The warm weather and start of classes brought back students and their style. As Dons rolled in with their jorts, sneakers and signature accessories to savor the San Francisco sun, the Foghorn found some students to share their thoughts on fashion and the current trends.
Enjoying an iced coffee and salad at the newly opened Gleeson Café sat first-year kinesiology major Rae Le Fay, who wore a navy blue sweatshirt with stonewashed jorts, accompanied by black, brown and orange DC Court Graffik sneakers. Le Fay styled her hair in a messy bun to show off her piercings. Originally from the United Kingdom, Le Fay brought the majority of her clothes from thrift stores there. “I stole a lot of my clothes from my sister, but I also buy secondhand clothes online. I only buy secondhand clothes,” she said.
Another international student, Mar Ruiz, junior politics major from the Philippines, also prefers to shop secondhand, or even make his own clothes. “I have not shopped for any piece of clothing in the past year,” he said. “I usually make my own things.”
Ruiz first learned to sew before he came to college. “My mom started me on the sewing machine like right before I left for college, because she [was] like ‘Don’t spend too much money,’” he said. “I was a very fast-fashioned girly, and I would go on Shein almost every other week buying clothes, and that was not sustainable for me or the world.”
Ruiz has taken his sewing skills to the classroom at USF, spending his time in a costume design class. “[I make] a moodboard, [find] the materials and fabric I want to work with, and then go to the parlor in the [Education Building] and that’s where I sew things. If you see me there, please do not say hi. I am looking the worst there,” he said.
In addition to finding inspiration from modern Filipino wear, model Wisdom Kaye and Pinterest, Ruiz also uses his senses to decide how he wants to dress that day. “I think to myself, ‘Is this what I want to smell like? Is this what I want to taste like? Is this what I want people to hear?’” he said. “It’s very much to the senses of what I want to serve that day.”
Besides being seen on campus with his signature bandana scarf or Smiski AirPod Max’s, Ruiz can also be seen with a carabiner attached to his beltloop, holding trinkets and jingling every time he walks.
While Ruiz uses his senses to pick out his outfit for the day, other students use their REM state. Diego Gomez, senior design major, finds his trademark dapper black and white style in his slumbered fantasies. “My style inspiration is often revealed to me in my dreams,” Gomez said. “I’m from Washington, and the number one outfit is a hoodie and shorts,” he said. “I like putting more effort into what I’m wearing just because I like that sense of expression and not looking like I rolled out of bed.”
Kaye Balderas, sophomore media studies major, seconds Gomez, as she feels she is allowed to express herself in San Francisco more, in comparison to her hometown of Manila, Philippines. Balderas, who wore a floral skirt, a brown carpenter jacket with a white blouse under, and tall, brown leather boots said, “I feel like in Manila, it’s definitely more conservative. People don’t like extravagant clothing. If I were to go around in Manila wearing this right now, my brothers and my mom would probably be like, ‘You’re doing too much.’”
In San Francisco, Balderas usually finds her “whimsical and dainty” pieces at Goodwill, Salvation Army or Buffalo Exchange. If she wants to treat herself, she strolls to Brandy Melville. “One of my style [inspirations], as of lately, is Clairo” she said. “Her style is so feminine and dainty, and I am trying to embrace that whimsicality through my fashion, but also my life as well.”
Whether your outfit is inspired by your dreams, celebrities or your senses, USF students are leading the initiative to express themselves through style and sustainability.
Editor-in-Chief: Inés Ventura, Managing Editor: Dakota Duran, Chief Copy Editor: Liam Givens, Scene Editor: Francesca Cortellessa-Hale, Opinion Editor: Alice Thayer
