Hi there, Fashionistas and Fashionistos! My name is Katie Gassmann, part time Style Guru, part time sushi eater and full time student at Western Illinois University. In May I will be graduating with a degree in Fashion Merchandising, and I cannot seem to find the words to express my excitement to be part of CollegeFashionista for a fourth semester (but I’ll certainly do by best).
Western Illinois University isn’t exactly what one might expect when thinking about a school offering a fashion merchandising degree. Neatly nestled between corn and soybean fields, Macomb, Illinois has created the perfect environment for students to get creative. So, that creativity is exactly what I hope to capture in my final semester! From the classroom to the gym to the on-campus events, there is never a shortage of opportunities to showcase all the fashion Western Illinois University has to offer.
On my own style, CollegeFashionista has really given me to the opportunity to discover my own style. As a child I was as much a tomboy as a little girl could get. Jeans and T-shirts made up my wardrobe, but somewhere along the way I discovered the joys of devouring the latest Vogue; the rest is history.
I never know quite how to describe my own style—the edgier side of girly prep, perhaps? I have a love affair with all things Valentino, and I just cannot resist Kate Spade and all her bows. I love to draw inspiration from old episodes of Sex and the City, the city of L.A. and New England. This probably explains my style identity crisis, but I’m perfectly happy exploring all the different sides of fashion. That is why CollegeFashionista has become such an important part of my life for the last year and a half.
So while my collections of Vogue have continued to grow, CollegeFashionista has given me the best opportunity to explore every aspect of what makes up a fantastic outfit on a college campus. In addition, this is the first semester that I won’t be alone in reporting on campus. I have two new Style Gurus joining me for the first time this semester, and now the possibilities are endless. Join me as we show the rest of the Internet that living in a small town doesn’t mean there isn’t big fashion to discover.
