During the school day, joggers, hoodies and even pajamas are some of the most commonly worn pieces of clothing by high school students. Plagued by drowsiness and schoolwork, for many, looking sharp on a regular school day is the least of their worries.

However, Braxton Gray (11) dresses above and beyond each day with his color and theme coordinating outfits. As Gray parades down the hall dressed in all pink, all blue or neutrals, students and faculty alike gawk at his creative combinations.

“Fashion nowadays, it’s more like trying to stand out,” Gray said. “I look at fashion as like a personality thing. Your personality should coincide with the clothes you wear. There are some people around the school that don’t dress anything like me, but their personality just really coincides with how they dress. That just to me is like fashion.”

Gray’s fashion journey began last year, when he desired to match his clothing to his personality, which he describes as a preppy one. Over time, his outfits became increasingly creative as he experimented with various themes and aesthetics.

“It was not necessarily standing out, but it was just part of my personality,” Gray said. “I’m a really preppy person, so I started wearing collared shirts and tucking in my shirts into my shorts … and I was like ‘Dang, I’m kind of good at this,’ and so I started color coordinating.”

While many people today find outfit inspiration from celebrities and influencers, Gray gained inspiration from ‘80s and ‘90s movies. “Scarface,” in particular, helped him come up with his own clothing style.

“[O]ne of my favorite movies is Scarface, and I was just looking at how they dress, like the type of vice … I call it urban vice … it’s really laid back, but real formal in a way,” Gray said.

Every morning, Gray has a set routine for how he will come up with his outfit for the day. Each part of his outfit from shirt to shoes has a different importance to him, and he will use an item’s importance to choose his next piece.

“First thing is you have to check the weather obviously,” Gray said. “You don’t want to have a turtleneck in like 90 degree weather, sweating your armpits off; you don’t want that. [Next, you] check for your shirt. My shirt is the first thing that I put on in the morning and then the shorts will coincide. And then, I really buy basic shoes, [be]cause basic canva shoes like these Vans that I got on, they go with [everything]. [S]hoes to me are like accessories in a way.”

While many people view jewelry as the most important part of their outfit, the part that will make or break their style, Gray solely views jewelry as something that will help emphasize other parts of his outfit.

“It shouldn’t be big jewelry, like you see these rappers wearing these big chains,” Gray said. “Like I said, it takes the shine away from your outfit, so you want some small jewelry, but I would prefer for it to be a little shiny just so it can pop out of your outfit.”

Since Gray does not look up to anyone to influence his style, his brain is solely responsible for coming up with various creative designs everyday with the clothes in his closet. He makes a point not to repeat outfits more than twice every six months and to not break the bank with constant shopping, so there are outfits he perceives as failures mixed in with his successes. 

“[I’ll be] like, ‘I’ve never had this combination before, let me try it, and it turns out really well,’” Gray said. “Sometimes it doesn’t; sometimes it looks garbage, and I’m like, ‘I’m never putting that on again. Ever again.’”

Being stylish is a key component of Gray’s personality, and he even goes out for the sole purpose of coming up with a new outfit. In the future, he expects his style to change as he gains new perspectives and undergoes major life changes, but he is confident that he will always maintain a major part of his current style. 

“I’ll definitely be more professional as I grow,” Gray. “I [will] mature more, so maybe I’ll just walk around in blazers.”

Following his fashion dreams also came with some drawbacks. Initially, Gray’s outfits were mocked and he was even stereotyped as a frat boy. However, these remarks only led Gray to embrace his outfits more, and as he maintained his head forward, others began to admire him and his creativity. 

“The compliments, they make me feel good obviously; I appreciate the compliments,” Gray said. “But most of my confidence comes from me. I like to say you really only need your validation. If you have your own validation, you don’t need anybody else’s validation.”