High school is a time of self-expression and self-learning; one way many teens express themselves is through clothing. Two alumni from 1995 explained their style and its evolution.  

One hugely inspirational aspect of pop culture is music, and alumni Eric Bakke discusses its effects on fashion in his youth.  

“When I first moved to Puyallup in 1991 I noticed a lot of kids at my Junior High School (Kalles) were really going for it with the MTV fashions, especially mimicking the likes of Kris Kross and Bel Biv Devoe,” Bakke said.   

The ‘90s circled around to the return of casual retro fashion, a style PHS alumni and Glacier View PE teacher Jason Bellerive says he indulged in.  

“I dressed casually, jeans, shorts, athletic gear, but I also enjoyed occasionally rocking some old school 70’s/80’s clothes from the Goodwill… I had authentic 70’s-style blue Denver Nuggets polyester warm-up pants with rainbow stripes on the sides that I would wear pretty often to school.  I got a lot of looks from those pants,” Bellerive said.  

Hair styling is an important aspect of style and Bakke says he had quite an experience with hair in high school. 

“My buddies and I used to cut each other’s hair with mixed results. There’s a reason none of us have a career as a barber,” Bellerive said.  

While Bellerive and his buddies had their makeshift barber shop, Bakke had a tamer time with his ever-changing locks. 

“I usually went with the buzz cut for basketball season, but outside of hoops season I sometimes had the white-guy afro, and I was also into music theatre so sometimes I had different colors of hair going on based on the production I was in at the time,” Bakke said.  

While the fashion has changed with the times, Bellerive has always stuck close to home.  

“I’m a PE teacher, so a hoodie and sweats is still ok for me to wear. I just don’t wear hats to school and my hair has turned a little more gray,” Bellerive said.