“To Sir, With Love” (1967)
Working-class fashion never looked so good — Mod-collared minidresses and black leather jackets — as Sidney Poitier teaches a class of troubled East London high school students, ultimately earning their respect — and a stirring serenade by Lulu of the movie’s theme song.
“American Graffiti” (1973)
Proving high school isn’t really over until you head to college, this George Lucas film follows four pals (Ron Howard, Richard Dreyfuss, Paul Le Mat and Charles Martin Smith) and their girlfriends (one of them played by Cindy Williams) one summer night in 1962 as they cruise Main Street with their car radios at full blast. Their wardrobe mixes rebellion (jeans, white T-shirts) and innocence (Peter Pan blouses and plaid skirts), while sexy is supplied by the mysterious blonde (Suzanne Somers) in a white T-bird.
“Happy Days” (1974-1984)
Plaid button downs, varsity jackets and poodle skirts are the style staples on this hit sitcom about Jefferson High’s Richie Cunningham (Ron Howard) and his friends Ralph (Donny Most) and Potsie (Anson Williams). TV screens back then were only large enough for one truly cool dude: dropout tough guy Fonzie (Henry Winkler) with his pompadour hairstyle and black leather motorcycle jacket. Correctamundo!
“Welcome Back, Kotter” (1975-1979)
On this show that made John Travolta a star, the good, the bad and mostly the ugly of Seventies style is on display in Mr. Kotter’s (Gabe Kaplan’s) classroom. There is ultrasuede and corduroy galore — done in color combinations almost as annoying as Arnold Horshack’s (Ron Palillo) laugh. And so much hair: afros, unruly curls, mustaches, sideburns and, most notably, Vinnie Barbarino’s cascading locks. “Don’t touch the hair!”
“Grease” (1978)
John Travolta continues his run as a high school fashion icon in this hit movie musical about Fifties greaser Danny (Travolta) and good-girl exchange student Sandy (Olivia Newton-John) as they return to Rydell High School after sharing some summer love. Grease may be the word, but the style is skintight — especially in the big-reveal finale when Sandy sheds her sweet dresses for a black catsuit.
“Fame” (1980)
Set in New York’s High School for the Performing Arts, this movie captures the dreams and insecurities of a half-dozen students, including Coco (Irene Cara) and Bruno (Lee Curreri) as they pursue fame. The movie’s wardrobe helps spark the Eighties legwarmer craze and its theme song still makes you want to dance and leap in the street.
“Fast Times at Ridgemont High” (1982)
Southern California surfer-skateboarder style hit the big screen in the form of Jeff Spicoli (Sean Penn), Ridgemont High’s resident stoner who wears hooded Baja pullovers and unbuttoned gauzy cotton shirts as he orders pizza in class, invoking the ire of history teacher Mr. Hand (Ray Walston). Irreverent T-shirts, bad fast-food uniforms and a red bikini are other wardrobe notables worn by costars Judge Reinhold, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Phoebe Cates.
“Square Pegs” (1982-1983)
Sarah Jessica Parker’s first stab at a TV series was no “Sex and the City” blockbuster (it was canceled after just one season), but this underrated sitcom placed her squarely in the realm of sartorial adventuress as her brainy, bespectacled, overall-wearing character Patty Greene tries to fit in among the cool kids at Weemawee High.
“The Breakfast Club” (1985)
What does one wear to detention? If you’re Shermer High School’s basket-case bookworm Allison (Ally Sheedy), it’s an oversize sweater to match your overgrown bangs, and if you’re spoiled princess Claire (Molly Ringwald), it’s a chic pink blouse and wrap skirt. The guy’s wardrobe choices: a denim jacket over a plaid flannel shirt for delinquent John (Judd Nelson), a varsity jacket and white sneakers for jock Andrew (Emilio Estevez) and ankle-high khakis and a sweatshirt for brainiac Brian (Anthony Michael Hall). Don’t’, don’t, don’t you forget about this Brat Pack classic.
“Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” (1986)
Has there ever been a more eccentric high school wise guy than Ferris Bueller? Played with cheeky aplomb by Matthew Broderick, Ferris wears a leopard-print vest, a color-blocked leather bomber and white wingtips while faking sickness to ditch class — “Bueller, Bueller, Bueller” — with his girlfriend Sloane. His accessory of choice: friend Cameron’s dad’s Ferrari.
