In my experience in American high school (20 or so years ago now) I wouldn't say they're ridiculously overdressed, but certainly kind of an outlier, we might've had a couple girls dress like that on any given day. They'd also probably be violating or at least very close to the limits of my school's dress code with the skirt lengths.

The left one looks about right to me though. Maybe slightly more dressed up than average, but would blend into most crowds well enough. Except for the heels, I wasn't exactly looking at people's shoes but I don't remember anyone ever wearing heels to school unless there was some sort of special event.

In general, I'd say the average high schooler back then wore a t shirt or maybe a sports jersey, and if it was cold maybe some of them wore a flannel shirt sweater of some kind (mostly the girls for sweaters)

A hoodie if it was cold

Jeans, sweatpants, sometimes pajama pants, shorts when it was hot out, cargo pants (mostly the guys) and once in a while some of the girls would mix in a skirt or dress, but not often.

You'd also get a handful of preppier kids with khakis and polo shirts or a button-up, a few goths or artsy types, etc. who might wear something crazy, the one weirdo who wore a suit, etc.

But mostly it was jeans or sweatpants and a t shirt.

I was more of a cargo pants and t shirt guy myself.

I don't pay too much attention to what my local teenagers are doing these days, but from what I've seen of them it looks like they've slipped further towards the sweatpants and pajamas end of the spectrum.

Americans wouldn't know how anyway.

If any country should have them it would be the US, they dress like clowns

You can blame the Brits (again) for school uniforms.
And later Baden-Powell specifically for inventing the predecessor of the Hitler jugend

Is the leftmost one "SO dressed up?" It's just skirts and pants and shirts.

We had some British software developers visit our group once and the contrast was stark. They wore suits and business dresses and we wore jeans and t-shirts. I mentioned the difference and one said they were expected to look professional. One of my gang said we were expected to write good code.

Okay yeah that sounds more nuanced.

In my school heels were commonplace, we used more layers in winter because we used to get heavy snow almost every year and I don't think I've ever seen anyone here in their pajamas in public but other than that it was probably not too different.

Look at their shoes

Luckily, from where I'm from, they were.

In elementary school i thought there would coordinated dances at high-school events.

American here.

Every single one of those girls would have been sent home for "inappropriate clothing" at my school.

If that concept existed here kids would probably go to school half-naked just to be sent home

Yeah, after a few times of that your parents get a visit from the truancy department and get threatened with prison time.

For some reason it's perfectly legal to home school your kids (and teach them nothing during that time) , but if you register them to a public school and they don't attend, straight to jail.

There was always that one kid, though. The hype beast on a budget that could turn 20 lewks on no money.

I think 3 of the dozen or so public schools around where I grew up had uniforms (lucky me, I went to one of them, ugh), while every private school (90% of which were some flavor of christian) had them. Most were more along the lines of 'dress code' than uniform though. I'm remembering khaki pants and bland colored polos more so than the blazer/tie/coat thing. It's probably because it's hot as balls on leather in the sun around here, so anything more than that would be killing kids or the AC budget.

I'm jealous that you can put your hair up like that. Mine would tie itself in about 20 interesting knots and stay that way

Went to HS in the late 90s. I didn't "dress up" but I didn't want to look grundge or a homeless person. My classmates used to call me Metro or a yuppie.

Every girl wore sweats, and every guy dressed like a hobo in the 90s.

Looking Metro means you got style

Every time I go to my kid's school, I am amazed at the difference between my day and now.

That time I went, there were kids just in pajamas and slippers. Not just one or two, dozens, and it wasn't some special day.

Then there's the dressier kids in lounge pants and whatever giant tshirt they pulled out of a drawer (or laundry basket) that were obviously their version of pajamas. Shit, one girl had very obviously rolled out of bed, thrown some leggings under her nightgown, slipped into crocs and jumped on the bus.

It's pretty cool tbh. Just no fucks given for meaningless frippery unless the individual kid/family wants it. Most of the kids were relaxed, nobody giving them shit for the way they're dressed, staff not even noticing at all. That's the way it should be imo. Whatever gets the kids in their seats and keeps everyone relatively engaged.

Yeah, there were still plenty of jeans and t-shirt sorts, a few of the button up shirt variants, and a handful of clothes hounds. But nobody was giving anyone shit about the clothes. From what my kid says, that wasn't just the case for the hour or so i was there that day.

We insist on clothes that are weather appropriate and acceptable for an emergency, but beyond that after seeing the norms there, we stopped giving a fuck.