Quad Style: Josie Sabbath

I’m Josie, I’m a first year, and right now I think I’m going to do a Creative Writing major. Maybe Jewish Studies too. Shout out to Students Organizing United with Labor (we meet Tuesdays at 7pm), #CareNotCops and SWAP (Students Working Against Prisons)—we’ve got an art show coming up that everyone should submit to—and to Southside Scribblers, which is an RSO that teaches creative writing at Ray Elementary every Friday. 

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My masc outfit is all goodwill.

How would you describe your personal style?

To be honest, I feel like my style is always changing, and that’s part of the reason why I like thrifting so much, since it makes it a lot less of a commitment to try out a look I’m not sure about. I’ve worn a TON  of really unfortunate outfits just trying to see if I can make them work. I love really loud patterns, like the ones you could find on your grandma’s upholstery. Right now, with masculine clothes, I think I might fit the “indie” scene, but to be honest I don’t really know what that means. With feminine stuff, it’s really more of a game of whatever fits, but I wear a lot of pink.

Where do you find style inspiration?

I think most of my fashion inspiration just comes from shopping with my friends and trying to take what I love about their clothes and make it work for me so I’m not totally stealing their style. I take a little from the queer punk scene and this one ‘90s HBO show, Queer as Folk. Mostly though, I end up wearing whatever catches my eye when I’m actually in a store.

“Embracing the way I look when I dress closer to how I feel has made me a lot more confident in my appearance.”

Do you have any fashion regrets?

Those unfortunate outfits I mentioned were mostly just clashing patterns. I think five [different patterns] are the most I’ve worn at once. That was good day. Honestly, if I were only dressing for myself, I’d always have more than one pattern on—I think there’s something that’s just so fun about seeing what color combinations come out and the way all the different designs come together to make a new whole. But for everyone else’s sake (people complained about headaches), I hold myself back.

The feminine [outfit] is a skirt and jacket from Value Village (a chain kinda like Village Discount) and a shirt from the Hyde Park Target. I love Target.

What is your relationship to fashion? Has it changed over time?

I only really started thinking about what I was wearing in middle school, and since then, fashion has always just been a way to try to make a good first impression. I think that’s all my relationship with fashion was until I actually started listening to the part of me that felt more feminine. I don’t think fashion is limited to menswear versus womenswear, but finding womenswear that’s flattering on a body like mine can be really challenging.

At the same time, finding clothes that fit well is hard no matter what your body [looks like], and embracing the way I look when I dress closer to how I feel has made me a lot more confident in my appearance. For some reason, it’s way easier for me to look in a mirror and hype myself up when I’m wearing a skirt. But in general, I’m pretty much just thinking about wearing stuff that makes me feel good about myself, and trying to find clothes that’ll make me excited to wake up and get dressed.

“I’m pretty much just thinking about wearing stuff that makes me feel good about myself, and trying to find clothes that’ll make me excited to wake up and get dressed.”

All photos courtesy of Natalia Rodriguez. View her online photography portfolio here.