Q: Who is your fashion inspiration?

I get most of my fashion inspiration by watching runway collections from designers that I really enjoy, such as Commes des Garcons, Eckhaus Latta, and Maryam Nassir Zadeh. I get inspired by the shapes/silhouettes or the color schemes that they use. I also get a lot of ideas from things that I see characters wear in movies or TV shows. I try to use pieces from my own closet to match the outfits of the characters.

Q: What are your clothing essentials?

My clothing essentials are a nice pair of blue jeans, hoop earrings, a turtleneck, and a smile because I’m corny.

Q: Where are your favorite places to shop?

My favorite places to shop are at thrift stores like Unique and Village Discount because there’s such a huge variety of products and brands that you wouldn’t normally see collectively in one place for such a good price.

Q: What makes an outfit stand out?

An outfit stands out based on who’s wearing it. It’s a cliché, but being positive and confident with what you’re wearing (even though it’s really difficult sometimes) makes you automatically look good.

Q: What is your favorite shoe line?

My favorite shoe line is probably Mootsies Tootsies, which is this brand from the 90s that I always see at thrift stores; they make shoes that remind me of what Cher from Clueless would wear. I also think Aldo makes really cute shoes.

Q: What are your tips for fellow fashionistas?
Try to have as much fun as possible getting dressed. The worst thing that can happen to you if you get dressed the way you want is that somebody else doesn’t like it.

Q: Any additional comments?

I’m really glad that I learned how to sew and took the fashion class at Whitney Young because being able to make and modify my own clothes is a super useful skill and it’s also a lot of fun. When I have free time, I try to work on making my own clothes, either inspired by something I really like or based on my own designs. I think DIYing is really fun and I’ve improved a lot at the technical aspects from when I first started.