Don’t make things too complicated in your wardrobe. Danielle Parris, 19, says she likes to keep things “simple for the most part.” Her style is casual and very accommodating of her mobile lifestyle. Danielle is always on the go. Whether it’s her 12 credit hours, or list of volunteer efforts, she told me her priority was being comfortable. Danielle tells me she’s “met girls who can’t even function because of their attire.” It was a humorous, and very true statement about people wearing restrictive clothing in certain environments.
Danielle remembers an instant where she was in an office setting where the women were prowling around in slim pencil skirts and heels. When a scenario involving a little fire presented itself, Danielle says the girls were basically helpless. The women’s wardrobe impaired their ability to assist in putting out the fire. Although fire extinguishing is not in their job description, it’s an interesting thought that clothing can play a part in simple day-to-day interactions.
Looking at Danielle’s overall silhouette and color palette, it is very simple. Mostly, she looks comfortable in her clothing. She tells me that her schedule is packed and she is more focused on getting things done rather that what she will wear. Starting with the ever-simple combination of dark jeans and a t-shirt, Danielle mixes things up with jewelry and shoes. She wears a lot of boots, a great paring with skinny jeans.
Putting it all together for me, Danielle says that when she’s shopping for clothes, things just come together; she doesn’t have a preconceived notion of what she needs to look like. She generally buys simple shirts and if it has a pattern, that is simple too. When getting ready, it’s completely opposite. The emphasis changes to her jeans. That is her first choice when getting ready and everything else falls into place.
It seems that there is no complex process to Danielle’s look, but I haven’t mentioned her hair. Danielle’s hair is a cheerful blonde, pin-straight, and cut to frame her face perfectly. I feel that her hair is the highlight of her look, contrasting on top of dark jeans and graphic tees. Danielle explains that her look can be very misleading about her. Because her wardrobe is simple and generally in grayscale, her personality can be misread as boring and rigid, when she is really bubbly, approachable and easygoing. She says her hair has a lot to do with how people perceive her. “I went through a brunette phase, but it wasn’t me,” says Danielle of the time she did have brown hair. It didn’t match her personality and she could feel the difference as well as see it.
If you’re at the office, or taking credit hour on top of credit hour, remember this: don’t think too hard about clothes. A lot of what makes an outfit become a style is one’s personality. Sometimes, as in Danielle’s case, that final look is out of the picture because there are other things that are more important. That’s ok! Someone’s style does not have to be about the clothes. Danielle tells me that her “personality is bold enough that I can downplay it when it comes to clothes.” This attitude combined with great jeans and her great head of hear; she’s set!