“Pretty in Pink” (1986)
Resourceful working-class Andie (Molly Ringwald) toils after school in a record store and rocks her own boho style. In true John Hughes tradition, she falls for wealthy preppy Blane (Andrew McCarthy), thus devastating her goofball friend Duckie (Jon Cryer) because he’s secretly in love with her. When prom rolls around and social cliques cause trouble in paradise, Andie decides to go alone. She whips up a quirky, one-of-a-kind ensemble from a thrift-store look and a friend’s old prom dress. She’s pretty…in pink. But is Blane or Duckie her man?
“Heathers” (1988)
Pleated skirts do battle with boxy late-Eighties blazers with seriously big shoulder pads in this cynical black comedy about Ohio high school student Veronica (Winona Ryder) and dark-hearted sociopath J.D. (Christian Slater) who scheme against a trio of cliquish mean girls named Heather. As the pair’s plot spirals into a succession of murders covered up with suicide notes, revenge — and power dressing — never looked so subversive.
“The Wonder Years” (1988-1993)
Kevin Arnold and Winnie Cooper 4-ever. When we first meet these two quintessentially suburban kids and their allergy-afflicted friend Paul Pfeiffer (Josh Saviano), they are in middle school in the late Sixties and by the time we say goodbye five seasons later, they are on the cusp of young adulthood. Doe-eyed Winnie (Danica McKellar) favors short A-line dresses and knee socks or jeans while sweet-faced Kevin (Fred Savage) loves his striped T-shirts and plaid button-downs. Adorable doesn’t even begin to describe it.
“Saved by the Bell” (1989-1993)
Southern California’s Bayside High School provides the setting for the trials and tribulations of teen-dream beauty Kelly (Tiffani Thiessen), gossip-loving fashionista Lisa (Lark Voorhies), too-cool-for-school troublemaker Zack, (Mark-Paul Gosselaar), loud-mouthed nerd Screetch (Dustin Diamond), straight-A good girl Jessie (Elizabeth Berkley) and sweetheart jock A.C. (Mario Lopez). Their high-school style: rompers, chambray and lots of denim.
“Beverly Hills 90210” (1990-2000)
High-waisted jeans, spandex minidresses worn with combat boots and cropped tops paired with matching shorts captures the fashion zeitgeist of upper-class Southern California teens in the Nineties as this hit drama chronicles the lives and loves of twins Brenda and Brandon Walsh (Shannen Doherty and Jason Priestley) and their friends at West Beverly Hills High: moody loner Dylan (Luke Perry), blonde vixen Kelly (Jennie Garth), brash rich kid Steve (Ian Ziering), DJ wannabe David (Brian Austin Green), goofy virgin Donna (Tori Spelling) and studious Andrea (Gabrielle Carteris).
“Blossom” (1990-1995)
Oh, Blossom — who told you that busy printed dresses and hats adorned with massive flowers are appropriate attire for anyone other than a Golden Girl? It certainly wasn’t your dad (Tess Wass) or older brothers Anthony (Michael Stoyanov) and Joey (Joey Lawrence). More likely: your mischievous little sidekick Six (Jenna von Oÿ). No matter, star Mayim Bialik perfectly captures nerdy teen angst and grows up to go to Harvard and play an even smarter geek on “The Big Bang Theory.”
“Dazed & Confused” (1993)
“All right, all right, all right,” this Richard Linklater cult classic takes place on the last day of school in 1976 in a small town in Texas as senior bully Fred O’Bannion (Ben Affleck) and star quarterback Randall “Pink” Floyd (Jason London) lead the hazing of incoming freshmen. Things get raucous, especially when they are around Wooderson (Matthew McConaughey), a twentysomething loser who drives a 1970 Chevelle Super Sport and still hangs out with high schoolers. Fashion-wise, it’s the bad old Seventies, man.
“My So-Called Life” (1994-1995)
Angela Chase and Jordan Catalano — as played by Claire Danes and Jared Leto, the on-again-off-again “It” couple of the mid-Nineties — make sullen teenage angst fashionable. Their denim-meets-black-and-plaid wardrobe and swoon-worthy gazes are impossibly addictive, if only for 19 episodes.
“Clueless” (1995)
As if. Arguably the most fashion-influential movie ever set in high school, this modern twist on Jane Austen’s “Emma” has clothes-obsessed rich-girl Cher Horowitz (Alicia Silverstone) and her friend Dionne (Stacey Dash) do a head-to-toe Eliza Doolittle-style makeover of bumbling new sophomore Tai (Brittany Murphy). Short plaid schoolgirl skirts and knee socks prove as infectious as Cher’s sincerity — and her on-screen chemistry with the adorable Josh (Paul Rudd) still makes hearts flutter 20 years later.
