Quad Style: Veronica Myers
Meet Veronica Myers, a third year double majoring in Sociology and Art History and minoring in Human Rights. She’s one of the captains for the Women’s Varsity Lacrosse Team and an intern at the Smart Museum!
The top, jeans, belt, and shoes are all thrifted. The only part of this outfit that I actually bought retail are the socks, because Uniqlo was having a sale.
How would you describe your personal style?
My personal style is definitely heavily influenced by the 70s and 80s, not because I intentionally try to make it so, but because thrift stores are chock full of shoulder pads and tailored pants and bold prints, and I also steal a lot of clothing from my mom and dad’s closets. Someone once told me that I dress like a kindergarten teacher... I’m not really sure what that means, but I guess that’s also something to consider.
Where do you find style inspiration?
This might sound cliché, but my friends!! Especially in college, where we’re all just trying to figure things out and push boundaries, I feel like we’re more willing to take risks and try new things, which leads to a lot of really fascinating looks.
Where do you like to shop?
Village Discount is my holy grail and definitely where I shop the most, but back home in downtown Ventura there’s a line of thrift stores that my friends and I will hit up every time we’re home for break. If I’m shopping retail, my go-to stores are usually Uniqlo, Zara, Gap, or Target. Also, a good deal of my clothing comes from pieces my parents have held onto but don’t wear anymore (the best being a grey crop top that my dad used to wear during his football playing UCLA college days!).
Do you have any fashion regrets?
I used to try way too hard in high school and took everything I wore very seriously. I was so focused on a highly curated look that at one point I carried around an artist satchel/briefcase as my school backpack for like, two years? I don’t really regret being so willing to dive into something, but I do regret committing to the satchel itself because I could only fit one notebook and a pencil pouch in it, so I ended up having to carry all of my textbooks in my arms.
The trench coat is my mom’s from when she was a young adult, the top and pants are both thrifted, and the shoes I’m pretty sure are from DSW.
What is your relationship to fashion? Has it changed over time?
My relationship to fashion has changed dramatically over time, and it continues to evolve. I think growing up, we (especially young women) are taught that we need to fit into clothes, or modify ourselves to fit within a certain style, and for a really long time I tried to do that.
I think that’s why I love thrifted clothes so much, because you have no idea and no control over what kind of sizes/shapes/forms/fits you’re going to find. Suddenly, rather than trying to fit into clothing, it becomes a process of tailoring the clothing to you; a belt here, a shirt tuck there, cuffing an ankle, etc. In that way fashion has become such a personalized and individualized experience for me, and it’s become so much more fun and so much more freeing to discover the ways in which I can fashion clothing to this body of mine.
Why is fashion important to you?
I never put too much time or effort or thought into what I’m wearing, and I think that’s why it’s so important to me. My personal style reminds me not to take life too seriously, and to just have fun with it. If I want to wear a floor length velvet gown, or bright red overalls, or high waisted jeans for the fifth day in a row, why not?
With so many other things going on, sourcing joy from what you wear seems so insignificant, but it can be so gratifying. Maybe ten years from now I’ll look back at what I’m wearing today and think, “wow what was I thinking,” but it doesn’t really matter because I’m thoroughly enjoying being me in this moment, and that to me is everything.
All images courtesy of Angela Liu.
