Fashion is getting very graphic
WARNING: THE FOLLOWING STORY CONTAINS GRAPHIC IMAGES AND MATERIAL, AND IS ENTIRELY SUITABLE FOR KIDS.
Why? Because "graphic" describes the hot item for back-to-school this fall - T-shirts emblazoned with oversized graphics or images.
"It's more of a big deal this year than other years," said Rafael Roman, assistant store manager for the apparel department at Sears, Park City Center, where tees showcasing star motifs, superheroes, "The Simpsons" and skulls - especially skulls - crowd the racks this season.
"Skulls are back again," said Sonya Cosentini, style expert for the T.J. Maxx retail chain, which has a branch near Park City Center in Lancaster.
The skull look appeared a couple of years ago when high-fashion designers such as Ralph Lauren and Alexander McQueen embellished clothes and accessories with the grim motif.
Now it's the kids' turn, with skulls smiling on big tees, sometimes as a single image, sometimes not; one shirt from Sears displays a skull and skeleton surrounded by roses and $100 bills.
What skull-mania means is anyone's guess. Nevertheless, "we're definitely going to have that," said T.J. Maxx's Cosentini via phone from Boston.
"There's a big emphasis on 'screen tees," said Roman, who noted that the style this year is to pair the silk-screen shirts with skinny jeans for "that punk-rock look."
Skinny jeans for girls, that is. Guys are still going oversize with their denims, but not as much as before, Cosentini said. Also, for tees, "layering is huge," she noted. Young women are wearing their graphic shirts with vests, and young men wearing them under hoodies.
"Graphic tees are big for the kids," agreed Dara Colon, assistant manager at the downtown Lancaster branch of Sneaker Villa, a regional fashion chain. She gestured at shirts bearing images of superheroes such as Iron Man and bold statements from the Blac Label Premium brand reading "Evil Shall Perish," "History Shall Be Written" and, perhaps ominously, "Heaven and Hell Are Just One Breath Away."
Blac Label, Colon noted, "is a very big vendor" at Sneaker Villa. And, she added "all of our vendors are trending to hard-core graphics."
An example of that would be one brand Sneaker Villa carries, Miskeen. On Miskeen's Web site, designs range from abstract to animal prints and - yes - more skulls, but the emphasis is on artistic design, highlighted with bold, hand-painted looks and jeweled accents.
Style doesn't always come cheaply: Miskeen T-shirts can run in the $60 range and another brand, Coogi, features a tee with a large global motif print for $68.
That doesn't faze young shoppers like Brandon Morant, 18. He's a Sneaker Villa employee but a customer, too. He has several Coogi tees in his closet at home.
"Yes, I do," he said proudly. "That's a nice brand. The most expensive you can get."
KIDS MIGHT LOVE THE in-your-face attitude of shirts that scream skulls, skeletons and slogans - looks that no doubt baffle parents who remember the days when even a plain tee was forbidden by school dress codes. But what do school administrators think?
Extreme is fine - within limits.
Dwight Nolt, principal at McCaskey High School in Lancaster, acknowledged that when kids do push the envelope - as kids will - they're given the "that's not appropriate; do you know why?" approach by school officials.
That's often followed by " ‘Do you have something [else to wear] in your locker?' " Nolt said. There are two other options: Turn the offending shirt inside-out or wear one of the big T-shirts kept on hand for such occasions - available from the nurse's office. Needless to say, neither choice is a popular one.
What's forbidden? Anything relating to "hate, racism or gangs is prohibited," Nolt said, along with anything suggesting drugs, alcohol or weapons.
The rules are pretty much the same at Ephrata High School, where principal Joane Eby admitted that "every year, you don't know where the fad is turning!"
It's a dilemma that been happening "probably since school began" - as in, centuries ago, Eby said. She said she hasn't seen the new T-shirt fashions and probably won't until school opens.
Tipped off that skulls are the big thing this coming season, Eby mused that would be OK, but "skulls with blood - that would not be allowed."
Both McCaskey and Ephrata have rules on the books to deal with offenses, from the aforementioned request to change clothes to possible in- or out-of-school suspensions. Parental notification plays a role, too.
But Eby acknowledged teen mentality when it comes to what they wear, including one trick she said has been around since the 1950s: the old clothing switcheroo on the way to class.
"Leave the house looking normal and arrive [at school] not so normal!"
Contact Sunday News Staff Writer Stephen Kopfinger, skopfinger@lnpnews.com.
