Hey y’all! I guess now, right at the introduction, would be a good time to give you a fair warning of the possible incorporation of my Southern twang into my future posts.
My name is Carly Boyle and I am a junior studying Psychology, Business Administration and Spanish at Clemson University. You will pretty much always find me accessorized with a dark red lip, and my Snapchat feed consists almost exclusively of Gus, my pit-lab puppy. I am a Clemson Tigers enthusiast, and you can find me in the stands of the student section at every home football game. I love a good coffeehouse drink, but I’m more of a brew-it-at-home-and-drink-it-black kind of girl.
My real interest and passion for clothing sparked around age 15, when I began experimenting and challenging myself when it came to styling my outfits everyday and doing my best to fight high school’s temptation to conform. I am ecstatic to work with all of you Fashionistas and Fashionistos and for the opportunity to partner with CollegeFashionista and use it as a platform for my work!
Consistent with my studies, color psychology is a rather fascinating field to me. The study of the human brain’s response to the presentation of a simple hue has enlightened the realms of marketing, internal design and fashion. Pay attention the next time you are out and about. Try and pick up on the frequent usage of the color yellow as a tactic to grab the attention of window shoppers. Notice the strategic placement of the color red near the clearance rack, as it is often associated with an increased heart rate and energy.
Now, imagine the color black. Why is it that so many people see an individual wearing either all-black or a combination of dark colors and think that they simply either lack taste or that they are expressing their dark inner feelings?
Well, studies have shown that some connotations associated with the color black are feelings of depression, loneliness and morbidity. So, I suppose I can’t get offended when people make this assumption about my style or myself. What I can do is demonstrate excitement and confidence about my clothing choices. I can represent the genius words of Neiman Marcus: “Women who wear black lead colorful lives.” I can show the sleek, chic, sophisticated side of the color black, but most importantly, I will throw in a pop of color here and there whenever I want to! Nobody dictates your style but you. Change your type of clothing every single day if that’s what you want to do. Be true to who you are. Wear what you want.
To leave on a quote of Gianni Versace, one of the most prominent fashionistos himself: “Don’t be into trends. Don’t make fashion own you, but you decide what you are, what you want to express by the way you dress and the way to live.”
