This week we present you the second part of our fashion series where we discuss personal fashion choices with some University of Helsinki students. In this second part you get a chance to meet the lovely Lotta and Ruth, and find out what makes their styles unique.
Name: Lotta
Age: 21
Major: History
“I’m inspired by certain pieces of clothing, and I don’t usually plan my outfits very carefully. For example, if I have a really nice shirt or a pair of shoes, I just go with those and build the rest of the outfit around them. Also, I’m inspired by athletes and also professional looks, so I like to mix those together. I do a lot of sports, so it’s important to me that the outfit is comfortable – no high heels, always sneakers.
No matter if the outfit is casual or not, I always have these pearl earrings. Also, if I wear casual clothes, I want to wear something loose – for example, if I have tight jeans on, I then wear a loose T-shirt, but if I wear a tight shirt I usually wear loose trousers or something. So, that’s one of those things that makes my outfit casual.
I shop quite rarely. I don’t like to buy things that I only wear one time. I have a principle that if buy a shirt or trousers or anything else, I want it to be of good quality, so that I can wear it for many years. Also, I have to like a piece of clothing so much that I want to buy it. Sometimes there are sales, which is good for me, but if it’s a bit more expensive that’s also fine. It is just a principle that when I buy a piece of clothing, I’m going to wear it. I don’t buy clothes just for fun, and nowadays I don’t go shopping so often – I don’t enjoy it that much anymore.
I like to shop at Adidas sport shops – that’s my thing, for sure! Maybe Zara, and for trousers maybe Carlings… maybe H&M… It depends on the situation and what I am looking for.
I adore Makia’s warm jackets but they are a bit expensive. Still, I adore their clothes, and I just went there to buy their sweater. I spent a couple of weeks deciding on whether to buy it or not, and now I’m really excited that I bought it. Also, what comes to Makia, I like to put my money into something that I respect.”
Name: Ruth
Age: 27
Major: English (alumna)
“I actually gave some thought to how I would describe my style in case you asked me to do that and I came up with “Disney princess meets 1950’s housewife”. Ha! I feel like I’ve always had my own sense of style, and at some point I just realized it looked a lot like how women used to dress in the 50’s-60’s and then started being influenced more by films and such set in that era. I also started going to vintage stores and events to find treasures after I learned about those. But I’m not trying to look “authentically 50’s” like some people do – my style just happens to resemble that era of fashion. Particularly since I love circle skirts, pearls and red lipstick.
For the past few years, I’ve made almost all my clothes myself. I just can never find the specific kinds of pieces I have in mind! Like right now, I need a new winter coat, but I have such a specific kind of coat in mind that I may end up making that too! I don’t want to “settle”, because I’ll just end up wanting to buy another one when I find one I like better, and I don’t want to and don’t need to own that many – just the one that was perfect to begin with. This applies to all my clothes. So I don’t actually have that many clothes, but the ones I have, I love.
But I do buy clothes every now and then, too (sometimes I can actually find just the kind of skirt for instance that I had in mind – or an even better one that I wouldn’t have been able to make myself!) and I do some alterations sometimes – especially if you buy vintage you need to do that because it’s unlikely you’ll find your exact size when you find something you like.
There’s something I’ve always been quite self-conscious about and that’s the fact that I look about ten years younger than I actually am, and being a mother of two sort of amplifies that because I don’t want anyone to think I’m their nanny – or big sister! So I think I consciously try to dress a bit “older” when I go out with my kids and leave the girliest accessories home… But I try not to think about that too much because I do want to feel like I can be myself and not care what other people think.
And then there’s the fact that I have a little baby right now, so for practical reasons I need to wear my hair up more often and can’t have long finger nails or nail polish because I may have to stick my finger in her mouth!
[Clothes that make me cringe when I see someone wearing them are] too short skirts and shorts. And too revealing clothes all in all, especially on young girls. Also I don’t like leather. For aesthetic and for ethical reasons.”
Interview by Tereza Pavlyshche
Photographs by Maija Huitu