Jillian’s First Day of School Outfits:

In recent years, my final summer nights have consisted of spontaneously running to Staples to purchase forgotten school supplies and sifting through the mountains of summer homework that I had neglected to do in favor of taking trips to the beach. In my younger years, however, my biggest end-of-summer stress involved my wardrobe. I would always spend this last night of freedom wading through my horribly disorganized closet, looking for something to wear that would be spectacular enough to impress my classmates.

My outfit of choice would usually contain something purchased from L.L. Bean, have some variety of floral pattern and be much too heavy to wear in the heat of late August or early September. Case in point: my L.L. Bean floral print turtle neck, accompanied by denim overalls, which I wore on my first day of kindergarten. This outfit was girly yet sporty, making it the perfect combination for a back-to-school outfit.

I neglected to take into consideration, however, that it was 80 degrees and humid outside, so my perfect outfit was drenched in sweat by 10:30 in the morning, leaving me uncomfortably sticking to my chair for the rest of the school day. Sure enough, when I arrived home, I immediately changed into my usual outfit of a t-shirt and shorts, the outfit which I also wisely sported during my subsequent sweltering days at school.

Throughout my high school years and now in college, I have taken to wearing more weather-appropriate outfits on the first day of school, especially ones that will not cause me to overheat halfway through the school day. But though I have definitely been more comfortable on my more recent first days of school than in kindergarten, none of my first day of school outfits has ever been as fly as my floral print turtleneck and overalls.

Here’s a look at what other students chose to wear on their first day of school:

Name: Micah Zeitz
School and Year of Graduation: McCormick 2014
On his first day of college classes, Micah sported a pale pink polo shirt and khaki pants, an outfit that is not only chic, but also comfortable to wear in the warm weather that Evanston experienced at the start of classes. Micah said he purchased his outfit online at the Lands’ End canvas store and planned it out the night before classes in order to avoid rushing to find something to wear in the morning. In choosing his outfit, Micah said wanted “something that stood out, but wasn’t too loud and still kind of summery.”

Name: Sama Kadakia
School and Year of Graduation: Weinberg 2014
For her first day of school outfit, Sama rocked a multicolored oversized shirt and black leggings, which made for an ideal combination of style and comfort. Sama said she changed into this outfit, purchased at Macy’s, after stepping outside in the morniing and realizing that it was unusually warm for an early fall day in Evanston. With this fashionable ensemble, Sama certainly showed that she can throw together an outfit on the fly in any situation.

Name: Sara Chernus
School and Year of Graduation: Weinberg 2013
Sara started off her sophomore year in style by pairing a black dress from Bloomingdale’s with an oversized brown belt. She added an extra touch to her outfit with a tan canvas bag, purchased from Dooney and Bourke, and a pair of fashionable flip flops, purchased from a store in her home state of New York. Sara said she enjoys wearing her black dress and was especially drawn to it on the first day of classes due to the warm weather.

Name: Izzie Baum
School and Year of Graduation: Weinberg 2014
Izzie threw together her chic outfit on the morning of classes, pairing an oversized graphic tee from Zara with velvet skinny pants purchased from Citizens of Humanity. She topped her outfit off with a pair of white flip flops from Ricky’s NYC, a black over-the-shoulder bag from Bloomingdale’s and an array of colorful bracelets. Izzie said she chose her colorful outfit because it was summery, but she admits that she would not have worn the velvet pants if she had known the weather would be so warm.

— Jillian Sandler