Alex Vail and I have collaborated to bring you this interview. Alex Vail asked the questions and I answered.
Q) Personal style – what is it?
A) Personal style is customizing and combining trends and other styles to create your own unique individual style. For example I love retro and vintage clothes, but also like newer styles, like blazers. So I combine them. I will wear a vintage dress or top with a cool modern blazer. I also love making things my own with pins and other accessories. I try uncommon colors with more simple styles also. I don’t stray too much into mainstream fashion, because that way I can stand out and not just look like every other girl.
Q) How can you find your individual style?
A) You can find your individual style by starting to explore styles that you like and that flatter you. Then change it up by choosing cool colors and patterns. One thing that will ensure that you have an individual style is if you don’t go by what all fashion magazines say. Take inspiration from them, but make it your own and experiment.
Q) Describe your style.
A) My style is all over the place. Sometimes I love wearing really girly and cute outfits, and then sometimes I like to be edgy. If I had to describe my style I would say it would be mostly vintage and indie inspired. I like very unique pieces that no one else will have. That’s why I love shopping at thrift, secondhand, and consignment stores. I often wear dresses and skirts. My style is inspired by the past and by nature. It is also inspired by fiction stories and characters. I want to stand out in a good way and I want to be individual.
Q) Can you define the meaning of the terms “fashion” and “style” and describe differences between them?
A) The term “fashion” to me, means a popular type/style of anything. For example “It is the latest fashion in hairstyles.” The term “style” to me, means a type of something that is not necessarily popular at the time or well known. For example “Her outfit represented a futuristic style.” The difference is that fashion means currently popular clothing and style is just a certain type of dress whether popular or not.
Q) Which things inspire you?
A) My fashion is inspired by many things. I am inspired by my friends, characters in books/movies/stories, nature, old styles, music, other cultures, and animals. I am inspired by colors and by images in movies and books. It would take me years to list everything I’m inspired by!
Q) Which 5 things should every fashionista have?
A) The five things that I think every fashionista should have are:
- Cardigan (they can be paired with most everything and can help you transition between fancy and casual)
- Funky tights (they are just awesome and can bring a lot of interest to an outfit)
- High-heels (they boost your confidence and once again, can dress up an otherwise casual outfit)
- Little black dress (Okay, I get this one from Coco Chanel but it’s true. It can be paired with virtually anything. It is a good base to build on)
- A black thick belt (they can be worn with almost anything and always look great)
Q) What should you consider, when you go shopping?
A) When I go shopping the first thing that I consider is the price. If it’s obviously overpriced than I’m not going to buy it, unless it is absolutely adorable and I won’t be able to get it anywhere else. The second thing I consider is quality of the clothing. I ask “Will it fall apart after only a few times wearing it?” The third thing that I consider is if buying it is worth it. I ask “How many times will I wear this?” The fourth thing that I consider is if it actually flatters me at all angles.
Q) Which role is reserved for accessorizes?
A) I don’t think that there is a definitive role for accessories. They can be the centerpiece of an outfit or add interest to an outfit. They can be there simply because they look good with the outfit. Just don’t overload with accessories though.
Q)Is it that important to pay attention at such details like haircut, make-up and nail-art?
A) I think that you should pay attention to those details because they can enhance your outfit or not look good with an outfit. For example if you are wearing a vintage dress you could do your makeup to resemble popular makeup looks during that period in history. If you were wearing a vintage dress from the fifties then maybe you could wear deep red lipstick. Hairstyle could also come into play here. You could put your hair into a vintage inspired hairstyle. I pay the least attention to nails. It’s not as important to me as other details.
Q) How can you bring a holiday in everyday life?
A) That is a hard question. I don’t usually have holiday inspired clothing. On the first day of spring I wore spring-like colors though. So yes, I guess I do have holiday inspired clothing. I think the best way is through accessories or colors. You have to careful with colors. You don’t want to wear green and red on Christmas. On Halloween I wore spider earrings and on Easter I wore a pink belt to represent spring. I think the best way is through subtle, with emphasis on subtle, accessories.
Q) What is flatness for you?
A) Flatness for me, is when an outfit has no life or interest. Colors like beige and gray are not very interesting and make the person wearing them look boring most of the time. Flatness also makes me think of cookie-cutter fashion. What I mean is when everyone is wearing the same thing. For example: Abercrombie t-shirt, leggings/jeans, and ugg boots. There is a real flatness and lack of interest there.
Q) Who is your fashion icon and why?
A) I can’t pick one fashion icon. I have so many of them. I can list a few though: Grace Kelly, Coco Chanel, Harold from “Harold and Maude”, Jackie O, and Sophia Loren. Oh and I can’t forget my best friend PurpleBabaushka. The reason is that I think that most of them have taken risks in fashion and each have their own unique style.
Q) What’s your favorite shop?
A) I don’t have one specific favorite shop but I like Forever 21, H&M, thrift shops, ModCloth.com, Savers, and Ikea for fabric.
Q) What’s your favorite fashion magazine?
A) My favorite fashion magazines are Rookiemag.com (which has a style section), Vogue, Teen Vogue, and FRUiTS (Japan). And for the last one it is actually spelled FRUiTS, it is not a mistake.
Q) What’s your favorite book about fashion?
A) My favorite books about fashion are Fruits by Shoichi Aoki and Fresh Fruits by Shoichi Aoki. They are all about Japanese street style.
Here is a cover of FRUiTS magazine. I will do a future post on it. Comment below!!
