Hello lovelies! My name is Grace Xu, and I’m currently a freshman at the Wharton School of Business here at the University of Pennsylvania, most likely to be concentrating in finance, retail and possibly management or marketing. I absolutely love Philly, since it’s such a cool city, but I am most definitely a SoCal girl at heart. There’s nothing I love more than driving down the freeway at 80, brunching at cute hipster cafes or going up to beautiful views to see the city skyline. Growing up, I was always naturally drawn to arts and crafts, and I now do everything from sewing to knitting, to jewelry-making to interior decor. Most often, I like to give new life to something old with my projects, such as making necklaces out of micropipette tips from bio lab, or turning my mom’s vintage dress into a fun new two-piece set. You can often find me hoarding random objects like green hot dog baskets or apple cider bottles, only to make them into something totally unexpected (usually at weird hours late into the night).
As a result, my style takes influence from a lot of unexpected places. I like to always stay up to date with what’s coming down the runway, and I read tons of fashion magazines and blogs. I’m also heavily influenced by the style of previous eras, as I’m a firm believer that fashion is simply a cycle of re-interpretations of the same few trends. The only word I can really use to describe my style is eccentric, as I tend to dress in a completely different style everyday, whether that be more edgy or bohemian. My outfits also tend to be somewhat different from what you usually see, since I rarely shop in major retailers, but rather, I make and thrift most of my clothes. I do, however, like to keep things classic and rather minimalistic.
Outside of classes, I’m a beauty stylist for the WALK, Penn’s fashion publication, since hair and makeup have always been hobbies of mine and I’ve grown up doing a lot of styling. I also love Chinese traditional and hip hop dance (I know, an unexpected combination), and can often be found free styling in a studio at four in the morning.
I’m honored to have been selected as a CollegeFashionista Style Guru, and can’t wait for a great semester!
