Full Text: A word from the models
Joan Gwak
Grey faded jeans, a beige checkered jacket thrifted in Seoul, and a pair of black heeled boots are the retro interpretation of Joan Gwak, a Medill sophomore from Fullerton, CA.
“I tried to choose something that someone would wear to a rollerskating rink,” Joan said.
As a member of the Refresh Dance Crew, Joan always has dance rehearsal in mind when putting together her outfit of the day. She wears baggy clothes in which she can easily dance, inspired by Instagram hip-hop dancers who demonstrate their stage presence through oversized hoodies, colorful t-shirts, cargo pants and chunky shoes.
Although she often shops at Adidas and Nike, Joan avoids form-fitting “athleisure” items as tight, revealing clothes can make hip-hop dancers look thin and their moves less powerful.
“If I want to look bigger while dancing then bigger clothes help emphasize that,” said Joan. “It also hides a lot of imprecision of a big group that needs to all dance at the same angle.”
Jessica Chen
Jessica Chen, a freshman from Boston, didn’t care much about her style in high school. She used to wear her track sweats to school everyday with the afternoon practices in mind. That started to change once she began to better understand her own preferences and the personality she wanted to communicate through her fashion.
Jessica often prefers dressing “loud” when hanging out with her friends in the city: a streetwear combination of joggers, oversized sweatshirts, t-shirts, anything radiates the persona of “a badass.”
Athleisure items with simple colors—cropped hoodies with black leggings, for example—define another layer of her aesthetics. When wearing halter tops and turtlenecks, she likes to add a corduroy or leather jacket and accentuate her look with a choker necklace or hoops.
Lewis Oh
It is hard to imagine that Lewis Oh, a devoted member of the Refresh Dance Crew, Northwestern’s hip-hop and urban dance team, loved preppy outfits going to high school in a Chicago suburb. Influenced by Korean TV shows, Lewis had idealized images of school uniforms, wearing button-down shirts, khaki pants, and styling his hair up with products. A black turtleneck sweater with a long, beige coat, aka the perfect K-Drama star look, used to be his go-to outfit, along with a pair of non- prescription glasses.
Now his wardrobe is more diverse, and he’s experimenting with vibrant colors, folded-up jeans and figuring out how to look good in casual clothing. It doesn’t mean he’s moved on completely from the Korean minimalist style; he just now appreciates a wider range of fashion. Lewis’ favorite outfit: an oversized shirt layered beneath his favorite bright-colored sweatshirt.
“Now I prefer wearing anything comfortable, although I try not to look like I didn’t clean myself in the morning,” Lewis said.
Jessica Lei
Jessica Lei often chooses more subdued colors over bright, flashy items when looking for what to wear on any given day. She enjoys simple sweatshirts and hoodies, accentuating her style with clean, white shoes. She recently got a turtleneck over winter break, and Jessica likes how it makes her look a bit more formal, put-together and mature.
Even if her mom always yells at her for being cheap, Jessica loves shopping at affordable stores like H&M, Forever 21, and TJ Maxx, searching for the perfect item among the piles of uninteresting items. Jessica has confessed that she hates making huge commitments to clothing purchases, even though her mom tells her to invest in a good pair of jeans or jacket.
Ester Wells
Ester Wells “avoids jeans at all costs” and instead wears joggers everywhere. She often mashes up the comfortable athleisure style with accessories: necklaces, bracelets, anklets and a ton of rings. “Let me tell you, taking off a literal handful of rings after a long day is the best,” she said. White sneakers are essential to her style, making her “feel active and sporty” even when she’s cramming for an exam at the Main Library.
Half-Korean and half-white, Ester felt pressured to suppress her Korean identity in high school. But as she took more ownership of her heritage, Ester was able to discover a style that she felt truly comfortable in. Now, fashion often serves as a confidence booster for Ester.
“Putting together a look in the morning pushes me to go about my day with more vigor and certainty,” Ester said.
Adrian Wan
Despite wearing a bright yellow hat and oversized sweatshirt with a design of the Mona Lisa to the photoshoot, Adrian Wan doesn’t think he has a distinct style. “Even if I do, it probably changes all the time,” he said.
The Medill junior’s biggest fashion challenge during Chicago’s winter months is figuring out how to look stylish without freezing. Especially on cold days, he has to layer up clothing but ends up “looking like a banana.”
Coming from Shenzhen, China, Adrian loves wearing denim and floral shirts on warm days, matching them with white shorts and leather sneakers to give a carefree and joyful vibe. During the winter, he compromises and puts on his cashmere overcoat, keeping himself warm while also adding some style.
