Red/White Week is one of the most unique and fun times of year at Manual. School spirit is at a high and students’ creativity is on display. Yet sometimes, students can run into issues when trying to find the best apparel for the various themes. RedEye set out to help students get their looks together for the upcoming festivities.

The week’s schedule is as follows: Surfers vs. Bikers on Monday, Opposite Day on Tuesday, Decades Day on Wednesday, Doomsday on Halloween and Spirit Day on Friday.

The easiest theme to prepare for is arguably Spirit Day. Manual sells school merch in the cafeteria store, but if that’s out of reach, wearing red, black and/or white is a fine second option. Many students also wear face paint or makeup using those colors.

“Doomsday” is open to interpretation. It’s on Halloween, so anything and everything spooky could be an option. Costumes are sold all around the city this time of year. While some students choose to buy a new costume for spirit week, others choose to create their own. Bedsheet ghosts and toilet paper mummies can be spotted roaming the halls on Doomsday.

The student body voted for three of the themes this year, and Surfers vs. Bikers, Opposite Day and Decades Day won out. Surfers vs. Bikers should be simple enough. Swim shirts and shorts are good for surfers. Leather jackets and jeans, or heck, even any dark jacket with dark pants would serve the biker theme well.

Decades Day and Opposite Day are more open ended. Opposite Day could be just about anything, but there are some specific ideas you could use if you’re up for it, and have a buddy willing to work with you. Nerd vs. Jock, Goth vs. Cheerleader, Batman vs. Joker, Sith vs. Jedi, Spider-Man vs. Doc Ock… and the list goes on. If you don’t have a partner though, you can still be a variety of things. Coming to school as a Male student or dressing in clothes you’d never normally wear are two perfectly acceptable costumes. 

Decades Day is less open-ended, but still has plenty of room to maneuver. You could go for bell bottom jeans for the 70s or outrageous poofy hairstyles for the 80s. Red/White week allows students to be creative and have fun by expressing themselves, and is a truly beautiful time for the school. Be creative and inspiring, and remember, the most important part of Red/White Week is to have fun.