Your first day of school outfit can make or break your year. Well, not really. But the pressure is on. So influencers showed us their back-to-school fits, to help inspire us for the fall.
Rebecca Zaizay
Age: 20
School: Savannah College of Art and Design
First-day-of-school outfit: Heron Preston jacket, thrifted King Maker’s jorts, a tube top from Target, Kendra Scott jewelry, and vintage Baby Phat heels.
Rebecca Zaizay is all about experimenting with her outfits, especially since she studies fashion at Savannah College of Art and Design. The pressure to dress well for class is definitely there, but she likes to lean into that. “If you’re a fashion major, not only are professors looking at your outer appearance and comparing it to what you want to do in the future, but other students too,” she told the Cut. “But we all just find it fun, so yeah, we dress up every day. It’s fun to see what I can come up with from the clothes in my closet.”
Skyli Alvarez
Age: 21
School: University of Georgia
First-day-of-school outfit: A dress from Face Down; earrings from Maria Black, a nameplate necklace from Kendra Scott; bow tights from Poshmark, and vintage Harley-Davidson boots.
“I’ve always had an affinity for eclectic clothes,” said Skyli Alvarez, a senior at the University of Georgia. “I grew up going to estate sales and antique shopping with my mom. I love collecting and finding identity through the items.” To this day, Alvarez continues shopping at estate sales around campus and shopping primarily secondhand, often building an outfit around a central piece, like this dress from Face Down, which she purchased at a vintage store called Motherlode in Athens. She added clip-on bows to the dress, accessorizing with earrings from Maria Black, a nameplate necklace from Kendra Scott (“It has two little stars engraved on it to match my tattoos”), sparkly bow tights from Poshmark, and vintage Harley-Davidson boots. While attending a school in the South can lead to a lot of people sporting casual outfits around campus, Alvarez declares herself a “professional people-watcher” and finds inspiration around the art school. “It’s a really fun place to people-watch and meet people who have similar interests as me,” she said. If she’s not lounging around there, she might be strolling through the antiques stores of downtown Athens or exploring the estate sales nearby. “The South has crazy estate sales with Victorian clothes, vintage wedding dresses, things like that. I love going to estate sales for inspiration. And recently, I’ve been trying to collect garments from the 1800s,” Alvarez said. “I have two bloomers, two or three dresses, a gown, and a little shrug so far.”
Ella Potter
Age: 19
School: Southern Methodist University
Ella Potter’s approach to back-to-school dressing is “put-together but not in a try-hard way.” She styled a slouchy off-the-shoulder top with baggy trousers, rolled down at the waist to create a more relaxed silhouette. “I like stripes for the end of summer, maybe because I live in New England and it feels nautical. They almost feel preppy and uniform inspired too,” the Southern Methodist University sophomore told the Cut. She said her ideal back-to-school look is something cool and comfortable that accurately reflects her personal style: “I think the most important thing is showing your style and expressing yourself. I chose pants because I’ll be sitting at a desk all day and walking around, so I want to be comfortable.” When she’s in a rush but still wants to look chic on campus, Potter said she often reaches for a good matching sweatsuit or boxer shorts, her favorite Jenni Kayne cashmere sweater, and Adidas Sambas. As for back-to-school beauty? “If I could only use one product, it would be a skin tint. It makes me feel put-together and look more awake for class, even if I was up late the night before. I love the Ilia one.”
Sofia Sonera
Age: 21
School: University of Georgia
First-day-of-school outfit: A pair of secondhand jeans, a Praying baseball hat, an S necklace from Em Marie Davenport, a pair of Onitsuka Tiger sneakers, and a vintage Fossil purse.
When it comes to back-to-school outfits, Sonera puts comfort first. “I’m usually in the studio from 9 to 5, roughly four days a week, so I need an outfit that I can move in,” she told the Cut. “I find that accessorizing is the perfect way for me to still show off my style while maintaining comfort.” Most of her closet is secondhand at this point, including the outfit she sported for the first day of her senior year at the University of Georgia. When it comes to the inspiration for her outfits, Sonera looks to Instagram and early-2000s movies. “Chloë Sevigny is my absolute fashion icon and I refer back to her outfits a lot,” she said. “I also feel very inspired by what’s current. I’ve been spending some time in New York recently and have been loving the subversive twist on basic fashion that is everywhere.”
Theresa Dinh
Age: 20
School: University of Georgia
First-day-of-school outfit: Like most of Dinh’s outfits, everything was thrifted.
Dinh loves leaning into the alternative but found herself romanticizing living in the South this past summer, which inspired her first-day-of-school outfit this year. She coordinates with her friend Grace Ann every year, and this time the duo decided to play on the culture of their school, the University of Georgia. “We were both inspired by football culture,” said Dinh. “Our outfits reflect the masculinity of sports, and the colors are very Americana. We both wanted to mix pieces that were typically worn to football games with accessories that lean more alternative, like our belts and studded sunglasses.
