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WHAT PEOPLE ARE WEARING IN LA: DOCUMENTED

BY EMILY KIM

MELROSE

JAYDEN FRANKLIN 20 Y.O.

“My style is free, artistic, eye-catching, and attention grabbing.”

“I get my style inspiration from the music industry. I make music so I look at all the other artists I aspire to be and I try to add my own twist onto it.”

“I thrift very often for patches and materials so that I can cut them up and make shirts and pants and things like that.”

“Fashion allows me to show my inner emotions. However you are feeling today, you can put on. It’s not always like that, but I feel like you can describe how you feel and your energy by your fit. It’s like a statement, you know what I mean?”

“These jeans are from valavasis online, and they are custom made, custom tailored by my friend, he’s a designer. So he took some Levi’s jeans, opened them up and tailored them for me.”

“I got the bag online from Coach, and this studded belt is from Hot Topic. My grandmother gifted me these pearls.”

LERA CLARK 28 Y.O.

“I love shopping online at places like Princess Pollly, Lioness, and a bunch of like online stuff. For basics, I love Brandy Melville.”

“My bracelet and my necklace, and three of my rings are from Good Art. My earrings are from Brandy Melville, these little hoops.”

“My whole outfit is actually from Princess Polly and my shoes are Nike. My sunglasses are from Urban Outfitters.”

“I usually go on Pinterest for inspiration for like everything.”

“I’ll have phases where I’m like a little girly, but then a little edgy, and then put them together.”

“My outfit is from American Rag, Zara, Converse, and then the beanie is Holiday by Brockhampton. Earrings are from Etsy and Swarovski, and sunglasses are from Urban Outfitters, 2 for 25!”

“I’d describe my style as super sick.”

“My favorite place to shop is either here at the Fairfax Flea Market or American Rag. I also like Grailed, there’s always a lot of cool stuff on there.”

“My friends have this company, it’s called Good Art Hollywood, they do a bunch of silver jewelry. This pendant, this bracelet, this ring, and then this whole chain and pendants are from them. I also have a little fancy necklace from Gucci.”

“My first thought with fast fashion is just making it and keeping it sustainable. On one hand it’s tough because the industry is very demanding, but you only get one earth, so I think the pros kinda outweigh the cons there. Actually, most of the stuff I try to buy is either thrifted or secondhand because one I think there’s a cool like reproduction of history itself and like fashion history, but also vintage clothes like, when they are worn, they just look cooler and sometimes I think brand name stuff is a little too sharp and a little too crisp. It looks too new. Also, there’s a lot of unique stuff you can find at thrift stores.”

“I kinda like to relate fashion to the old saying ‘never judge a book by it’s cover’. I think fashion kind of defies that statement because it is so expressive, an it is the first thing someone might notice about you. What you wear comes from within and if you wear some stuff that you feel like is a part of you by just like the most outside look of yourself, I think it is kind of an art form.”

CORBYN BESSON 23 Y.O.

KAHLEMA 16 Y.O.

“My top is from Sades Official, my pants are actually from one of the booths here on Melrose, my shoes are Air Force 1’s, sunglasses are also from Melrose too.”

“All my accessories are from family.”

“I get a lot of my style inspiration from India Love, she’s just so bad and that’s what I want to be and that’s what I am.”

“I love a crop top, that’s definitely my favorite piece of clothing.”

“Fashion allows me to express myself in so many different ways. You can pick and choose who you wanna be each day.”

“I would describe my style as comfortable and just looking good, that’s about it.”

“My shirt is from H&M, my pants are from Dickies, My jewelry is from family but this one is Tiffany, my purse is Dior, and glasses are from Melrose.”

“My style inspiration comes from whatever I see when I’m on Pinterest.”

“My favorite piece of clothing would probably be a white wifebeater.”

“I love how I can express my emotions in what I’m wearing even if it’s such a lazy outfit, I love it.”

“I think thrifting is really important to the environment and it’s obviously better than fast fashion but I mean, wear what you want to wear.”

TALIA 16 Y.O.

AVIV 15 Y.O.

“My shirt is from Undefeated, shoes are Jordan, I got these at a shoe show.”

“My necklace is from Israel. When I turned 13 for my Bat Mitzvah my grandpa gave me this.”

“I would describe my style as hype clothing.”

“I get my style inspiration from looking through social media and Instagram and seeing what people are wearing.”

“My favorite place to shop is here in Melrose on Fairfax. In terms of stores, Foot Locker.”

