Even with a dress code in place, YULA students find ways to express themselves and their interests, ranging from sports to style and everything in between.

On the YULA Boys Division campus, students can be seen sporting a variety of footwear. The shoe scene ranges from athletic sneakers to hiking boots and Oxfords. Convenience, comfort, and durability play large roles in a student’s decision to wear a certain brand. For example, the Nike Dunk silhouette, a student favorite this year, features a sleek and simple design; however, while their popularity continues to skyrocket, their convenience and availability have been on the decline in recent years due to their hefty resale price tag. On the other hand, the Air Force 1 silhouette has long been a staple shoe at YULA – it’s affordable, versatile, and easily found in stores or online.

And while YULA students can be spotted on any given day wearing harder-to-obtain sneakers, such as Nike Dunks, Jordans, and the iconic Adidas Yeezy 350, many have abandoned these brands and are instead turning to alternative brands such as Vans, Converse, Reebok, and New Balance for the sheer comfort of these shoes. “They’ll keep my knees fresh for years. Buying one pair of New Balance is equivalent to 10 pairs of Nike,” Josh Fiedler (‘22) advocates. “I’m buying first for the quality and safety of my body and then for style.”

Jacob Goldschein (‘22), who can be seen wearing Ugg slides most days, jokes, “I wear them to recover from soccer practice.”

On the Girls Division campus, the fashion prototype of a YULA girl is a bit more difficult to pin down; however, there are certain unique fashion styles that the YULA girls have embraced. The top choice for skirts is the Dennis black box pleat skirt. Easy to pair with any top and shoe, these skirts have been a long-time YULA girl favorite. The Dennis plaid skirt variety is a second favorite on campus because many YULA girls embrace the preppy school-girl look of the skirt. While some girls sport black midi skirts to campus during the week, on Fridays, this number rises sharply because the girls wear longer skirts in preparation for Shabbat. When it comes to shoes on the Girls Division campus, Nikes are an all-time favorite. Black or white Comme des Garçons PLAY x Converse also strongly appeals to the student body, and the number of students who own and wear Veja has been increasing by the day. “Vejas are a shoe that combines both comfort and style. They’re also easy to pair with any outfit,” Daniella Zisblatt (‘22) says.