Hello, hola, guten Tag, miło cię poznać and Konnichiwa! My name is Olivia Laskowski and I’ve just moved to Boston to start my freshman year at Northeastern University to study International Business (for finance and German) and to minor in modern languages. Exploration of the different cultures of my family and the world, through old photographs, a foreign exchange in Germany and language learning has been a central part of me becoming who I am and discovering my fashion sense. My biggest “aha” fashion moments have come when packing for trips, because that’s where I see what I really love in my wardrobe.
My laid back but now booming hometown of Nashville has had a huge bearing on my style; the hipsters pouring out of every nook and cranny are always pushing me to try for the “effortless but artful” look. This combined with my job at Madewell and my love for denim has resulted in a love of all things textured, easy, oversized and quietly colored. Although a huge chunk of my current wardrobe is Madewell (thank you, employee discount), nothing inspires me more than seeing people mixing it up. Even though I’d wear denim-on-denim-on-denim for every outfit if I could, mismatched patterns, striking color and texture placement done well never cease to stop me in my tracks.
I take most of my daily inspiration from strangers I pass while I’m out and about, but I have a soft spot for the street style of Soo Joo Park, the Olsen Twins, Alexa Chung and Olivia Palmero. I religiously follow Madewell look books, but when I watch the runways, I keep my eyes peeled for inspiration from Alexander Wang, Prada, Dior (in the Raf Simons era) and Yohji Yamamoto. My love of fashion started with the short summer classes I took as a pre-teen at a local college, and have grown steadily with my magazine subscription list and social media usage. Beyond what I see on the street, a beautiful Instagram might be the second best inspiration.
The question I ask when dressing myself, usually, is “if I came across an amazing mural, would this outfit look cool in front of it, no matter what it was?” And that sounds odd, but it works for me. Thus, my daily looks are a whirlwind of denim, more denim, gold accents, leather, tons of black and white, odd textures and some carefully curated print items. I’m huge on material choice, and the up-close look of fabrics makes or breaks my purchases.
My summer to fall transition wardrobe often features my favorite ever, endlessly trusty denim jacket in Ellery wash, my high riser skinny skinny jeans (usually black) and my worn to death and most complimented clothing item ever, the Free People Lost Valley Bootie. I wear at least one of these every day, and my favorite way to mix it up while it is super hot here in Nashville is with my favorite lip color, D for Danger.
I’m hoping to find someone to make me look as decent in photos as my best friend Claire does, and I can’t wait to share more of what I discover on the streets of Boston Proper. Stay cool, y’all!
