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Mirador 5/28/10 Feature 9 Make Checks Payable to Junior Year Runway Fashion Appears at Miramonte Upon telling someone that you are a junior, it is certainly a common occurrence for that older, wiser person, who has already suffered the torment of junior year, to respond: “Oh…Good luck.” Students unanimously conclude that junior year is the most rigorous and academically challenging year of your life. However, what you haven’t heard, but have maybe come to realize, is how expensive junior year is. Being a student is expensive at any age, but junior year brings extra tests and activities that hike up the costs. Mirador has outlined these junior activities that empty our wallets. Check it out: SAT I This painful, four hour long test not only takes your time, but also your money. It is very common to take this test two, or even three times at $45 per attempt with additional fees of $23 if you register late or change your registration. SAT II Subject Tests Most colleges suggest submitting two extra subject tests along with the SAT I, but these aren’t required every- where. However, they are often taken multiple times be- cause they only take an hour. These cost $20 each. ACT Although students sometimes choose either the SAT or the ACT, many students take both tests, which adds up. This test is $47, including the writing section. Advanced Placement Tests When you sign up for an AP class, be prepared for extra work as well as a very long, expensive test in May. Each AP test costs $104! Junior Prom A ticket to Prom costs $85. A dress/tux ranges anywhere from $20 to $500. And don’t forget about pictures, which cost $20-$70, and corsages, at about $20. That’s a lot of money for one classy night of fun. College Touring Juniors are forced to begin thinking about the colleges to which they may want to apply, and visiting potential schools is a common way to go about this. Although col- lege tours are free, the process of planning and execut- ing trips to local or across-the-country campuses can get expensive. Tutoring It’s a fact: tutors are necessary at some point in high school, most frequently during junior year. Tutors are banking on any of the above tests and on difficult classes to bring in students who need extra help. Because tutors are aware of students’ desperation and parents’ willingness to ease their pain, prices have skyrocketed and tutor sessions can cost a fortune. Chillin’ Costs For the most part, by junior year everyone has his or her license, which is quite a costly freedom. Gas prices are constantly rising and when you want food, you have to pay for all you consume because your parents aren’t there to fund your constant hunger anymore. Bonus Cost: If you’re that lucky person who acts as your friends’ bank, then your “Chillin Costs” are doubled per friend. by Kelsey Williams by Madeleine Neuburger At Miramonte High School, hallways serve as the birthplace for fashion trends. Whether it’s the newest men’s Adidas shoes, or the newest innovation in a woman’s lace shirt, on the high school level, all these trends begin with their recognition in the common place of school. However, no article of clothing, no matter how generic or mainstream the brand, was contrived without any prior influence. While we high school students are inspired to buy what we see in popular stores, such as Ur- ban Outfitters, Free People, JCrew, and American Eagle Outfitters, where are their own trends set? What inspires these stores to produce what in- spires our personal trends? The answer can be found at the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week in Bryant Park, New York,which takes place every fall. During fashion week a menagerie of well known and up-and -coming designers unveil their collections, leading to the inspiration of the trends that we see every day. At Fashion Week, the best and most innova- tive designers reveal their new seasonal collec- tions. These collections are boiled down to their key concepts and then made main- stream over the next few months for the common consumer. The couture runway garment begins as a con- cept; a form of art which holds a multitude of ideas that will later be streamlined. While the out- fits and garments that set the trends for the common person’s ward- robe are surely too far over the top for most peo- ple’s comfort, it’s the runway cloth- ing that makes the heart of the next trend most clear. For the Spring/Summer 2010 season, Alexander McQueen, Chanel, Michael Kors, Diane VonFurstenburg and Marc Jacobs set the trends that can be seen in their diluted forms throughout the hallways of our school. At McQueen’s Spring/Summer 2010 fashion show, models decked out in vivid prints, geometric and modern cuts, and 11 inch heeled flat faced or steel toed boots stomped down the run- way. Today, in the midst of spring, around seven months af- ter the show, McQueen’s influence can be seen in the vast majority of Free People’s shoe collection. Jacobs’ and VonFurstenburg’s key designs for spring and summer 2010 can be found in their mainstream form at Free People as well. Free People has created many high waisted or waist fit- ted, yet otherwise loose fitting garments featuring intricate and natural prints, long loose fitting jumpers, and large, complex necklaces for their spring clothing lines. All of which designs derived from the parent concepts seen at Jacobs’, VonFurstenburg’s and McQueen’s shows. Many of the shapes and cuts of the common consum- er’s wardrobe this spring are influenced by Michael Kors. Kors’ use of zippers and modern, geometric cuts, and es- pecially his use of bandage cuts along rectangular piecing that can be seen in many of the skirts and straps of Mira- monte students’ daily apparel. Also popular among the female population of Mira- monte is floral prints and lace. These two trends were de- rived from Chanel’s Spring/Summer 2010, which featured lanky, fresh looking models in delicate, ruffled or lace blouses, blazers, and short flowing floral skirts. These three trends have all been adapted into the styles and garments at Free People, JCrew, Anthropologie, and Urban Outfitters. The next fad likely to hit Miramonte? Clogs. Also started by Chanel in their Spring/Summer 2010 collec- tion, natural leather and wooden clogs are now appearing all over mainstream stores’ shoe collections, such as, of course, Free People. Overall, natural prints mixed with modern cuts and zippers are appearing all over our campus. Thanks to the parent designs that were thought of by the most elite de- signers of the industry, who know clothing as art, we have a wide selection of their modified designs in our current wardrobes. Photo: M. Neuburger Junior Zoe Michaelson works a Chanel inspired flowy floral skirt while her friend junior Kelly Teshima-McKormick wears a floral sweater and geometrically patterned shirt, as can be seen in Michael Kors’ Spring/Summer 2010 show. Graphic: M. Fischer Junior Natalie Cabayan follows the Chanel inspired trend of lace garments. Photo: M. Neuburger Freshman Caitlin Powell sports a tribal tube top, a trend inspired by Diane VonFurstenburg. Photo: M. Neuburger
