School portraits / Senior year · September 2026
Please keep the shirt
Lovett’s old senior polos have become surprisingly difficult to retire.
Maiya Tomlin had reached senior year at Lovett and discovered that the school store could sell her a uniform. Just not quite the right uniform. The old polos had piping; the replacements did not. Such a small detail. I admire a school wardrobe that can conduct an entire fashion dispute within the permitted colors.
Her older sister Campbell had saved no polos. In Maiya’s account for the student paper, Campbell’s defense was excellent: ‘I’m sorry! I didn’t know they were endangered.’ A fair point. Most of us regard clearing out old school clothes as responsible housekeeping. It is upsetting to discover, years later, that you have destroyed a habitat.
Her friend Nadia passed along three polos and three skirts. Maiya planned to hand them to Nadia’s younger sister Naomi after graduation. I like a garment with arrangements for next year. It gives the rest of us something to aspire to.
Then there was the white polo. Maiya had just one. At Lovett, seniors paint their future college’s logo on white shirts at the end of Senior Week. Having found a scarce item, the next generation must contemplate putting paint on it. This is a bold conservation policy.
Writing in September, Maiya was hoping hers would reach Senior Week without a stain or a hole. She left that worry to April Maiya. Poor April Maiya. September has found her something lovely to wear, and several months in which to ruin it.