Dressed to Express
How I found my style, and the places I shop
Fashion was part of my childhood. Our house overflowed with stacks of Women’s Wear Daily, well-thumbed copies of Vogue, and racks of clothes that felt like a museum where I was allowed to play. Growing up like that trained my eye for detail. It also convinced me that clothing is a language, not just something you throw on in the morning.
My love of experimental dressing really took off in college. I went to school in Los Angeles, where I was exposed to everything at once. I learned that there are no rules, only choices, so I began treating my closet as a creative project. Some days I went minimal and sleek, and other days I went full costume. Every outfit was a chance to try on a new version of myself.
Music festivals took it even further. I worked at and attended events like Coachella and Burning Man, and they blew open my idea of what fashion could be. At Burning Man in particular, getting dressed is an art form. Being around people who dress so fearlessly made me braver. I learned to mix textures, clash prints, and take risks. Those festival grounds became my runway and my laboratory.
Day to day, I'm drawn to brands that feel bold, playful, and a little rebellious. I'm always shopping at Revolve, Missguided, Jaded London, Outcast, and Diesel. I.AM.GIA and Poster Girl are favorites too, and so are more demure labels like Reformation, Allsaints, and Doen. I also love digging for independent designers on Depop and at local pop-ups, since the most interesting pieces in my closet are usually the ones nobody else owns.
In high-end fashion, I'm pulled toward designers who are creative, spunky, and unapologetically cool. Mugler's sculpted, powerful silhouettes, Jean Paul Gaultier's corsetry and cheeky irreverence, Vivienne Westwood's punk romance, Versace's glamour, and Blumarine's flirty, Y2K-tinged femininity all live rent-free in my head. I adore the playfulness of Miu Miu, the cut-out, rule-breaking designs of Coperni, the vibrant energy of Mowalola, the edginess of Ottolinger, and the delicate draping of Di Petsa.
For me, fashion has never been about following trends. It's about expression, confidence, and having fun with who I am on any given day. And for anyone, what you wear is one more way of telling your story.