By Maiya Tomlin
As a student with a uniform, I routinely find myself complaining about its monotony until around 7 am every Monday. Thankfully, the weight of choosing a runway-ready outfit every day never weighs on my shoulders to begin with.
I sometimes feel like a carbon copy wearing the familiar navy polo and dark gray skort, so I like to find ways to make the uniform my own.
Firstly, it is imperative that my shoe game strikes a balance between being interesting and up to date with the trends. I’ve been rotating between my white, navy, and red Vejas for everyday wear, New Balance 990s for comfier days (which some claim look like ‘grandpa shoes,’ but I never let that deter me), and finally, Birkenstock clogs. Which, yes, those I will admit are grandpa shoes (and, um, technically are not in uniform), and no, they certainly do not fit everyone’s taste. I saw Kendall Jenner wearing them in an Instagram post in 2022 and knew I had to own them. They earn bonus points in my book for their extreme comfort.
As I walked around the newspaper staff the other day, I (not in a weird way) examined all their feet, specifically the shoes they chose to wear.
I spoke to Bridget Valls, who was wearing a pair of Golden Goose sneakers. However, these were not your typical Golden Goose sneakers. They were a bit athletic, almost, sort of a combination between regular Golden Goose and the New Balance 990s I spoke of previously, but with a hint of pink.
On some days, “I’ll wear the ruffle socks with Alexander McQueen’s as well as every other girl at this school,” Bridget told me, jokingly. I’ve definitely noticed ruffle socks as a growing trend on Pinterest, and even more so in the Lovett hallways. I began wearing them to add more whimsy to my high-top Gola sneakers, inspired by 2025 alumni, Lydia Wilson and Caroline Liu. I’ve recently been taking inspiration from my friend, Junior Zarin Sapra, and pairing them with my New Balances.
Bridget also takes inspiration from those around her. She made note that senior Olivia Jaje is usually the first to show trends. “I feel like she starts a lot of the trends,” she said. “I feel like when she gets a pair of shoes, everyone wants that pair of shoes.”
Then, I noticed sophomore staffer Ella Harvey was wearing a pair of Alexander McQueen’s that Bridget spoke of. “I mean, I try to wear fun shoes and stuff like that.” She, of course, mentioned the shoes she was wearing that day, as well as “the ve– whatever they’re called,” she pointed at my feet. The Vejas, pronounced Vey-HUHZ, Ella.
Some Lovett girls have let go of hoodies and crewnecks. Instead, they wear cardigans casually, especially on recent spring days. A hoodie is too hot, and just a polo is too cold; just like Goldilocks and the three bears, a cardigan is just right.
Although Ella is clearly not Goldilocks. She made clear that the cardigan trend is not right for her. “I sort of hopped on it for maybe a couple weeks, and then I hopped off,” she told me. “I run very hot, so I was wearing a very woolly sweater, and I was like, no.” I understood Ella’s complaints, although the brand Kimberly C makes a quite thin cardigan that junior Lane Rodts told me she has been loving lately.
Besides shoes and sweaters, I accessorize my uniform every day with jewelry. I typically wear the same jewelry every day, partly because none of it tarnishes, and partly because I’m too lazy to switch it up. On my left wrist, I have my brown leather watch with a pink face from Pascal, paired with two bracelets from Enewton. On my right, I have another Enewton bracelet, paired with another that my mom gave me for 8th-grade graduation. Finally, I have an Oura ring on my middle finger, which, for those unaware, is like a Fitbit or a Woop, but in ring form.
For necklaces, I keep it simple with a heart pendant my friend, Senior Nadia Infante, got me for my 16th birthday, layered with a gold necklace from Amazon with a pearl in the center.
Now, the interesting part. In contrast with the rest of my jewelry, I actually switch out my earrings quite often. I have been wearing a pair of dangly pearl earrings with a hint of gold to match one of my necklaces, but it really just depends. When I spoke to Bridget and Ella, they told me they usually stick to simple pearl earrings.
