“What Happened to Jeans?”: Mpumalanga Woman Shows Grade 7 Class Farewell Party That Goes Viral

• A Mpumalanga woman shared a video of Buhle Primary School's Grade 7 farewell that went viral with over 4 million views
• The clip showed the difference between how the girls and boys dressed, with the young ladies in floor-length gowns and the boys in casual jeans, T-shirts and sneakers
• South Africans flooded the comments questioning what happened to the days of wearing jeans and All Stars to Grade 7 farewells

An Mpumalanga content creator posted a video that has South Africans debating how much childhood has changed. TikTok user @knowledge98 shared footage on 2 October 2025 with the caption:

"Bahle bantwana bagezile❤️ Farewell 2025💃💃."

The clip went viral, getting over 600,000 views, 35,000 reactions, and comments as people watched Buhle Primary School's Grade 7 learners arrive at their farewell party.

The video showed several students entering the school venue dressed to the nines. Every young girl wore a flawless formal dress with heels, perfectly styled hair, jewellery, and makeup. They carried matching handbags and walked confidently in their outfits, looking like young adults heading to a wedding or matric dance. The young boys, on the other hand, wore casual clothing like T-shirts and jeans with sneakers, showing a completely different approach to the event.

Many viewers were surprised to see Grade 7 learners dressed this formally, noting how different things were back in the day when people only wore jeans and T-shirts to their Grade 7 farewells. The video sparked debates about whether children are growing up too fast and losing the chance to just be kids.

Mzansi debates childhood and fashion

@_neilwe💋 asked:

"What happened to high waist jeans with all star 😭😭😭"

@khensi_n questioned:

"What happened to wearing jeans and crop tops for farewell? Aowa 😭😭😭"

@pria👸🏾😍graduate! pointed out:

"The boys have parents who understand that they're kids."

@_segooo.malete wrote:

"What happened to kids being kids, man 🫩?"

@mashandu🪐 defended:

"In as much as matric dance dresses now look like 'Durban July' dresses or whatever expensive occasion dresses. Yekelani iyngane, this generation is ICONIC.😝"

@womenkisser🙂‍↔️ shared:

"We just went to Wild Waters for farewell😭😭"

@lifeofjay❄️ argued:

"Kanti, what's wrong, guys? Why are OLD people in here talking about what they wore in their time? Y'all can't see that y'all are living in a different time compared to when you were this age? 🤷🏽‍♀"

When should kids care about clothes

According to experts at FatherStyle, young children don't use clothes to communicate like adults do. Kids should just be kids. They start caring more about their appearance when they want to show something about themselves or when they begin looking more like adults during puberty.

TikTok user @knowledge98 shows 12 and 13-year-olds caught between childhood and becoming teenagers. Some people felt the girls' formal dresses made them grow up too fast and praised the boys' casual look. Others said this generation views fashion differently, and older people need to accept the change.

Watch the TikTok clip below:

More SA students in the news

• Briefly News recently reported on a Johannesburg matriculant who shared a devastating video about missing her matric dance after her dress arrived too late, and South Africans offered to take her to their own dances.
• A teacher's sweet moment with her pupils touched social media, with the video showing learners playing with her hair and proving that kids connect to kindness.
• Young learners showed their dreams at a career expo by dressing up as astronauts, firefighters, scientists, and doctors, and their confidence impressed everyone who saw the video.

Source: Briefly News