Lifestyle|

Help Your Fam Conquer Back-To-School Season In Style

How photographer Gray Benko styles her family — and herself — in PUMA’s Suede Classics.

Written by Una LaMarche
Photographer Gray Benko with her daughter Farris and her son Charlie. They are sitting on a white sw...

Every kid knows — and every parent remembers — how back-to-school shopping feels like choosing who you’re going to be this year. And let’s face it: A new school year can feel more like the new year than January 1st does. As children step up into new grades, classrooms, and phases of childhood, parents ease back into the groove of pick-ups and drop-offs, saying goodbye to Summer Fridays and hello to crisp fall weather (which means even adults need new clothes for layering, right? Right.)

For South Carolina-based photographer Gray Benko and her kids (daughter Farris, 12, and son Charlie, 9), the end of summer is also a great opportunity for family time. “We love going back-to-school shopping with the kids and planning their looks for the new year,” says Gray. “This always goes a really long way with getting the kids excited about going back to school and boosting their confidence!” To get started, Gray, Farris, and Charlie built back-to-school (and back-to-work!) looks anchored by sneakers from PUMA’s Suede Classics Collection. “They feel very ’70s to me,” says Gray, whose effortless style and artistic eye have earned her a massive online following. “[PUMAs] really help to take your look up a notch.” Ahead, take a look at how the Benkos styled their back-to-school looks based on their unique personalities.

Check Out Charlie’s Cool & Comfy Style

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Like most elementary-aged kids, “Charlie is more concerned with playing in the dirt and riding his bike with his friends than what he is wearing,” says Gray. “So I would say that he values comfort above all else.” Whether Charlie’s rocking a tank and camo shorts in a hot southern September or dressing things up with a crisp button-down, PUMA’s Suede Classic sneakers lend his look a fresh vintage vibe. Worn by icons of every generation, and available in five go-with-everything colors, these kids’ kicks never go out of style.

See Farris’s Trend-Setting Looks

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“My daughter, Farris, is entering her second year of middle school and, in true 12-year-old form, describes her seventh grade style as ‘swaggy,’” says Gray. She’s onto something: ‘Swaggy’ is the perfect descriptor for pairing comfortably chic PUMA suede sneakers with mix-and-match separates for tweens and teens. And with sixteen sweet color combos, the PUMA Suede Classic sneakers have something to go with literally everything in your — or your growing child’s — closet.

Land Gray’s Effortlessly Chic Vibes

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“In the summer and early fall, you will find me in a summer dress every single day,” says Gray. “Once it gets cold, you will find me in sweatpants and a sweatshirt every single day because I also detest being cold.” But no matter what temperature she’s dressing for, Gray knows that PUMA Suede Classic sneakers will always be in season: “I love that they work year-round!”

Once their versatile, play-friendly, and yes, extremely ‘swaggy’ PUMA-complemented looks are locked in, the Benkos dive headfirst into everyone’s back-to-school interests. Says Gray, “Farris loves back-to-school shopping and getting all of her school supplies ready, and Charlie loves finding out who his teachers will be and which friends will be in his class!” With their classic suede PUMA kicks and a mom who knows how to start off the season in style, we’d say the Benkos are already at the head of the class.