Threaded Up Thursdays: Intertwining Soul and Style

Why do we dress the way we do? What conscious and subconscious preferences attract us to certain styles, silhouettes, textures, and colors? What we wear shapes how we experience the world, yet it also reveals how we view ourselves. In an increasingly mass-produced and trend-centered fashion industry, losing sight of one’s own taste is becoming progressively common. Particularly for teenagers who rely on online influence and crave belonging, standing out in a society which values fitting in so highly can be daunting. Threaded Up Thursdays is a School Meeting segment documenting unique student outfits at Lawrenceville that works to break the fear of standing out by highlighting stand-out styling on campus. Almost every week, leaders Busola Babatunde ’25, Kiah Smith ’25, Ayodele “Dele” Joa-Griffith ’26, and Corey Woodson ’26 curate a selection of outfits to display during School Meeting, along with short blurbs of commentary. With each outfit review, these student leaders transform  the ways in which Lawrentians dress themselves on campus by encouraging them to reevaluate what they deem as “normal.” 

Threaded Up Thursdays began with the reimagination of an old, dilapidated segment named “Fire Fit Fridays.” In an interview with Babatunde, she explained how much she enjoyed the old segment and her disappointment when it collapsed in her sophomore year. Even when students revived Threaded Up Thursdays in her junior year, she wanted to tweak the concept.“It wasn’t really what I envisioned,” she explained, “but I really remember wanting to be a part of it.” When Student Council reached out to Smith and Babatunde, they recognized that both their chemistry and eyes for fashion would create a cohesive and engaging show, emboldening the pair to take the opportunity. 

Babatunde highlighted how her interest in fashion focuses around treating “fashion as a form of self-expression,” which serves as a consistent theme for Threaded Up Thursdays. Attending Lawrenceville not only prompted Babatunde to reconsider her values and personality, but also prompted her to rethink her wardrobe. Transitioning from a “uniform-only” school, Babatunde can now use clothing items to express herself. She appreciates how fashion can be a “way to have fun in the morning,” while also serving as an outlet to “get out of [her] comfort zone.” Hoping to help others express themselves in the “ways [she] never could before,” Babatunde decided that she wanted to spend her senior year working on Threaded Up Thursdays, along with finding people to work alongside herself and Smith.

Babatunde and Smith work alongside Joa-Griffith and Woodson, which Babatunde described as an “eye-opening experience.” As a V Former, Babatunde explained that the outfits they scout, along with the help they provide, have allowed her to see fashion on campus through a new lens as they offer a different perspective, being not only male, but also juniors. Babatunde hopes that her successors will “find their niche, and find outfits they are interested in.” She is optimistic about the future of Threaded Up Thursdays excited to leave the project in the hands of “people who have experienced it.” 

Moreover, Babatunde points out how fashion connects members of a community: “Kiah will talk to people…[we] meet a lot of new people!” Babatunde expressed appreciation in how running Threaded Up Thursdays—and chatting with people about their clothing pieces—has helped her bond with underclassmen. In fact, the act of appreciating outstanding style in Threaded Up Thursdays serves as an inspiration for Lawrentians to talk about and bond over fashion with their peers. 

Those who are interested in being featured in Threaded Up Thursdays can either submit a photo through the form shared in the School Meeting slideshow every week or look out for any of the Threaded Up Thursday leaders on campus. Even for those disinterested in a School Meeting display (I can’t blame you—the stage seems daunting), take a few minutes on Monday morning to consider your outfit. How can you push yourself to dress authentically?