Thursday, January 29, 2015

A Clear Sense of Style: A Style Story

We are so excited that we have officially 8 more days until our Sun Devils Wear Prada event on February 6th! Be sure to buy your tickets here and have a blast with your fellow stylish Sun Devils!! Check out this video about our event and be sure to invite your friends!


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A great part of Style Stories is learning that a lot of women face a great deal of similarities in the journey of finding their own personal style- there are setbacks, victories, and a lot of learning about oneself as we develop our own fashion identities! 

With that in mind, Let's meet Alyssa! She's a senior with a major in Dance and we had the best time getting to know her and styling her with her beautiful CLEAR color characteristic. We think you'll relate to some (or maybe all) of her style story, especially since she's a college student who goes through a lot of the same obstacles we do!  Thanks Alyssa for being so personal with us, check out her style story below!



1. How do you describe your current personal style? Who has influenced you the most in your clothing choices?  I would definitely describe my personal style as edgy. I try to incorporate one of my leather jackets into almost every outfit I wear. And if leather doesn’t work, I will always manage to add some element of edginess with my jewelry. A couple of my favorite pieces are my bullet earrings, bracelet and necklace. I also have a love for studs, skulls, and black. The trick is to wear it in moderation, sneaking it in with basic outfits. That way I don’t look like I’m wearing an entire Hot Topic store. I also wear other styles at times, when I feel like switching it up, but this is the style I feel most myself while wearing. I’ve never really had a style icon, but as I’ve gotten older, I’ve begun to look to my sister-in-law for inspiration. She is usually my first contact when needing fashion advice.

2. When did your "style story" begin? What was your age and circumstances when you began to shop for yourself and choose styles for yourself? How did you personally feel about who you were at that stage of life?  I think it was back in 4th grade when I first started to actually voice my opinion to my mom when we went clothes shopping. She would always pick out the girliest, frilliest outfits, with ruffles and pouffy shoulders. I couldn’t stand it! I rebelled completely against that, picking out dark colors and anything with metal stud-work and fish-net. I was always pinned as the good girl and I wanted a new image. Changing my wardrobe didn’t change my behavior, but it did set a path of personal style that expanded into what I wear today.




3. What is your favorite personal feature and how do you "play it up" in expressing your personal style? Is it weird to say that I don’t have a favorite personal feature? It’s not because I hate all of my features; the opposite in fact. I love a lot of my features, I just don’t have one that stands out as my favorite. I’m always told that my facial features are very exotic, so I’ve been exploring how to play that up more when I do my makeup. 

4. Talk about your experiences shopping in boutiques, malls, or online clothing ordering. Me and malls have a love-hate relationship. It’s fun at first but I always get so frustrated about 20 minutes in and am ready to leave. The frustration comes from different things. Usually it’s because there are so many things that I would love to get and add to my wardrobe but I cannot afford them. Sometimes it’s because I can’t find exactly what I am looking for. Either way, I end up walking around the store for hours on end. I only really have fun shopping if I have a friend with me. When it comes to shopping online, I don’t. I like to browse websites, make a wish list and then never buy anything. The main concern I have with online shopping is that I can’t try anything on. I cannot risk spending money on an item unless I can be 100% sure that it will look great on me. 

5. What are one or two items that are the hardest for you to shop for, and why do you think that? I hate shopping for swimsuits. I used to be wear the skimpiest little bikinis but I no longer feel comfortable in them. I am very unsure what style of swimsuit would look good on me and my curves, and won’t be too revealing.

6. What do you LOVE to shop for? Name a few of your favorite items? I enjoy shopping for tops. I think a little too much. I have three drawers dedicated to tops, plus two-thirds of my closet. Mostly graphic t-shirts. I’m definitely a jeans and t-shirt type of girl. I was so excited when I learned some tricks on how to dress up a t-shirt to make it more fashionable. Accessorizing is becoming my new favorite thing. 

7. What do you DISLIKE the most to shop for? Name a few of your least liked items? I dislike shopping for pants the most. My hips have grown out a lot in the past couple years and as a result, I have gone through many pants. I am desperately holding on to a couple pairs that I just bought in the spring that no longer fit me. I really hate the process of trying on pants and trying to find the right fit. I always tend to be in-between sizes, one size too small, the next size too big. It’s exhausting.



8. When you shop for clothing, how do you feel about your body? What do you think is the most challenging part of your body to dress and why? I’ve come to accept the changes my body has gone through since high school. Though I can still get very discouraged when I’m shopping and nothing I try on seems to fit me right. My biggest challenges are my curves. Sometimes I will walk into the store with the mindset that I can still wear some of the things I used to be able to wear my freshman year of college. I’m still learning about what works for me and what doesn’t. 

Thanks Alyssa for sharing your style story and letting us get to know you!

We also have to thank Matt Le Photography for the phenomenal photos, Sephora and JCPenney for helping us out with this awesome photoshoot! Thank you all for loving our vision to "inspire ASU women to reveal their self worth through personal style"!

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