Parents might question why their child is asking for an $8.99 shirt from Walmart rather than clothes from a more expensive store. “Why do you want a shirt with 20 cats on it?” they might ask. Walmart Wednesday and, the more low key, Wolf Shirt Wednesday are the reason.
On Fridays at Leesville, students wearing floral shirts roam the halls. This is because of the self-made Floral Friday, created by Mike Spear, senior. Spear started wearing floral shirts every Friday and, gradually, his friends joined in.
While students sport their Walmart shirts, you may also find them wearing Crocs– a brand of rubber shoes that are commonly bashed by highschoolers. These items are cheaper than a common wardrobe and usually produce a laugh amongst others. So for one day a week, students can dress, what some might call, ‘silly’ or ‘ridiculous.’
Walmart Wednesday was started in 2013 by four senior girls. Mary Kate Bowers, a graduate of the class of 2014, and her three close friends could be found wearing a tacky Walmart shirt, crocs, and possibly singing Disney Princess music. The girls were not ashamed of their outfit choices and encouraged participation.
Bowers said, “It was inspired by the fun of looking like an idiot and not caring. We all wanted to be carefree our senior year.”
Rachel Bailey, junior, started her own spirit day: Wolf Shirt Wednesday. The tradition started when she accidentally wore the same wolf shirt two weeks in a row and then went on to decide it would be her own tradition. Bailey currently owns five wolf shirts but she said, “I wear the same one every Wednesday; I have to wear the one that started it all. I don’t care if anyone thinks it’s weird.”
‘Not caring’ is the trend throughout these self-made spirit days. Students have shown that they enjoy dressing up with their friends and looking silly. The laughs and judgements received are irrelevant.
