The Art of Self Expression

by Eliza Hagstrom

Hamline Students describe their fashion style and what influences it.

Walking across Hamline’s campus you see most students express themselves through the clothing that they decide to wear. With individuals’ styles changing and becoming vastly different from one another, it makes sense that this is reflected on our campus. Some of these students start to stand out as time goes on: First-year Jewels Thao, sophomore Will Nelson, and senior Rose Marie Athiley.

Jewels Thao is a first-year with bright blue hair and eyeliner that’s always on point. She describes how her love of K-pop influences her style, as well as social media, especially TikTok. “The E-girl speaks to the inner trash part of me,” Thao said. “All black is a cool vibe.”

Most of her clothes are from thrift stores, antique stores, and hand-me-downs from her seven older siblings, helping influence her unique style. Thao said “I love when my friends let me raid their closets and I can find something they loved that I now can.” Thao also emphasized how her mom’s job as a seamstress has helped her create her style.

Photo courtesy of Eliza Hagstrom

Over the years, Thao has also learned how to sew, allowing her to alter the hand-medowns and thrift store clothing. She can tailor these clothes to fit her style and size. “I would rather buy something from the thrift store and make stuff from that,” Thao said. She loves the sense of freedom this gives her with her style, because if she made something solely for herself no one else has it.

Will Nelson is another student who seems to be recognizable across campus. Who else carries a lawn chair with them?

Nelson is double majoring in English and Environmental Studies, and his vibe is either that of a pirate or a Hobbit. He considered getting a tattoo of a map of Middle Earth, which fits with his aesthetic. Most days his outfits align with a character theme: pirate, lifeguard, substitute teacher, or lumberjack. Nelson said, “I wanna be a pirate so I’m gonna dress like a pirate.” He achieves this by wearing clothes from his dad or from his dress-up clothes he had as a kid. His costume box of a closet rounds out his thematic outfits.

Nelson views his wardrobe more as an art because that is how people present themselves to others, whether they realize it or not. He also admits; “I want attention, I’m not gonna deny that.”

Photo courtesy of Will Nelson

In the middle of our interview, he pulled out his phone and said, “There’s a poem by Charles Bukowski about this.” He sent me the poem, “Style is the Answer to Everything.” Nelson continued, “It’s really cool, it shows how someone can solve a math equation with style. I can’t do that.” This poem really embodies what style means to him; lines from the poem that speak most to him are “Loving can be an art. Opening a can of sardines can be an art.”

What he wears is an expression of himself and who he is. Owning name-brand things doesn’t matter much to Nelson, but he adds that "Converse are different and personal.” For example, the Converse that he owns are falling apart at the seams.

Nelson doesn’t mind if he has to sacrifice comfort for something that he thinks looks cool. He wants to keep his aesthetic of being a hybrid of a Hobbit and a pirate. He views this as a sacrifice to make art, and that “beauty is pain.”

“Nah fuck that,” is what senior Rose-Marie Athiley thinks about the whole notion of having to be in pain to be beautiful. “I hate being uncomfortable,” Athiley said. When something’s too tight or too itchy that’s all she can think about. As an RA and a senior, she has enough to deal with without wearing clothes that she doesn’t like.

Athiley is an RA in the apartments this year and has been an RA since her sophomore year. I was one of her residents last year, and I have seen her take off her heeled boots to run from Anderson to Drew because she was needed there.

Because of these things she likes the athleisure style. She doesn’t just hop on something because it’s trending though, rather she is inspired by things that trend. “Nobody actually does their own thing, it’s like art, it doesn’t happen in a vacuum,” Athiley said, describing social media and how we all take inspiration from those around us. We get inspired by what we see and like.

Photo taken by Sophie Warrick

She says that “We are failing as a society if, even with all these algorithms that know everything about us, I still have to specify ‘black women’ when searching on Pinterest.” She does appreciate that on Pinterest you can now choose from a skin tone range when looking at hairstyles. She considers things like this to be a step in the right direction for inclusion and acceptance. She adds, “My Twitter knows that I’m black so that helps... TikTok knows me better than any of my other apps.”

Athiley wants to look great but realizes that she would not be true to herself if she was not comfortable with what she was wearing. She knows she can be her best self when she is comfortable.

Photo taken by Sophie Warrick

There is no wrong way to express yourself unless you’re culturally appropriating. Have fun with what you wear and don’t be afraid to try new things. These three students show this through their wardrobe and are recognizable on campus. In the words of Gerard Way, lead singer of My Chemical Romance, creator of The Umbrella Academy, and immortal vampire: “Anything can be art. Anything can be self-expression. Now you take the weapon and run with it.”