During the past months, quarantine has encouraged us to try new styles, whether it be changing up hair or switching up clothing looks. It has also become increasingly popular to give smaller brands and clothing businesses a chance to show off their unique clothing. Consequently, a new wave of individuality represented through clothing choices amongst other fashion statements has been rippling throughout the Cam High student body.

Allison Maltun, a senior at Cam High, said her style hasn’t changed  much since quarantine: “These days, I do not put to much effort in outfits… I would say my style has not changed.” However, Maltun has found other ways to make her own style. “I did, however, get into accessorizing more because I started to make my own jewelry,” Maltun said. To Multan, crop tops and sweater vests are popular, but she prefers to try a different style: “A style I want to try are the high rise mom jeans,” said Maltun. For now; however, she is sticking to comfortable clothing around the house such as sweats and hoodies.

Bryannah Banuelos, a senior at Cam High, has a particular style that has not changed much either. Banuelos has been wearing the same style outfits since the beginning of 2020: “shorts or jeans with a shirt.”  Something Banuelos has been wearing more of during quarantine is comfortable clothes: “Lately, I have been wearing baggy clothes.” Both Maltun and Banuelos have been taking up the comfortable, baggy look while in quarantine.

Annaie Franco, a senior at Cam High, has a style that is more simplistic. “Nowadays, I like to wear clothes with darker colors, just simple shirt with jeans.” Franco was inspired by her sister during quarantine to adapt to dressing more her style. “Since my sister has lots of different clothes like mom jeans… I would like to try her style for a day,” said Franco during quarantine. Franco’s ideal style is a simple, yet comfy look.

Lupita Jimenez, a member of the Camarillo community, on the other hand, has explored her range in fashion this year. Jimenez’ style used to be practical: jeans and a shirt. Now, her fashion has taken a turn. She transitioned from neutral colors to bold and vibrant colors: “I have been wanting to get out of the safe zone with neutral, and want to try fun, bright colors!” Currently, Jimenez has been shopping at, “various places like Dolls Kill, Yes-style, and Instagram shops such as axcidshop and peachywixboutiquee.” Jimenez occasionally likes to shop from small business owners because she feels they have more variety: “I like Instagram based websites because they have my style of clothing and they have unique pieces that I could never find at a regular clothing store.” She describes her style as, “cute, colorful, with a bit of edge.” She wanted to switch her style during the pandemic: “I wanted to change my clothing look and add color to the dark situation we are all currently facing.” Jimenez has opened up her color palette over the COVID-19 pandemic, and wants to continue exploring her new fashion choices.

While we are still in the pandemic, current fashion shows cannot be held, factories that are producing these clothes cannot be safely operated, and production teams cannot meet up for a new clothing release and design. People find that ordering clothes online and seeing them in person are completely different experiences because the clothing might not be what they expected, or they cannot physically imagine what it would look like on another human or themselves.

Menswear designer Bianca Saunders believes the current situation can be a great opportunity for the fashion industry. “This is a great opportunity for us to think about what we can do differently as the same system has been in place forever,” Saunders said in an interview with Elle News. “This has been a great time for reflection, and has given us the opportunity to implement some changes we have been talking about as a team for a long time…” Alexander Fury, a critic for the Financial Times and fashion features director at independent magazine, believes this is the time for smaller brands to enter the industry with new clothing pieces. “The shift to digital has been advantageous for many smaller independent brands, industry will become even more multifaceted and more flexible than it has been… our appetite for newness, as customers… new trends, new styles.”

Although quarantine might have put a damper on our social life, it has not stopped Cam High students from wanting to try new styles and smaller brands from creating unique styles to suit their vision.