By: Gauri Nair and Gabby Teachey

Heels, dresses, suits, and…glasses? What’s changed? What’s stayed? Here are 2021’s top homecoming fashion trends. 

Homecoming is a yearly tradition celebrating students’ return to school. A week of festivities lead up to the long-awaited dance. The week is filled with excitement – each day entails a different theme, allowing members of the school to show their spirit. A number of events are held to bring the community together, including a pep rally and football game.  It was harder this year than previous to hold these community events due to COVID-19 protocols. Many compromises were made in order to have a homecoming this year. 

One compromise that was made was the change of location from the gymnasium to the turf. This relocation led to students taking into account other aspects of their attire. 

When asked how the turf affected the way people dressed, Mt. Hebron senior Ray Strozyk replied,“The biggest thing was probably the footwear. A lot of the girls in my social group were like ‘Oh shoot, I can’t wear heels on the turf; I might roll an ankle.’”

 The turf makes it considerably difficult to walk in heels, a very popular shoe choice in previous years. Many made a switch from heels to a much more comfortable option of sneakers. A popular choice was Air Forces because of their versatility and ability to match with any color. With the aspect of more comfortable shoe choices, some took it one step further and went a different route with their clothing. Some were seen dressed in sleepwear, drawing the eyes of many with this bold clothing choice.

When asked who stood out to her the most at homecoming this year, Mt Hebron junior Maggie Simister stated, “I thought that the girls dressed in pajamas were really cool.” The girls dressed in pajamas were all seniors, which may explain why they decided on these looks. For seniors, this was the last high school homecoming they will ever have; thus, instead of doing a more traditional look, they decided to make a bold statement

Similarly, another trend that stood out this year were groups all matching in some form. For example, some students wore matching glasses with their homecoming dates. Pictures of these groups swarmed Instagram. 

Senior Lucie Jeeter shared her opinion on this trend.“It was cute the first time I saw it but after I saw it a million times it just got old and unoriginal,” she stated. 

While some thought this trend over done, others loved it. Junior Wyatt Grabelle said, “I thought it was cool.”

This year was half the school’s first high school dance experience. Surprisingly, this didn’t mean they fell flat – in fact it was quite the opposite. 

Jeeter, who had attended Homecoming in years past said, “I think people dressed better this year than usual.” 

The lack of regular high school experiences for both freshmen and sophomores likely caused a bit more confusion and excitement than the other grades had. Senior Ray Strozyk agreed, stating, “It was mostly the underclassmen in the suits. They definitely overcompensated.” 

Suits were not very common at homecoming in past years, but were much more prominent this year. Although many things changed this time from years past, there were some trends that will always stay the same. 

No matter how the fashion trends change throughout the years, Homecoming was and always will be a place for friends to get together for a night of fun. Although there were many prior doubts about the changes this year, most came back with good reviews. There is no doubt it was the perfect event to return some normalcy into peoples’ lives.