INDIVIDUALITY OF FASHION

Iloveto see people with unique, personal styles. When passing by outfits that look the same every day, seeing a unique coat or cool pair of shoes, like a pair of vintage cowboy boots, or an old suede coat really inspires me. A few days ago, in the dining hall, I saw a man wearing the highest-waisted pants I had ever seen. The ensemble was complete with a button-down shirt and colorful suspenders. When looking at his outfit, all I could wonder about was how he developed his personal style and what inspired his outfit.

So, in order to discover what inspires people’s personal style, I started to ask questions. I asked my roommates, my friends, and even the people next to me in lectures: “What is your biggest style inspiration?” After hearing everyone’s response I was able to pinpoint some personal style inspiration down to celebs, content, and ultimately confidence.

When asking Emma Nazerno, 19, about what inspires her, she said, “I’m inspired by Princess Diana!” One of the most common sources of inspiration for people seemed to be celebrities such as Bella Hadid, Alexa Demi, and LilyRose Depp. From casual paparazzi pics to red-carpet glam, celebrities have the ability to inspire people with their luxurious wardrobes and personal stylists.

Another huge source of people’s inspiration and personal style comes from the “aesthetics” they relate with the most. An aesthetic is a label put on to a specific style or pieces of clothing to summarize the feelings that the aesthetic invokes. These aesthetics are commonly found on content creation platforms such as Pinterest. On this application, people can create “boards” centered around certain aesthetics. People will gravitate toward a specific aesthetic to provide inspiration for their daily outfits. Some of the most common aesthetics mentioned were coquette, dark academia, and coastal grandmother. But arguably, confidence is the most important factor when finding something that suits one’s personal style. When talking to my classmate Sonya Godfrey, 19, she told me that when picking out an outfit she makes sure to choose something that makes her feel “confident and comfortable.” Personally, a pair of low-rise jeans and tons of accessories are the key to making me feel confident in an outfit.

To find out more on the topic, I talked to the models that are working on this piece with us to gather some information on what inspires their personal style. First I talked to Sachiko Nishikawa, 19, and asked her to describe her aesthetic. What inspires you the most?

“That’s such a good question and not a simple answer. But I think I would have to say my aesthetic is colorful, fairy-esque, boho chic, and giving Cancer energy,” she said. “As for what inspires me, I’d say my style is inspired by many different things and people, and honestly whatever I’m feeling that day, I attribute a lot of my style inspiration to Kali Uchis, Alexa Demie, Angel Moret, and Bella Hadid’s clean, colorful, and individual & personal styles.”

Another model working for Align had the same/ other thoughts on this subject. “If I had to put my aesthetic into words I think I’d have to say dressed-up alternative. My biggest style inspiration is definitely @UniformsofDaryl on Instagram. He’s an Australian fashion model and makes really clean outfit combinations that are usually centered around being versatile and practical which I appreciate. When I’m getting dressed, I usually start with whatever shirt I’m resonating with… and build the rest of the outfit around that,” Joey’s Ryan, 22, said. “I’ve been really into layering lately. I don’t love dropping huge amounts of money on clothes so I thrift most of the clothes I own to stay within my college-student budget. There’s no interaction I love more than someone complimenting a shirt of mine and being able to answer something along the lines of, “Thank you, I found it for $5!”

Personal style is ultimately… personal. The ideas, inspirations, and thoughts that go into an outfit varies from individual to individual. Whether you find inspiration from celebs, content, or confidence, your style is ultimately going to be an amalgamation of things important to you.