Getting revved and ready to start of a new rad semester with CollegeFashionista and a whole new year off with a bang (and actual bangs)! My name is Natalie, and this will be my fifth (!) semester as a Style Guru with the CollegeFashionista team, and my third at College for Creative Studies in Detroit. I’ll be officially adding to my advertising design major by taking on a minor in the recently-interned fashion accessories department in fashion marketing and trends—I have no idea what’s in store, but my spidey-style senses feel more tingly than trepidatious at this new venture.
I was reading an article on Man Repeller about finding “your silhouette,” the go-to style that defines “you.” I took a serious look through my closet and found that mine is something of a throwback-gone-edgy look—like 18th century Romantic meets ’20s glam meets rocker chic. It makes sense, trust me. I might wear pieces from fashion’s past, but I’m also having a love affair with the glitter brow trend and a new ‘do. In the look pictures, I kind of conglomerated that, mixing a vintage blouse with a pair of high-waisted skinnies, socks ‘n’ strappy wedges, and, with ’80s being the next big thing, a punk-style moto vest in my fave maroon hue (shoutout to Who What Wear x Target).
However, what really personalizes a look for me is the accessories. Going to school in Detroit, a city founded in 1701 (before the U.S. was even a thing), I’m surrounded by history and rebirth. One of the major parts of Motown was the Hudson’s department store. Though now gone, the shopping hub really was the heart of the city. Besides a couple of crystals, I accessorized with a vintage Hudson’s charge tag—matching the Hudson’s store insignia tattooed behind my ear. Something there to remind me to branch out while staying rooted in myself.
Though what I’m studying is all about looking at what’s ahead (both in advertising and fashion accessories), the quote “sometimes, you have to look back in order to understand the things that lie ahead” really resonates with me—something I tend to reflect in my sartorial choices. Nothing is new, and everything is recycled.
So, here’s to using the past (yes, even all that nasty 2016 negativity), and turning it into a red ‘n’ rad shiny new year!
