Quad Style: Bella Levy
My name is Isabella Levy, but everyone calls me Bella. I’m a third year psychology major, human rights minor, premed. I’m the co-communications director of GlobeMed, the secretary of Be the Match on Campus, and I have produced and worked on several short films with Fire Escape Films. I am also a research assistant at the Social Cognitive Neuroscience Lab. I really love learning to speak different languages, so I speak a decent amount of Spanish and I’m currently learning French in Paris for study abroad. I also play the piano, sing, and sometimes write songs!
How would you describe your personal style?
I would describe my style as classy, with a little grunge. I tend to wear darker colors on the whole, although I believe that Paris has brought more color to my style. I have been really into color accents here, particularly red.
Where do you find style inspiration?
Honestly I think that I am more inspired by my friends and family than anything else. My mom has great style; she wears a lot of button downs and white pants and pearls. Although I don’t dress like that, I’m inspired by the simplicity and the elegance of her outfit choices. My friends always seem to know what is or is not trendy, so I definitely take tips from them–I make mental notes both on their particularly good outfits and on their thoughts whenever we go shopping.
Where do you like to shop?
I love Brandy Melville, which is cliché considering I’m from LA but they have so many good basic, sort of staple pieces. I used to like Top Shop more, but I feel as though it’s become pricier while sacrificing quality. I like Free People a lot too, but it’s also pretty expensive!
Do you have any fashion regrets?
I don’t know if this counts as a fashion regret, but the summer after eighth grade I went to visit my aunt and she decided that it would be fun to cut my hair super short and surprise my mom. I thought that sounded good, especially coming from my super chic aunt, but it turns out that cutting my hair super short made it crazy curly and unmanageable. It looked like I had an afro–definitely never doing that again!
What is your relationship to fashion? Has it changed over time?
I think fashion has become more important to me overtime. When I was really little, around preschool age, I was all about everything being pink and glittery and over the top. I had this crazy pink feathery dress that shed like crazy that I refused to take off. Throughout elementary and middle school I didn’t think about fashion as much. Then around the beginning of high school, I circled back and realized that what you wear can give a sort of immediate first impression and I believe that made fashion take on a bigger role in my life.
Why is fashion important to you?
Fashion is important to me because it is a really immediate way of expressing yourself. I like to wear clothes that I feel good in and that make me feel good. When I have on a particularly good outfit (and especially when my bra and underwear match!) it gives me a sense of confidence, an I-can-do-anything-I-set-my-mind-to attitude that I really value and think is super important.
All images courtesy of Olivia Jia