Facing what is arguably the strictest dress code in the district, many Clark students must strike a balance between style and dress standard on a daily basis. Amy Avakian, however, is not one for compromises. Years at Clark have shown Avakian the secrets to fashion in a strict dress-code environment.

Avakian, whom many notice due to her rose-pink dyed hair, normally wears any sort of collar besides that on a polo. Yet, despite her expansive wardrobe, Avakian bases her outfits purely on aesthetics. “I don’t really keep up with fashion ‘trends,’” Avakian said about her taste in clothing. “Actually, I just go to the store and find whatever looks nice.”

As for her stores of choice, Avakian says she prefers shopping in Hollywood. “Hollywood stores are cooler and more fun,” she said. “I’m not an online shopper though, that can be dangerous.”

Avakian does admit that she has not always followed the dress standard. “Dress-coded? Yeah, all my life,” she said. “We’re real children of the law.” Indeed, Avakian’s favorite article of clothing is a sweater that violates dress standard because it has a large Native American design across the front.

Clothes do not always make the entire look, according to Avakian. In addition to her multitude of outfits, Avakian also has her own collection of favorite accessories. “I’m into wooden stuff, rings, necklaces and headbands,” Avakian said about her accessory collection.

Arguably, Avakian’s most striking fashion statement is neither her clothes nor her accessories, but rather her hair. “I told myself, ‘If I get into college, I’ll dye my hair pink,’” Avakian said. This year, Avakian achieved her goal of college, and sure enough, her hair is now platinum blonde dyed rose pink.

Avakian has also encountered a variety of odd fashion mishaps. “Don’t wear weird stuff,” she said about a time she saw a girl wearing mismatched sandals, a short skirt and a cap. Regardless, Avakian says she believes fashion is different for every individual. “It’s your choice,” she says. “Just follow your own style.”

Fashion is not always about clothes, nor is it always about extravagance. The meek accessory can garner just as much attention and value as the hundred-dollar outfit. Case in point: As a junior, Mary Sukiassyan collected and wore a variety of shaped rubber-band bracelets, commonly known as Silly Bandz.

“I saw a bunch of people with them and thought, ‘These are pretty cool,’” Sukiassyan said about her first encounter with Silly Bandz. “They’re rubber bands with shapes, and people would show each other and trade, a lot like with Pokemon.”

Sukiassyan’s initial interest in Silly Bandz got a jumpstart when she received her first pack. “My grandpa gave me a bunch of Silly Bandz to start out with,” she said. “Eventually I went to a kids’ store at the mall to buy some more.”

Silly Bandz sell in packs of 24 for $5 or 12 for $2.50, and sometimes come in “special editions” of similarly-themed shapes. “Some of the weirder shapes I had were in a ‘fruits’ edition pack I bought,” Sukiassyan said. “There was a pineapple along with some other fruits, but the weirdest one was definitely the banana.”

“I usually wore about two at a time, but I couldn’t count how many I had in total,” Sukiassyan said about the collection she had amassed as a junior. Now in her senior year, Sukiassyan has either sold or given away most of her Silly Bandz collection.

Thinking back on her collection, Sukiassyan says sharing bands with friends was a major part of what she liked most about Silly Bandz. “I also bought a ‘Toy Story’ edition pack and ended up giving the Hamm-shaped one to a friend who really wanted it,” she said. “It’s nice to know there are people who are even happier about these things than I was.”