Hola, cómo estás, stranger!? My name is Melissa Perez, and I’m currently a junior at Florida International University in the city of Miami. This is my first semester interning as a Style Guru with CollegeFashionista, and I can’t wait to express my style to you! I can promise you that this little Cubanita has a lot in store for you.
Truth be told, I never saw fashion as fashion while I was growing up. I never saw what was so important about it at all or how expensive clothing actually was. It has taken me a long time to really figure out what fashion meant to me and what my style was going to be. Since Miami is so hot and humid, everybody has about the same closet: shorts, tank tops, flip-flops, and swimwear. If it’s wintertime, we simply layer it up with sweaters, long sleeves, thick pants, and scarfs. Nothing ever matched, but it’s because we don’t do cold in Miami.
My style varies day-to-day. I love the idea of being dressed up in couture attire while being painted head-to-toe in luxury brand makeup and modeling for Vogue magazine. In realistic terms, I do my best to take runway couture outfits and transform them into everyday street wear that won’t break the bank. I also love the British fashion culture, often being daring and bold with anything they wear. Don’t get me wrong though; I do enjoy my jeans, T-shirts, and hair up in a bun days. My usual everyday outfit is high-waisted jeans, a white T-shirt, a cardigan with any type of pattern, and cute scandals. As for accessories, I normally go for cute rings and anything with elephants or arrows.
I truly do believe that fashion and beauty go hand-in-hand. I grew up with makeup products such as Chanel, Dior, and Ralph Lauren in my household, so I understood the price and value of these items. However I wasn’t that little girl who wanted to play with her mother’s makeup. I had my own set of kid’s makeup that was hardly touched, unless I used it on my dolls. Makeup didn’t become a need in my life until I was 19 and just started working in retail. I realized just how much I truly had a passion for it.
To me, makeup and fashion are two birds of the same feather. Some people have told me that there are certain rules one must follow with both forms of art, and yet I find myself applying beauty products the way I want to and wearing clothing the way I want to wear them. Playing around with patterns and colors is something I have always found to be enjoyable. Having a simple style doesn’t hurt anybody, but playing around outside your comfort zone is always fun to do!
I am beyond excited to see everything CollegeFashionista has to offer me. Come join me, and we’ll stop along the way for some cafecitos!
