Hello! I’m Melissa DeOliveira, or Mel for short, and I am currently a sophomore in The Fashion Institute of Technology’s Communication Design program. Before you ask, no I cannot make you a dress, not because I don’t want to, but because my studies at F.I.T. primarily focus on creative technology. Although, I can make you a skirt, but that’s about the only thing I taught myself to make on my sewing machine (which currently collects dust in the corner of my room).
When I’m not drawing or making a skirt with a crooked hemline, I enjoy creating and consuming other types of art. As a pre-teen my nose was always stuck in angst ridden and fantastical novels. Now, you can find me reading poetry or biographies and every once and a while an over dramatic young adult fiction, which is probably better suited for a thirteen year old. Writing has also always been a huge part of my world, my words just seem to come out more eloquently when written rather than spoken. That being said, public speaking is definitely not a form of art I like to indulge in my free time.
But, who really cares about my dorky love for poetry? What we’re really here to talk about is my passion for fashion! Tacky sayings aside, style and fashion have been omnipresent forces in my life that have really shaped my adult personality. Some of my first memories include watching my grandparents sew, tailor and create in their dry-cleaning store. Ever since my mother stopped dressing me (fifth grade if you were wondering), a huge part of my self-expression was through my personal style. I don’t find putting effort into my appearance vain, I treat it as another form of art that I can express myself through. My style tells my story. Sometimes, my main character is a badass biker in a black leather jacket and sometimes she’s a ’50s heroine in a tea length skirt. Today in particular, she’s a modern Audrey Hepburn, with white retro sunglasses.
I’d like to thank CollegeFashionista for providing another platform to tell my story on. Thank you to anyone still reading this and I invite you to join the rest of my adventures on here! Let’s make this a #RAD semester!
