How to Look Good for High School

Co-authored by Alice Wu

Last Updated: March 29, 2019

Looking good in high school is particularly tricky and stressful. Everyone wants to look their best, and you can feel pressured to always bring your A Game since you see all your friends, peers, and teachers each day at school. On top of that, many students go straight from school to extracurricular activities, making for a very long day.

Method 1

Method 1 of 4:

Getting Dressed and Accessorizing

1
Assess your plans for the day. When preparing to look good for school, it's important to think about how you're going to spend your day and plan ahead. Your "look" for the day may need to be tailored for specific details.
- If it's a school day, does your school have a dress code? Will you be outdoors or indoors? What is the weather like? Do you need to layer for temperature changes?
- A presentation, evening event, science lab, or extracurricular activity could also affect what you choose to wear that day.
2
Choose clothes that fit well and feel comfortable. You look better and happier when you are comfortable. Throughout high school you are still growing, so always make sure you have enough clothes that fit. Make sure your clothes are clean and that they match. If you do not feel confident in matching, here are some easy hacks for matching:
- Don’t mix patterns. Don’t wear a checkered skirt/shorts and a striped top. Instead, wear a solid bottom with the striped top, and save the checkered bottoms for an outfit with a solid top. Too many patterns can give you a dizzying appearance! Try to stick with just one pattern.
- When in doubt, stick with neutral tones and one color. Neutrals include black, white, navy, brown, and grey. Just about everything matches these neutrals! It may sound boring, but you can make your one color and big and bold as you want without worrying about matching. ^{[1]
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3
Accessorize based on your outfit and the day’s activities. On a school day where you are going to write a lot, you may not want a chunky bracelet that's going to make a lot of noise on your desk. You can pick jewelry, a watch, a purse, a scarf, a hat, or any other accessories you may want to wear that day. When thinking about jewelry, gold and silver are always safe bets if you are concerned about matching. Again, keep in mind any dress codes you may be violating. You don't want to style your hair for a hat, only to have to take it off!

Method 2

Method 2 of 4:

Styling Hair

1
Brush your hair thoroughly in the morning to get rid of any tangles. No matter how you plan on styling your hair, it needs to start out brushed! This not only immediately makes your hair look better, but also makes it easier to style.
2
Assess what activities you will be doing that day, and plan your hairstyle accordingly. It is important to plan ahead so your hairstyle is appropriate for all the day’s activities. This helps you look more put together and avoid any awkward mishaps that could be caused by you needing to redo your hair in the middle of the day.
- If you have long hair and you have to run in PE that day, plan to wear your hair up.
- If you have an event that day where you need to look particularly nice, plan to style your hair appropriately.
3
Don’t overdo the products. Regardless of what products you are using, keep in mind that they are meant to supplement the natural beauty of your hair. Use the products you need to make your hair stay in place, but not so much that your hair appears greasy or too stiff.

Method 3

Method 3 of 4:

Taking Care of Personal Hygiene

1
Shower daily. Take a shower once a day using soap all over the body. Shampoo should be applied to your hair at least once a week. This shower should be in addition to any showers you take after gym class or any sports you participate in. ^{[2]
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2
Use deodorant every day. Even if you don’t believe you will be participating in any strenuous activity, apply deodorant each morning. They make sprays, gels, and solids in a variety of scents!
3
Tend to unwanted body hair. For boys, that means shaving or trimming the face consistently to avoid an unkempt beard. (If you haven't had the need to shave yet, you can skip this step!) For girls, that means shaving or waxing the underarms and legs.
4
Brush your teeth twice a day. Dentists recommend brushing your teeth before you go to bed and in the morning after breakfast (or when you wake up, if you don’t eat breakfast). You should always use a toothpaste that contains fluoride, and don’t forget to floss! ^{[3]
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Method 4

Method 4 of 4:

Complete Your Final Touches

1
Decide whether you want to wear perfume or cologne. There are many options, from light body sprays to the stronger perfumes and colognes. Fragrances smell slightly different on every person, so make sure you’ve tried yours on ahead of time to ensure you like the way it smells on you.
- Keep in mind that strong fragrances bother some people, so keep in light if you decide to go this route.
- You may choose to skip it altogether if you are going to be very active that day, or if you will be in tight quarters with people.
- Another reason you may skip this step is if your deodorant is scented. You don't want too many competing scents. Perfume and cologne are totally optional!
2
Apply makeup if you’d like. This is also optional, but makes some people feel more confident. There are many different kinds of makeup you can try, and the options can be overwhelming if you don’t use makeup often. Just try different products until you find the ones you feel the best in.
- If you decide to wear make up, try to keep it looking natural and refrain from applying too many colors or products on the same day.
- Always apply makeup on a clean face and remember to wash it off at the end of the day.
3
Get organized! Keep your backpack and purse (if applicable) tidy. You could have the best outfit and hair in school, but fumbling around with crumpled papers and items falling out of your bag could make you appear disheveled.
4
Smile! You look great and you are totally ready for school. Go get ‘em!

Expert Q&A

Question

How do you style with accessories?

Alice Wu
Image Consultant
Alice Wu is an Image Consultant and Personal Stylist based in San Francisco, California. She is the Owner of Styled by Alice, an image consulting service offering private styling services for men and women. Focused on personalizing the styling experience, Alice provides closet edits, personal shopping, wardrobe planning, and other services such as event styling.

Alice Wu

Image Consultant

Expert Answer

Look on social media and in magazines for inspiration. Then, use those images to help you decide on new accessories. For a simple accessory, try wearing a hat, a necklace, or even just a nice pair of shoes.
Question

How do I impress my crush?

Community Answer

Simply just do you; confidence is always attractive. Don't try to change yourself or act like something you're not.
Question

How do I know which perfume to use? Some of them are really strong, and some don't work at all.

Community Answer

Try some perfume from Bath & Body Works. Some of my favorites are Beautiful Day, Pretty as a Peach, and Black Cherry Merlot.