UCLA

SCULPTURE GARDEN

“Both my top and skirt are thrifted from a thrift store in Sacramento called ‘Buried Treasures’.”

“Sometimes I will see people walking and I’ll be like, I want to wear that today. I feel like my style varies a lot. Usually, it will change everyday just depending on my mood.”

“The mood I am feeling that day, that’s how I dress. Like today I was feeling like it was a nice day, colorful. Sometimes I feel a little more moody. It depends on how I feel.”

“My favorite piece of clothing I own is this halter top that is open in the back and only ties in the back and has a lot of rhinestones. It’s a vintage one that I bought at a garage sale from this lady who was a hippie in the 60’s and 70’s and I really really like that piece. It’s like mesh, and has rhinestones on the top and is open on the back.”

“In Guatamala, there’s like a chain of thrift stores called Megapaca and they usually get a lot of clothes from the United States that nobody wants and sell them for really really cheap. So I’’ll get like a bunch of clothes for less than $10. I love shopping there.”

“If an outfit doesn’t make me feel comfortable and good, then I’m tossing it. To me, it’s all about comfort and confidence.”

“Fast fashion is a problem and it has become a problem that’s kind of hard to avoid at this point, but honestly, I think shopping at thrift stores is becoming a trend which I am happy about because you’re getting clothes that have been repurposed, and you can buy clothes you’re not even going to wear and make them something different. You can sew it into something else, or give it to someone who will use it. I think being able to reuse the clothes that we’re making or were made is way more sustainable than making clothes that nobody’s actually going to wear 10 or 20 years from now.”

“I think this shirt is one of the most expensive things I own, it’s $10. My outfit today is max $20.”

ALTHEA ZHAO

21 Y.O.

“My top is from Urban Outfitters, my bralette is from Aerie, my jeans are from Levi’s, and my bag is from Aritzia.”

“I think fashion is one of those things where it’s just very upfront, like very direct. There are many ways to go up an talk to people, you can make art, but with fashion people can just look at you and they kind of understand your style and who you are.”

“It’s funny because I think everyone knows how bad fast fashion is, but a lot of the time, people will go ahead a be like ‘ok it’s affordable and accessible’. I think that’s all true, but right now I am trying to move away from fast fashion just because I unwittedly signed up for a class on the climate crisis, and I had to do some readings and now I’m like ‘shit’. I get frustrated because I think that there is alot of greenwashing that goes on as part of ‘sustainable fashion’. And even now it’s harder to just go to Goodwill and finding something that you like, because people really like making profit out of resale.”

“I think I really like 70’s style. I’m also kinda into the 90’s super model look right now. I love the vintage look, but today I am not wearing any cute vintage because I was just trying to get through the door this morning, but usually I really like the princess-y shit. I would describe my style as princess core.”

TONGVA STEPS

“My jacket is thrifted from ebay, it’s like a 90’s Land’s End jacket. This is an OutdoorVoices t-shirt, these are linen pants I thrifted, and these shoes my brother gave me, and Outdoor Voices socks.”

“Jackie Chan is my style inspiration. I think he had sick fits in the mid 80’s and 90’s.”

“I would describe my style as thrifty 80’s vintage, that’s mainly what I go for.”

“I think dressing well makes you feel good about yourself and gives you confidence.”

“I’d say my outfit today costs around $160.”

“I’m a big proponent of second hand clothing. Mostly because there’s so much clothing waste in the world. When you go to like a thrift store, or go to second hand clothing websites, there’s just so much leftover clothing. I mean I don’t really have a problem with fast fashion, I just don’t shop it.”

“For myself, I am not really good with colors because I’m colorblind, but I think the shape of clothes and how they fit on you is much more important. I think if it doesn’t fit well or if the shape isn’t good, that can break an outfit for me.”

“I love ebay, I get most of my clothes on there.”

K-TOWN

MATTHEW 21 Y.O.

“This sweatshirt is from the Ikon store on Melrose, and my mom got me these pants.”

“I don’t get my style inspiration from anywhere, I just buy and wear what I like.”

“My favorite place to shop would be Nike for shoes. Other than that, I don’t really got a store.”

“I love hoodies.”

“My outfit is from a lot of different places. The thrift store a long time ago, Shein, this Japanese brand, and Amazon.”

“My jewelry is mostly all gifted to me from my friends and family.”

