Grace Carroll ’17 has brought her love of fashion from her hometown of Washington, D.C. to our campus. Carroll appreciates how fashion-conscious Wesleyan students tend to be, and how students from myriad backgrounds portray similarly varied styles. Drawing much of her fashion inspiration from her family, she borrows clothes from her dad and looks to her grandmother for ideas. Carroll was happy to talk to The Argus about transitioning her high school style into a fashion sense better fit for Wesleyan.
The Argus: Do you consider yourself interested in fashion?
Grace Carroll: Yeah, I have been for a while, too. I don’t know, it’s just always been something I was interested in.
A: How would you describe your personal style?
GC: I think it’s…kind of a mix of trying to be Audrey Hepburn and then also trying to keep it a little bit more edgy.
A: If at all, how do you think your style has changed since you got to Wesleyan?
GC: It’s become a little bit more grungy and a little bit more comfortable, too, since I’ve been walking everywhere…. I’ve been wearing a lot more men’s clothing.
A: Is that a reflection of the style at Wesleyan?
GC: I think a little bit, and I think it’s also a function of being laid-back but also not having to put as much effort into how you portray yourself, or like being individual…. I feel like in high school I tried a lot to use my clothes to express my personality, and here I feel like you don’t need to do that so much because it’s so easy-going.
A: What do you like and dislike about fashion at Wesleyan?
GC: I like it a lot. I like that it’s very diverse, people’s fashion sense. It’s cool, you can find pretty much any style here. I also love your overalls [gestures to interviewer’s overalls]. I really love how much people wear overalls here; it’s my favorite thing.
A: So where do you draw style inspiration from on campus?
GC: I think just seeing people walk to class, my friends. Just seeing fashion everywhere. It’s a very fashion-conscious campus.
A: Do you have any style icons?
GC: My grandma, for sure. She was a model when she was younger. She has a very, very cool sense of style, and she’ll, like, wear things that I want to wear.
A: Do you have a favorite style blog or source of online inspiration?
GC: Jezebel is cool, because I’ve always thought that fashion and feminism were connected…. People tend to think of them as kind of opposed to one another, and I think they can do a lot to help one another.
A: Do you have an article of winter clothing that you can’t live without right now?
GC: I’m not the most practical dresser, so I really hate winter because I don’t like being practical…but I guess my Bean Boots.
A: Then do you have something that you can’t wait to wear once it gets warmer outside?
GC: Yeah, skirts without tights. I think they’re so uncomfortable.