DTNG FASHION
S3E18: Rock ‘n’ Roll High School
Aired: 2004
Here’s the collection of random shots and group shots from this episode. We see some baggy pants, chunky shoes, sparkly chains, horizontal stripes, scrunched hair, zip up hoodies, and Hell Hath No Fury in all their glory. Also this announcer guy at the mic, I don’t know who he is but I feel like he’s some kind of a famous athlete, like a basketball player.
DTNG FASHION
S3E15: Accidents Will Happen Part 2
Aired: 2004
Chris is still just over here dressin’ like the coolest dude of Degrassi, in an oversized jean jacket, a chain, and a newsboy hat.
DTNG FASHION
S3E13: This Charming Man
Aired: 2003
We’ve arrived at Chris, whom I believe to be the one referenced in the episode’s title, “This Charming Man”. Chris’s style makes it absolutely clear what he’s into – music. This first shirt has headphones on it. He wears a bucket hat and chain to accessorize. Next he’s in a blue newsboy hat and a dark wash baggy Canadian tuxedo. And of course those giant headphones. Next, he’s in another newsboy-type of hat but this time it’s backwards. He wears more baggy stuff, and more denim.
DTNG FASHION
S3E7: Should I Stay or Should I Go?
Aired: 2003
Chris has a really distinct style which you will get to see more of later. Lots of denim, lots of hats, always headphones. Here we see him in – would we go so far as to call this a bucket hat? I’m bad with hat names, you guys know this. We’ve also got a chain and a greyish jean jacket.
DTNG FASHION
S2E19: Fight for your Right
Aired: 2003
JT wears his usual formula – backwards hat, chain necklace, shirt with flames, baggy pants, and chunky shoes. And as always, I’m here for it.
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S2E14: Careless Whisper
Aired: 2003
Sean is wearing the world’s most impractical basketball outfit – thick heavy wide-legged carpenter jeans complete with a chain, and no shirt. Gotta love it though. If only he was old enough for a barbed-wire tattoo. Aw, I wish they would have given him a tattoo storyline. You know Tracker would have allowed it. Anyway, we also see him shirted and jacketed afterwards, in the usual of course.
DTNG FASHION
S2E14: Careless Whisper
Aired: 2003
JT is giving me watermelon vibes in this admittedly extra ensemble of a lime green tee, a red patterened Hawaiian shirt, a chain, and a backwards hat with like, stickers or patches all over it. Then he’s seen here in class in a blue tee. And lastly, another open shirt over a red tee, accessorized with spiked hair and his chain.
DTNG FASHION
S2E13: White Wedding, Part 2
Aired: 2002
First Sean is hangin with Tracker, checking out Sunshine Girls and wearing a tight-fitting white tee with dark wash baggy pants and a chain. He puts on a sick leather jacket too, I’m not sure why, maybe to go riding. And then, he shows up at the wedding after being invited, uninvited, and reinvited. And, yes, every man I know hates dressing up and would love to wear this to a wedding, but someone somewhere would have stopped them along the way. Someone would have prevented this. He wears a white button down untucked and dangling over those dark wash wide leg jeans (complete with the chain) and a poorly-tied tie flapping in the wind. Also, this scene is painfully cheesy. To have been my first episode of Degrassi that I ever saw, I also kind of hate it.
DTNG FASHION
S2E12: White Wedding, Part 1
Aired: 2002
Sean is giving off these mysterious loner-ex-boyfriend vibes. First he wears a grey shirt, baggy pants, and a chain, and then a black shirt, baggy pants, and a chain. As you may recall, the poor dear keeps getting invited and uninvited to Spike and Snake’s wedding. Little does he realize, weddings aren’t even fun.
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S2E11: Don’t Believe the Hype
Aired: 2002
JT’s B-plot to compliment Hazel’s “hiding who you are” concept involves his gender-based shame about being good at sewing. First he wears an orange and navy ringer tee oddly matched with a Joey Jeremiah Hawaiian shirt, a chain necklace, and spiky hair. Then he wears a light blue tee with a dark blue overshirt and a backwards cap. His last shirt is an orange and blue tie-dyed tee.
Actually, you know what? I feel like this plotline didn’t reach its full potential, just like Terri’s body confidence story. The only resolution at the end of all this is that JT is ultimately “the winner” despite Sean & Toby’s jeers, because he gets to measure Emma & Manny? I wish somewhere someone could have at least stated or come to the conclusion that sewing is actually not just for girls (and neither is cooking or cleaning for that matter). Like maybe Toby or Sean could have ripped their pants or lost a button and felt like a helpless moron because they can’t even perform a simple repair on their own clothing? I wish we could have seen some kind of leveling of the playing field. I mean I think it’s great their home ec teacher was a dude and everything, but all this episode really did was touch on gender roles/stereotyping and what it does. It did not show any evolution of thought, didn’t show JT really owning his talent, and didn’t even really flat out state the truth. The truth that sewing is not just for girls.
It would have been nice to maybe show JT take pride in the skill and develop it, maybe mention it again once or twice in the show. Maybe he could have continued to have a side hustle of skirt-making.
The “resolution” to this plot was kind of sexist in itself. “Yeah I know how to sew but I get to wrap my measuring tape around girls’ hips, so there!” Reminds me of the way we try to justify men cheerleading “Well they get to grab girls’ thighs all day so who’s the real winner?” It shouldn’t be about that! Physical closeness with women shouldn’t be what makes a “female” activity cool for a male to do! Dudes should have SIMPLE PRIDE in PRACTICAL SKILLS, in being SELF SUFFICIENT. These are modern survival skills. Although I know they’re just like 13 years old and it’s a little early for such wisdom… but still. All this kinda grinds my gears. That no one actually said words to the effect of “It would be great for everyone to have these skills.”
I know Degrassi was never made to tie everything up in a nice bow, but this topic is one that I feel strongly about as a woman who was trained with basic life skills and sees men everywhere who don’t know how to make themselves a grilled cheese sandwich or clean the stains from under the toilet seat often times as a direct result from residual societal programming of outdated gender roles. Let’s all please start speaking about sewing, cooking, cleaning, DIYing, fixing, repairing, etc. as basic life skills and not gender roles. Ok thank you!
We will now resume the usual fashion-based programming.
