This is the year of the Plain White T’s. Not only is it a band whose song, “Hey There, Delilah,” has hit Billboard’s Top 100, but Plain White T’s also define my favorite fashion article this season.

Although style magazines and the media are constantly promoting the next trendy, expensive style item, I fight against “the norm” and dress as casually as possible. What is the point of wearing dressy, high-priced clothing on a daily basis? To look like “the perfect girl?” I believe that the perfect girl is one who wears whatever she wants. Personally, I enjoy wearing comfortable and affordable clothes. Before school began in August, I bought a pack of five white v-neck shirts from Target, and I wear them constantly. Their loose fit makes me feel comfortable when I’m in the public’s eye.

Comfortable clothes enforce a natural look. I hate when my peers try to “dress to impress” at school. School is not a fashion show. It is a place for students to receive an education. Why waste your time picking out an outfit? Nobody is concerned about what you look like. I would much prefer to wear a hooded sweatshirt than a designer blouse. Fancy clothes should be saved for special occasions.

In magazines and on television programs, expensive clothing and accessories are always the new trend. However, those same magazines and television shows often have images of celebrities in sweatpants or t-shirts when they go about their daily lives. It makes more sense to me to emulate the celebrities in real life than when they walk down the red carpet. Better yet, I choose not to mimic anyone, but rather to follow my own sense of style.

Girls who spend energy, time, and money trying to reach perfection are simply wasting their time. They are giving in to the pressure advocated by the media, which tell girls how to dress and what to look like. I fight against the media and its effort to change the way I feel about myself. I am angered by advertisers who give girls low-self esteem just to sell their products and make money.

I thoroughly enjoy my current sense of fashion, and I’m quite content to be known as the girl in the “Plain White T’s.”