By Liana Satenstein

Name: Patricia

Year: Senior

Major: Business and Legal Studies

When I ask Patricia to describe her general look, her friend Shakirah does not fail to hold back her opinion.

“Her look is corny!” Shakirah laughs, making me as well. Arms akimbo, standing taller than 5 feet 9 inches in rustic tan boots, wearing a leather jacket and adjusting her black cut-off gloves, Shakirah and I both know that Patricia looks far from “corny.”

“Thanks a lot,” laughs Patricia. “I don’t know, I’d say my look is downtown-like Soho.”

“I agree. She is very urban, very city and very chic,” Shakirah adds.

Patricia points to Shakirah. “See, that’s my bestie right there.”

“Put Rihanna as one of her style influences!” Shakirah jokes.

“Absolutely not. Do not put her in! I don’t like it when people say I dress or look like her! But, I do like Zoe Kravitz. Tracee Ellis Ross­-she is the flyest girl in the world, hands down. I’d kiss her feet! And Kanye, he is fly. And that designer-what is his name?” Patricia tugs at her gloves and looks at Shakirah.

“Zac Posen,” Shakirah answers.

“Yes, him! It’s like Kanye West, Marilyn Monroe, Zac Posen and Erykah Badu; I try to infuse them all in how I dress.” Like her dimpled smile and the sharp geometrics of her hair, her leather jacket and white shirt together juxtaposed curve along Zac Posen’s idea of debonair femininity, but also do not fail to reflect the mainstream trendiness of Kanye West.

“My mistakes? It was freshman year; I wore a green, Baby Phat, off-the-shoulder belly shirt. I put a tank under it. I thought I was so cool! I kind of still love it,” Patricia confesses.

“Yeah, you wore it in like September,” Shakirah adds.

“I also tried to be different. I made a sleeveless vest, but it was out of a wife beater. I had a yellow tie with it, and I had curly hair at the time. I tried to make clothing out of weird clothes, but I just am not a designer.”

“So do you have any advice?” I ask Patricia.

“I’m not sure, what do you think?” Patricia asks her friend.

“Don’t be tacky.”

“That is bad advice,” says Patricia.

“Okay, so don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Don’t be afraid to wear that wife-beater vest with that yellow tie,” Shakirah explains with a genuine smile.

“That is bad advice. Just don’t try to copy anyone’s style on campus. If you do, make it your own so it looks better. Don’t ask people where they bought something and then go buy it,” Patricia explains to me.

“So, how would you describe your friend’s style?” I ask Shakirah.

“I would like to say that she is not afraid to go beyond the norm. She puts on anything, and usually people like it. What she wears, it represents her personality.”

Patricia brushes her hair aside and laughs, “You got it. You are good!”