Activities for Teaching Teens How to Dress
It may seem that teens tend to place extreme importance on physical appearances, including clothing. But that doesn't always mean that they have full knowledge of -- or comfort with -- choosing what to wear for a given situation and feeling comfortable and confident in the clothing they choose. Have them participate in lessons and activities on basic standards, history, design and self expression to boost their dressing skills and confidence.
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Career Dressup
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Teens typically dress for style and to accommodate their daily life of school and perhaps extracurricular and outside activities. Having a career dress-up day can help them learn what's appropriate for a job hunt and interview and what they feel most comfortable in. Give students a list of common dress code requirements for casual business or business attire beforehand. At the end of the day, ask them how their different clothes affected their activities that day and how they felt wearing the clothes.
Design Basics
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Introducing teens to the elements of visual design can give them the tools to dress themselves with confidence. Discussing elements like color theory, silhouette and even texture can help teens if, for example, they're deciding what color of tie to wear to an interview.
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Dressing for Yourself
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Have your students consider how they dress and what they think it says about them. Giving an overview or more in-depth lesson on fashion history first helps them make a connection between fashion and how it relates to society. Afterward, have each student write, talk or create a visual piece on what they see as their own visual style. What do their clothes say about them? What outfit would they be most comfortable in? How important do they think clothing and physical appearances are? Combined with basic design education, these activities help students learn how they express themselves through clothing.
Comfort and Safety
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Different activities require different types of clothing, as do seasons. Give each teen or the class as a whole different situations and seasons and ask what clothing would be most comfortable, safe and appropriate for the given scenario. For instance, what would they bring with them if they were working at a summer camp, or what would they need if they were going on a hiking trip during the fall months?
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