Groutfit Tuesday

On the surface, days like Groutfit Tuesday and PJ Wednesday are just excuses for the senior class wears ridiculous outfits. But to the students involved, it’s about uniting their class during their final year together.

The idea for Groutfit Tuesday began in October, when Dylon Thompson and Jacob Fradillada (‘20) adopted the term, which is a portmanteau of the words gray and outfit. For the next five weeks, a large portion of the senior class wore all gray as part of Groutfit Tuesday. Soon after, signs were posted on bulletin boards and social media spreading the message to wear all gray. The event was later changed to PJ Wednesday, which had a similar cult following. These events were created to bring the senior class together, and for the students involved it has done exactly that.

Participation in Groutfit Tuesday and its associated events is not as high as other school events, but participants find great value in the event. “I felt like it was a really cool way to bring the senior class together, just something fun that we all did,” said Groutfit Tuesday and PJ Wednesday participant Signe Kula (‘20). The participants in Fradillada and Thompson’s days enjoy the camaraderie of wearing the outlandish outfits and often compare it to spirit week.

It is impossible to please everyone with a theme day. Some students are comfortable with one and not the other, and as a result, participation sees natural ebbs and flows. “[I didn’t like] that I’d be wearing my PJs to school,” said Cole Golding (‘20). Golding was a repeat Groutfit Tuesday participant, and enjoyed the freedom of the day. “Groutfit Tuesday is just a gray outfit, it can be anything. I could wear gray khakis or something like that,” he said. Golding, like Kula, spoke highly of what the event brings to their class: unity. “It’s bringing people in the grade together,” Golding said, adding “it’s fun to see everyone’s ‘groutfits’.”

Thompson describes a Groutfit as “an outfit that is entirely gray, from head to toe. Hence the name, which means gray outfit.” The idea for a Groutfit wasn’t created on a whim, as the first-ever was worn by a friend of Fradillada and Thompson, Mark Hodge. “I saw Mark at school wearing a full Groutfit, but it was completely unintentional,” said Fradillada. Hodge enjoys the joke, as it is in good spirit, and is proud to have worn the outfit that started it all.

“I felt honored as time went on, and people were making it special, from something I created,” said Hodge.

Inspired by Hodge’s unique style, Hodge, Fradillada, and Thompson began to organize the rest of their friend group to all wear Groutfits. Shortly after, when Thompson designed a poster to advertise the phenomenon in the Senior Core, participation grew swiftly. The largest Groutfit Tuesday had roughly 35 recorded participants, and Thompson noted that many more may have participated, but did not sign their name on the “official” poster, posted in the senior core.

Groutfit Tuesday was declared dead by Thompson during a speech in the Senior Core on November 12th, as a result of an Instagram poll where an overwhelming majority voted to start a new tradition. This led to PJ Wednesday, and the founders of Groutfit Tuesday have plans to keep things interesting in the future.

“People stopped wanting to wear gray outfits all the time, so we came to the conclusion that we would do something else fun. It’s fun for the class, and it’s a nice thing to bring us together,” said Thompson. Thompson added that further changes would likely occur on a monthly basis, and that he looks to continue the tradition for as long as possible.

While Groutfit Tuesday may be over, its essence still lives on with Thompson and Fradillada planning many more days for the senior class in the future. They both hope to continue this weekly tradition until the senior class inevitably has Cap & Gown Day on June 12th.