Senior Co-President Lauren Maggio is a perfect example of an aspiring fashionista honing her design skills through Fashion Club. artwork by Lauren Maggio
Fashion Club is back for another year at TJ to set trends and stay fresh.
Those with an interest in clothing, trends, and fashion, should consider joining TJ’s Fashion Club. Run by seniors Aviva Freedberg and Lauren Maggio, Fashion Club is a safe space to express yourself and grow your fashion identity. Participation in Fashion Club comes with the opportunity for individuals to develop their personal sense of style. Freedberg describes her sense of style as “always changing” while Maggio describes her’s as “kind of simple and put together, but also kind of fun.” The typical day in Fashion Club begins with a rundown of all the members’ outfits. Each week, a theme is established to help drive the clothing choices of the club members. This year’s themes have been back of closet (dress in clothes not typically worn), seasons, Grammy’s (dress to impress), and monochrome. Freedberg explained, “We show each other our outfits and explain what we are wearing and why it matches our theme for the week. For example, this week our theme was monochrome and my color was black and Lauren’s color was blue.” For her black monochrome outfit, Freedberg showed up in skull print fishnet tights, a black mini skirt, a black corset, black Dr. Martens, and a black cardigan.
After showing off their themed outfits, club members discuss trends and brainstorm for the club’s upcoming projects. “I think one of our main goals this semester is to do a big project, because we didn’t really get to do that last semester. Right now we are talking to Sustainability Club about doing something with fast fashion,” says Maggio. The past couple years, more attention has been brought to the ethics of fashion. Though trends and personal styles are constantly changing, it is not reasonable for many individuals to constantly update their closets, so, many people default to fast fashion as a solution. According to the Oxford Dictionary, fast fashion is defined as “inexpensive clothing produced rapidly by mass-market retailers in response to the latest trends.” Fast fashion harms the environment through carbon emissions, water waste, and microplastic pollution in the ocean, so the Fashion Club teaming up with the Sustainability Club would greatly benefit both parties. Freedberg explained, “We are thinking about doing something like a clothing drive or just meeting with Sus Club to talk about what fast fashion is and how it impacts the environment. We want to find ways we can take action in the community and be more thoughtful about what we are buying.”
Freedberg and Maggio understand that having a great sense of fashion and a comprehensive closet comes with a responsibility to ethics. Freedberg admits, “I’m guilty of shopping fast fashion, and I know many people are. It is hard to have to sort of wane yourself off of that because you are used to buying cute cheap clothes. You have to remember what goes on behind the scenes, which I try to do everytime I shop. My thing is that I’d rather spend 60 dollars on a pair of jeans rather than a cheap pair for 10 dollars.” It is expensive for companies to produce more environmentally friendly clothing so it is not financially feasible for everyone. For those individuals, thrift shopping is a great compromise. Thrift shopping is a great way to shop ethically while also saving money. However, while thrifting, it is important to remember that there are many individuals that rely on thrifting for all of their clothing needs. Maggio suggests to those who thrift to “avoid the children’s section and during winter the big coats because there are people who really need those kinds of things.” Help Fashion Club start their efforts in minimizing the reliance on fast fashion and find new ways to shop ethically.
Those with any interest at all in fashion are strongly encouraged to check out the Fashion Club. Fashion is subjective and unique to all individuals, so any addition to the club will expand its horizons. Freedberg expanded on this by adding, “I would say that anyone can join and I think that a lot of people that we talked to at the club fair were like ‘I don’t know anything about fashion, but I’m interested’ and that’s kind of what it’s all about. You don’t have to be into fashion to join, we will get you into that and help you learn about it. Anyone can join.” Go check out Fashion Club, every Thursday during lunch in room 35.
