Uniform, yet unique: Middle school students strut to their classes in style

Daily Press (Newport News, Va.) (MCT) - There are three commandments in middle school: Be different, be color coordinated and be shoe savvy.

And although students at Virginia middle schools including Lindsay in Hampton and Booker T. Washington and Crittenden in Newport News have to wear uniforms, they all find ways to accessorize in style. Here are some of their fashion do's and don'ts.

Bangles for the girls, Dickies for the boys. Almost every girl we saw walking the hallways had at least one bangle bracelet on her wrist. And often there were two or three bracelets clinking together. Crittenden seventh-grader Kendra Wooten chose to wear a neon green and a bright blue bangle bracelet, which perfectly matched her long, beaded necklace and hoop earrings.

Pop icons like Kanye West and Lil Wayne influence the boy's clothing choices.

And many of them agree that Dickies pants _ work pants with multiple pockets _ are the way to go. There's good news for parents here: You can find these pants for less than $30 at stores like Wal-Mart and JC Penney.

Retro is back. Neon colors are the order of the day.

Lindsay seventh-grader Sydney Belsches can only wear certain color polo shirts, but she adds the retro feel with a bright orange belt and bracelets.

The same goes for Booker T. Washington eighth-grader Ameerah Welsh, who jazzes up her outfit with a multicolored neon necklace and sky-blue suspenders.

Coordinating colors. "I'm not gonna lie to people. If they come in not matching, I'll tell them they look like a hot mess," says Crittenden eighth-grader Natalie Wright. Her friend, seventh-grader Dwayne Dozier, is the perfect picture of this hallowed principle.

On this particular day, he chose a white and black scheme.

He paired his white polo shirt with a black undershirt, black Dickies shorts, white socks _ scrunched down in "slouch" style _ and black and white Nike tennis shoes with the red tag still hanging from the side.

And when was he going to remove the tag? "When my mom makes me," he says.

Individuality is key. Of the dozen students we talked to, every one of them cited "copy-catting" as the No. 1 fashion don't.

Adhere to some basic principles, and give it your own flavor.

Natalie Wright wears neon colored earrings, but she chooses two different earring shapes. Booker T. Washington eighth-grader Corey Poole wears his hair in a spiked Mohawk on days he doesn't have P.E. class. Others shave designs, like spiders, into their hair.

Shoes can make or break you. In the end, it all comes down to the shoes. And sorry parents, there's no getting around the price tags on these babies.

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Air Jordans, DC skateboarding shoes and Nike Air Force One's are all acceptable choices _ and all cost at least $50. But it's not just having the right brand, it's having the right color, and pairing the right shoe with every outfit.

Dwayne Dozier says he and his friends probably have more than 20 pairs of shoes, and the school year's just gotten started.

"You've got to match the shirt to the belt to the shoes. If you've got an orange shirt, you gotta have orange shoes. That's the way I color coordinate," says Dozier.

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© 2008, Daily Press (Newport News, Va.).