Trike Riding in Style: House Olympics Looks

Come September, many questions lie on Lawrentians' minds, but there is one recurring thought that cannot be ignored: "What will I wear?" From back-to-school shopping to Convocation pictures, fashion and the beginning of the school year prove to be practically inseparable. Similarly, students look forward to the annual House Olympics, a Lawrenceville classic, during which they represent their Houses with heart and a wide array of elaborate looks.

Students demonstrate their pride in several ways. Often adorned with bright, tie-dyed shirts, students in the Crescent are unafraid to go all out. Year after year, girls sport paint on their faces and legs, headbands and ribbons in their hair, and tutus over their shorts, all in correspondence with their House colors. The Circle shows their pride through bold shirt-cutting and face paint. Despite these trends, each House is different, with its own distinct traditions, successes, and occasional mishaps.

For instance, the Stanley House’s shirt-decorating tradition displays their House pride and acts as a bonding exercise. Every year, the members of Stanley come together to decorate and bedazzle their green and white house shirts with glitter, paint, and gems, making every shirt a unique representation of the camaraderie within the House. Stanley House President Destiny Ortega ’26 remarked that this tradition “gives a dramatic effect to House Olympics” and “shows off [Stanley’s] vibrant green spirit,” although she hoped next year’s shirt decorating would be a little more organized and clean.

Known for splashy displays of purple and gold, McClellan’s outfits are a great example of layering bright elements to create a dazzling unified look. Gold beads? How about three necklaces and a feathered boa! And throw some beads onto the shirt too. Purple eye paint? Let’s do both purple and gold, and smudge it not only under our eyes but across our faces, legs, arms, and torsos! Oh, and tutus are a must for McClellan House members. Despite having slight wardrobe supply issues this past House Olympics, McClellan members still managed to pull together a jaw-dropping collection of outfits through perseverance and sisterhood.

The Circle also turns House Olympic shirt customization into an opportunity for connection between their new and seasoned members. The Woodhull House enfolds trust into their shirt crafting—or disassembling—process, through an exercise in which each sophomore gets paired with a junior, a “big,” who slices up the shirt they are set to wear for the games. Nico Romero Durand ’27 from Woodhull explained that “all the shirts [we] wore were cut by a IV Former or V Former.” Referencing this tradition, he added, “it’s kind of like a surprise...but it’s really fun.” What better way to solidify the “big brother” relationship than with a healthy sprinkle of fear and trust?

In fact, both the Circle and Crescent took to bold ways of showcasing pride through their outfits. Many houses painted select members of their House with one of the bright colors represented on their flag. Members of the Cleve House, for example, armed themselves with an underformer covered in Cleve-green paint, an attention-grabbing tactic on the House’s part. Other Houses took to layering clothing pieces on top of their house gear, creating daring silhouettes and statements using scraps of shirt material.

Lawrenceville’s House system is unique, and the pride students hold for their respective Houses materializes during House Olympics through chants, house meals, and, most importantly, wardrobe. From bleaching to cutting shirts, traditions related to clothing have bonded students across forms, allowing younger Lawrentians to interact comfortably with their older housemates. The act of dressing up for House Olympics also allows students to express their individual styles in conjunction with Lawrenceville spirit, integrating their own flair. Whether you are a new III Former or a prefect, bonding within the House system makes each student feel at home, so why not have fun with it?