“Buffy the Vampire Slayer” (1997-2003)
As TV-series “slayer” Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and her “Scooby Gang” of evil fighters from Sunnydale High battle vampires and other dark forces, they do so in style — sleek black tank tops or dresses, leopard-print miniskirts, seriously sexy shoes — with tresses always perfectly coiffed.
“Dawson’s Creek” (1998-2003)
Dawson (James Van Der Beek) just wants to make movies. Joey (Katie Holmes) just wants to make Dawson love her. Pacey (Joshua Jackson) needs to figure out his future and Jen (Michelle Williams) seeks to escape her past. As they struggle to navigate the emotional waters of high school, these four friends from a small town manage to do so in effortlessly casual shorts-and-sundresses coastal style.
“Cruel Intentions” (1999)
The title says it all — well, almost. The intention is a manipulative scheme by soulless step-siblings Kathryn (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and Sebastian (Ryan Phillippe) to compromise the daughter of their elite Manhattan prep school’s headmaster. The cruel part is that Kathryn has challenged Sebastian to seduce and bed Annette (Reese Witherspoon), who has made it known that she plans to remain chaste until marriage. The wager: If Sebastian fails, Kathryn gets his vintage Jaguar Roadster, and if he wins, Sebastian gets Kathryn. Soap-opera-like stakes — and the plot keeps getting crueler and crueler.
“Election” (1999)
With her boyish wool vests and button-downs and Forties starlet bob, Tracy Flick (Reese Witherspoon) is an ambitious overachiever determined to win her Omaha high school’s election for class president. But beneath her prim exterior lives a vengeful vixen whose affair with a teacher got him fired. That teacher’s friend, Mr. McAllister (Matthew Broderick) tries to derail Tracy’s ruthless pursuit by convincing polite football player Paul Metzler (Chris Klein) to oppose her, as the plot takes insidious and unexpected twists and turns.
“The School of Rock” (2003)
Proving there’s no substitute for pure enthusiasm, down-on-his-luck rocker Dewey Finn (Jack Black) takes on a herculean task when he begins teaching at a private elementary school and secretly endeavors to turn fourth and fifth graders into the next great rock ’n’ roll band.
“The OC” (2003-2007)
This ensemble teen drama set in the wealthy Orange County, California enclave of Newport Beach revolves around troubled outsider Ryan (Ben McKenzie) navigating shallowness and culture clashes after he’s taken in by the philanthropic Cohen family, befriended by their socially awkward son Seth (Adam Brody) and pursues girl-next-door Marissa (Mischa Barton), whose style includes a designer-label wardrobe.
“Mean Girls” (2004)
This Tina Fey-penned dark comedy could have been called “Not So Pretty in Pink” as it follows the ugly exploits of high-school girl clique The Plastics as formerly home-schooled Cady Heron (Lindsay Lohan) tries to fit in — before making the fateful mistake of falling for the ex-boyfriend of the group’s alpha female Regina George (Rachel McAdams).
“High School Musical” (2006)
Before they were Beliebers, adolescent girls were gaga for Zac Efron, who as handsome athlete Troy in this effervescent Disney musical meets beautiful geek Gabriella (Vanessa Hudgens) at a karaoke contest. The two continue their romantic duet when they accidentally audition for their school’s musical and end up vying for the leads as the clique-ish co-captains of the drama department try to sabotage their chances — and their relationship.
“Friday Night Lights” (2006-2011)
When they’re not wearing their blue-and-white Dillon High School football uniforms — as they do every Friday night in season — these Texas teens, who include paralyzed star quarterback Jason (Scott Porter), his girlfriend Lyla (Minka Kelly), and the coach’s daughter Julie (Aimee Teegarden), hang out in another uniform of sorts: T-shirts and jeans.
“Gossip Girl” (2007-2012)
A private school on New York City’s Upper East Side — it doesn’t get much more privileged than that. So it’s no surprise that this teen drama’s five-year run included many haute-couture moments as Serena (Blake Lively), Blair (Leighton Meester) and Dan (Penn Badgley) try to solve a friend’s murder as a ruthless mystery blogger threatens to reveal their secrets.
“Glee” (2009—2015)
Uniforms and costumes take enter stage in this comedy-drama-musical about a group of misfit teens — including Rachel (Lea Michele), Finn (Cory Monteith), Santana (Naya Rivera) and Brittany (Heather Morris) — who join the McKinley High Glee Club and under the guidance of Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison) find their individual voices.