Leia, 16, NYC
The way I dress & my look is becoming more and more important in helping me express my individuality. Way back I used to not give a shit (excuse my French, but it’s so true!) about how I looked or how I dressed. When I went through my “anti-everything” phase in middle school I only wore black sweatshirts and red pants with sneakers…I was all about “not being a billboard” for Abercrombie or Hollister. Eventually I grew out of that phase and started to dress in whatever I liked instead of trying to make a statement. I got into the having a “uniform” thing and only wore my dad’s oversized t-shirts and leggings with converse for a while too. My best friend/roommate Caitlin, who has the best fashion sense of anyone I know, made me stop that and has been continuing to help my style grow. She is slowly but surely teaching me the ways of the fashion world. I still wear over-sized t-shirts and sweaters (those are my favorite) and I now live in black skinny jeans or tights.
My style
Now though, it’s honestly whatever I find that I can afford or like enough to drop a lot of money on. I still wear my band t-shirts as well. My favorite sweatshirt is this Bruce Springsteen sweatshirt I bought on eBay for $20. Cheap canvas sneakers from Urban Outfitters on sale also make up a lot of my wardrobe.
Favorite t-shirt
My hair has been the same for almost 5 years now, with the recent addition of front bangs. I have never dyed my hair and I plan to keep it that way. I think I would look kind of silly with a different hair color. Also my friends and parents would probably kill me since people “wish for my hair color every day.” My hair is pretty long, past my shoulders. It has been this way for as long as I can remember as well. Recently I’ve had the urge to just chop off all my hair but that’s sort of unrealistic and I don’t think I would actually look that good and I don’t have the nerve to do it either. Oh well!
Fashion week
People always comment on my eye make up when they first meet me. I’ve been doing it this way for as long as I can remember. I use liquid eyeliner and do a tamed Amy Winehouse thing (mine looks better, always has always will). I am a perfectionist when it comes to my liquid eyeliner design because it’s pretty much the only make up I wear except for lipstick.
Also one thing I wear every day is my silver ring with turquoise triangles on it. I found it under my couch one day a year ago or so and haven’t taken it off since. I feel naked or like something is missing without it. I have sort of chubby fingers so it’s hard for me to find rings that fit, but this one fits perfectly and is real silver so it doesn’t leave that gross greenish mark on my finger if I never take it off. I believe it was my grandmother’s (so says my dad). While on the topic of fingers, let me move to the bigger picture: my hands. I almost always have some sort of marking on the back of my hand from going to shows. It usually signifies that I have paid and/or I am under 21. Right now I have two blue stamps on the backs of my hands from a show I went to last night. Wristbands from shows also tend to stay on my wrist for a while as well – I’m still wearing an orange wristband that states “Admit One” on it from a show I went to in October. This will probably stay on my wrist until it either: starts to smell weird (gross, I know), loses its color, or someone mentions that it’s from a month ago and I should probably take it off.
My hands!
Bands
…And of course: I always have a camera on me.
As far as style inspiration goes…I would say that I usually get the best ideas from my friends, specifically Caitlin and Katie, who have the best style out of any of my friends as far as I’m concerned. Musicians I like usually inspire me in some way, and I always wish I could dress like the people The Sartorialist finds. One blog that I love is nerdboyfriend.com <http://nerdboyfriend.com> . I love menswear so much more than clothing for women. I tend to find myself buying my favorite items in the men’s section of clothing stores.
French guy
Burberry
If I could invent a beauty product I would make liquid eyeliner that does not wear away or smudge. Like I said before, I am a total perfectionist when it comes to my eye makeup and at the end of the day when I look in the mirror and see that one of my eyes isn’t like the other, it really bothers me.
London has a huge roll in the fashion/beauty scene! I mean, seriously…that IS where punk started, isn’t it? Some of the most fashionable people I know are from London. Most of my favorite musicians from London have an impeccable sense of style. As far as my knowledge of fashion goes, so many trends start in London!
