CollegeFashionista is an online fashion blog aimed at highlighting the unique styles that make a student body like Wesleyan so special. With the tagline “Your campus is the runway,” the website focuses on localized trends as well as individual students who showcase great style.

Rebecca Brill ’16 wrote for CollegeFashionista as a “style guru” last year and continued to do so over the past summer while interning in New York City. Brill sat down with The Argus to discuss her involvement with the site and her perspective on Wesleyan fashion.

The Argus: Can you tell me a little bit about your past interest in fashion?

Rebecca Brill: I was never into high fashion or anything, but I guess when I was in maybe like tenth grade I started reading a lot of fashion blogs and experimenting with my style a little more. I was particularly interested in “real people style” as opposed to stuff in magazines…so I got a little more experimental.

A: How did you first learn about the website?

RB: I think a friend of mine had a friend [that wrote for it] and suggested I do it.

A: Tell me about your experience working for CollegeFashionista over the past summer.

RB: Last year I was just a writer, so that was just going around campus photographing people and writing articles about it. Over the summer I did that when I was in the city, photographing people in the city who looked like they were college age. And then I also was an editorial intern, so I was assigned a bunch of other writers and I would look through their articles everyday.

A: How do you feel being a fashion writer on the Wesleyan campus?

RB: I had a good experience; I think Wesleyan students show a cool and interesting style, and it’s a cool way to get to know people. I was assigned the “Let’s Hear it for the Boys” category, so I was [covering] men’s fashion. I had never thought of men’s fashion before, so it was kind of interesting.

A: How do people react when you ask to photograph them for a fashion blog?

RB: For the most part, people were flattered, but I think sometimes I would go up to people who really don’t think about their style at all, and I just happened to think they had interesting stuff, so people were kind of alarmed by it. [In] the city, people were more wary [than at Wesleyan].

A: Why don’t you write for CollegeFashionista anymore? Does it have anything to do with Wesleyan’s campus culture?

RB:  Not really; it was really just a time thing. I wanted to get more involved in stuff actually around campus. It was just a time commitment, and I’d rather get involved with stuff that could bring the community on campus [together] as opposed to online.

A: How would you describe fashion at Wesleyan?

RB: It’s definitely a really interesting mix. I think people take more risks. [It’s] maybe a little bit more punk, like you see kids in creepers and nose piercings.

A: Who do you draw style inspiration from on campus? What about beyond the campus?

RB: I wouldn’t say it’s people that I know personally, but I often see girls in Usdan in a cool outfit, and I think, “I want to dress like that.” I think Alexa Chung has good style, and Solange dresses super cool. I also like to dress like characters from books a lot; I think even more so than fashion blogs or celebrities, I draw inspiration from movies and books that I like.

Brill and I agreed that students at Wesleyan may say they are less interested in a materialistic matter like fashion, but our students certainly embrace personal style, which carries over into way of dress. Whether plugged into fashion blogs and college-focused sites like CollegeFashionista, or just appreciating the styles around campus, style gurus like Brill are inspired by Wesleyan students, whether they know it or not.