I was later hanging out in the Plaza with members of my photography class while we waited for the sun’s UV rays to develop our cyanotype prints (long story). We were waiting for a long twenty-five minutes, so I asked junior Hope Maner about how she accessorized her uniform today to pass the time. She leaped to her feet and said, “Let me give you an OOTD.” (OOTD stands for “Outfit of the Day”).
She pointed to her OnCloud sneakers, her Enewton pearls… and her Lovett socks? “What do you mean your socks are from Lovett?” asked Senior Davis Kennedy. “They’re the Lovett cheer socks,” Hope replied. The Lovett cheer socks are part of both the fall and winter cheer uniforms: white ankle socks with dark blue piping around the top. I suppose I did claim that ruffle socks are an accessory, so the Lovett cheer socks must be as well.
I then turned to Davis and asked, “How do you accessorize the uniform as a man?”
“What?” he replied. I don’t think he was expecting to be put on the hot seat. Then Hope suggested, “Davis, stand up and give us an OOTD.”
He pointed to his navy Nike Lovett Basketball sweatshirt, “My sweatshirt’s from Lovett,” he told us. And the sky is blue, Davis. But I kept my remarks to myself, for I did not want to discourage him from continuing his OOTD.
“My shorts are from Peter Millar, and my belt’s from Peter Millar,” he showed us. “I usually somewhat match my belt with my outfit and how I’m feeling that day,” he explained. I asked him to elaborate. “Well, if I wear a light blue shoodie–”
“Shoodie?” I asked.
“Shirt-hoodie,” he replied.
After searching up images of these on Google, I did recall seeing lots of Lovett boys roaming around in “shoodies.”
“If I wear a light blue shoodie, then I’ll wear my [North] Carolina belt, and if I wear a gray hoodie, I’ll wear my black Georgia belt,” he said.
Then he finished his OOTD: “My shoes are from New Balance, and my socks are my dad’s from Puma.” As much as Davis tries to pair his belts with how he feels each day, he wishes we didn’t have a uniform. “Because then I would just wear shorts and a T-shirt every day, and flip flops,” he told me. “Sounds a lot better than the uniform.”
I then asked junior Thomas Rhodes about how he picks out his accessories every day. He told me that he doesn’t do anything special besides picking out his belt, and that his favorite belt brand is Peter Millar. “You don’t like Onward [Reserve],” Davis asked. “No, I do, I just think Peter [Millar]’s better,” Thomas responded.
Now, we’ve learned how students are styling the boys and girls uniforms. But one question remains: how are teachers accessorizing for school? After all, no, they do not have a uniform, but they do have enough barriers for me to consider their work outfits as uniforms.
While I was walking around the newspaper the other day, chatting with Bridget and Ella, Mr. Newman invited me over to speak to him. I asked him how he accessorized today. “Well, a number of months ago, we got an email saying that we had to wear our IDs on a lanyard around our neck,” he explained, setting the stage. “We couldn’t have it hooked to our belts anymore, which I was very concerned about because I thought lanyards and IDs around my neck are super dorky.”
But then he figured that if he had to make the change, he was going to embrace it. That’s the mindset. “So I heard about this website called Threadwallet, and they’ve got a lot of really nice designs. I’ve got four of them. And it allows me to kind of think about what I’m wearing,” he told me.
He pointed to the plaid shirt he was wearing. “This is a very busy shirt,” he said, and then pointed to the lanyard he picked out for today. “So this one is a little bit more subdued. It picks up the green in my shirt, and I feel like it’s fun,” he finished.
Additionally, teachers influence each other’s fashion choices, just like students do. In fact, Mr. Newman told me that he admires Mr. Nascimento’s shoe rotation.
I will say, as junior year comes to a close for me, I am undoubtedly excited about prom, summer, and turning in my research paper. But more so, I am excited to break the routine I’ve followed for my entire high school career and say goodbye to the gray skort. Come August, I will adopt the plaid senior skirt. I wonder if my Vejas will match?
