed a big shift in the way people dressed. 

     “I noticed [that] guy’s fashion was, like, super baggy, oversized T-shirts.” 

     This starkly contrasted the ocean-riding surfer boy era that had surrounded Johston in his earlier years. Swapping it instead with the So-Cal-inspired ‘stoner’ baggy look. Even though everyone around him decided to wear baggy clothing, it was never exactly his style. But when looking back, the baggy jeans are what really defined the era for men’s fashion. 

     “[For] the guys, it’s always been [the] T-shirt and jeans, [they were] definitely baggy,” he said.  

     While working at West Albany, Johnston has noticed some trends in fashion. Even though it’s been over two decades since he graduated high school, Johnston believes that “Guys’ fashion is a little bit more subtle change [compared to women’s].

     ”One trend that he has noticed a recent resurgence of is the 80s band T-shirts.

     “One of the popular trends [I’ve noticed] is the music group T-shirts,” he said. 

     When seeing kids walk down the halls repping Metallica and Guns and Roses, Johston gets excited by the shirts and the music that is represented by each shirt. Whenever he saw a kid wearing a 40 Ounces of Freedom T-shirt, an album he has deemed one of the Sublime’s ‘best albums ever’, he tried to start a conversation. 

     “I’m like ‘Oh, 40 ounces of freedom. That’s a great album! And then they look at me like ‘uhh.’” 

     After that, he realized that those names were coming back 

     “More for the fashion than the understanding [of the topic]”.  

     Fashion takes cultural moments and causes them to resurge. Making everything that is created a recycled version of the “Original”.