Sport coats, ties, dresses, shiny shoes and maybe a cummerbund dance in the mind’s eye when dress clothes are mentioned. Classy Wednesday gives people a chance to wear these clothes. Galen Burrell, a senior at Community High School, explained the idea of Classy Wednesday: “Everyone dresses up in suits and comes to school and it’s a normal day except everyone’s in suits.”
Last year Classy Wednesday was the weekly event that had the most participants. Walking through the halls at Community on a Wednesday meant brushing elbows with a few classy ladies or gentlemen. This year the mundane holiday has fewer adherents, although knowledge of its existence is passed quickly from person to person. Seeing a cocktail dress wearing or sport-coat-toting person strolling down the hall inspires questions like “Why?” or “Which sport do you play?”, all answered simply at the beginning. “Oh, it’s Classy Wednesday!” says senior Carlos Jackson when asked these questions. “And they’re like ‘Oh, okay, I’ll do that’.” Oddly, although there are more people in the know about the event, fewer people are dressing classily on Wednesdays. Adlai Reinhart, a junior at Community, is disappointed. “People seem more enthralled with Preppy Tuesday, and I’d like to see less of Preppy Tuesday and more of Classy Wednesday because I like Classy Wednesday,” said Reinhart.
A major part of Classy Wednesday’s appeal is novelty. For Reinhart, wearing classy clothing is common. “What with Jewish Holidays and gigs with the jazz program… I honestly don’t need an excuse to dress up nicely,” said Reinhart when asked why he rarely participates in Classy Wednesday. But that’s not common now, especially for high school students. Jackson said that he only wears a button-down and tie outside of school for events such as Homecoming or Prom. He said of Classy Wednesday, “I think it’s fun, y’know, switches things up a little bit.”
When asked, Jackson admitted he liked receiving compliments for his class, and although Reinhart doesn’t get classy on most Wednesdays he still enjoys the practice and is happy to oblige Jackson and other seekers of attention. “…It’s good to see some people just lookin’ spiffy on Wednesdays,” Reinhart said.
Reinhart and Burrell agree that Classy Wednesday is a good thing. “I admire them (people who dress up), it takes a certain amount of bravery to dress up in a suit and just come to school. I don’t know, I don’t think any less of them for doing it,” said Burrell. Reinhart thinks it serves another purpose for the people who dress up. He believes that people use Classy Wednesday to get through the week. “Wednesday is the hump day…” Reinhart said, “So it just helps people stay driven through Wednesday.”
