Teenage girls are often coined as mindless followers when it comes to the way they dress. However, we females are not the only ones who fall victim to trends. Simply look around and you’ll see a plethora of guys dressed in almost the exact same outfit from head to toe- literally, they’re wearing the same socks.

For instance, as soon as one less-than-fashion-savvy individual decides to wear something, despite how absolutely ridiculous it is, others are sure to follow. A perfect example would be the recent popularity of headbands among males. While I’m glad to see the death of the incessant hair flips which plagued our school last year, if your hair is so long you need a headband just to see, I strongly urge you to chop it off. Seriously, those headbands look dumb. Harry Styles may pull off the long hair, the headband and heck, he even rocks the man-bun from time to time. That’s only because he’s got the voice of an angel and a godly physique. However if you lack one or both of these qualities, sorry not sorry, cut your hair and take off your headband.

Sometimes girls wear things just because they’re cute, like riding boots. I, for one, fall pretty short of equestrian status due to the fact that I’m afraid of horses. (Those things are huge, okay.) However, that doesn’t stop me or the rest of the non-horseback riding female population from enjoying cute shoes.

This brings me to the next fashion crime boys are guilty of: the tendency to wear Nike Elite socks everyday, indiscriminately, despite what the rest of their outfit consists of and more importantly, whether or not they even play basketball. Here’s a tip: Nike Elites and Sperrys are not a good combination and they will never be a good combination.  Actually, any combination of athletic clothing plus expensive clothing is not okay. There should be a distinction between what you wear to gym class and what you wear to church. If you’re the athletic, basketball-playing type, keep wearing your Nike Elites with everything (besides Sperrys, that is). If you’re not, well you can keep wearing your Nike Elites too, and I’ll keep wearing my riding boots and we can both be posers.

So, boys, if you lack the Harry-esque qualities to pull off headbands or athleticism in general, maybe on the way back from your haircut you can pick up a pack of Fruit of the Loom socks. In all seriousness, no one should feel guilty about wanting to fit in and dress in trendy clothes because conformity is just a part of the high school experience for both males and females.