“I like the 90’s style, and y2k sometimes. I also love J-fashion.”

“I’d say most of my clothes are thrifted.”

“I feel like you can’t really judge someone if they buy fast fashion. A lot of clothing stores are fast fashion, so I feel like whether you shop online, in-store, or thrift, as long as you are not overconsuming and wasting clothes, I feel like you are fine. A lot of people think if you shop at Forever 21 or Shein, you are like a bad person.”

GRACE 20 Y.O.

“With fashion, I don’t have to act like someone that I’m not. I can just wear whatever I like and it makes me stand out sometimes.”

SAVANNAH 17 Y.O.

“My outfit today is from H&M, Abercrombie, Nike, Tilly’s, Shein.”

“I really like Asian culture style. I also get a lot of my fashion inspiration from Pinterest, or influencers that I see.”

“Fashion allows me to express myself by being vocal with clothes. Because I myself am pretty shy, so wearing things that I like make me feel confident.”

GABBY

17

Y.O.

“This set is from Fashion Nova.”

“Honestly for me, I get inspired by K-pop and Korean style, and also Pinterest.”

“I think fashion really reflects my personality and allows me to be more brave and lets me express myself.”

ISABELLA 14 Y.O.

“My button up is from H&M, top and skirt are Yesstyle, and shoes are Doc Martins.”

“Both my rings are championship rings that I won.”

“I get a lot of my fashion inspiration from Pinterest and Tiktok.”

“I think that the clothes that I wear kind of describe the person I am and what I want to let people see me as.”

“This is a championship ring that I won.”

“Hair, color coordination, and accessorizing are all really important to us when making an outfit.”

Gabi (17), Isabella (14), Savannah (17)

ANTHONY 14 Y.O.

“My outfit today is from Journeys, Polo, Amoeba Music, and some pieces are gifted.”

“I would describe my style as edgy.”

“My favorite type of clothing would probably be jackets.”

“This shirt is thrifted, watch is Citizen, shoes are Doc Martins, and this is a new hat my friend just gifted me.”

“I like thrifting a lot, my friend thrifts a lot and kind of got me into it recently.”

“I would describe my style as a mix of streetwear and preppy.”

“I think fast fashion is picking up nowadays especially with that one place called Shein. I think it’s a nice way to get people accessible clothing, but in terms of production, I think ethics wise, you know, it’s not good for the environment. That’s why I prefer thrifting or getting clothes from friends. To reuse.”

“I think in terms of expression, even down to like the boots you feel the material, and it allows you to feel like more of who you are.”

Y.O.

JR 23

RICHARD 23 Y.O.

“This shirt is from Uniqlo, pants are from Zara, rings are from swamp meet, this necklace is from amazon, and shoes are Doc Martins.”

“I have a very simple style. I like simplistic clothes. I usually ask my girlfriend too, she’s usually into fashion so I ask her what she likes.”

“I think that I like to shop sustainably. That’s actually why I like Uniqlo shit. I have like 5 of these shirts but in different colors, and I usually just wear the same. I have 3 different pairs of pants like this, all different colors, I’m pretty into staples.”

“I think fashion allows you to just feel comfortable. It’s nice to be comfortable in what you wear. It’s a nice outlet to express yourself.”

JR (23), Richard (23)

RODEO

JASON 25 Y.O.

“My outfit today is from Rhude, Ray Bans, Amazon, and some Youtuber’s brand.”

“I follow a page on Instagram for NBA players, so that’s where I get most of my style inspiration from.”

“I would say my style is definitely more streetwear.”

“I love layering, so I would say my favorite piece of clothing would be jackets.”

“If someone were to get to know your personality, they look at what you wear, and that’s kind of the first image you get. It’s kind of like the first impression.”

SHIVAN 22 Y.O.

“I got my shirt when I visited Harvard, and my earrings are from Swarovski and Amazon.”

“Honestly just stuff on my explore page on Instagram, and mainly just trying to find stuff that fits me, that I like wearing and is comfortable.”

“My style is more cozy, just wearing more baggier fits, just anything that would last the whole day. Sometimes streetwear is either too fitted, or not comfortable to wear throughout the whole day.”

“I like loose-fitting pants and trousers because they are really comfortable.”

“I think for fashion it depends on what you’re feeling that day, and kind of sets your mood. People have like bummy outfits, I have them too, it just kind of hints that they don’t want to be talked to that day, you know. I don’t know, your outfit really makes you feel good about yourself.”