Getting to Know Sandy Chan: Stylin’ Outside the Frame

What is this ‘Frame’, you may ask?

This week, I got a chance to meet a fellow Her Campus Chapter Writer Sandy, for a quick chat. A lover of fashion, but not your mainstream type of fashion, Sandy is a firm believer that you don’t have to follow every trend out there to remain “in style,” nor does the idea of being fashionable have to be limited to an Instagram frame, or the ‘following’ you may have. This is also a great chance for all you readers to finally put a face to the quality content written by Sandy, including tips on laptop hunting, underrated Star Wars characters, and her perspective on social media and an opionated war. 

So let’s start off with some basics!

Age: 21

Faculty: Communication

Hometown: Hong Kong

Social media: Instagram @blingbling3d

Terri for HC SFU: What made you decide to join French immersion at McRoberts? Looking back now, are you glad you did it?

Sandy: I never actually decided to enroll in the French Immersion program – my parents did. I started in the Late French Immersion program as soon as I moved to Canada in Grade 6 and in all honesty, I’ve always been a little more than reproachful about the decision being made for me. I complained about it all throughout highschool, of how being in the program is making my life soooo much harder by having my least favourite subjects (math and socials) made worse by taking them in French. Perhaps it is the combination of my rejection of the program and my lack of talent in the language, I’ve never learned how to be comfortable in speaking it outside of the classroom. I am, however, very grateful that I can at least understand it. Looking back now, I definitely appreciate my parents’ decision (especially when seeing others’ envy when told I was in French immersion) as I realize the opportunities and the doors that could be opened by this program.

Terri for HC SFU: I’m aware that fashion is something that you’re passionate about. How do you feel your style differs from other say, fashion bloggers or “fashionistas” and how would you describe your style?

Sandy: The biggest difference I’d say, between my own and other fashion bloggers’ style, would be the fact that I don’t really have a set style. Rather than sticking to a particular image, the way I dress is all over the map, covering a girly, boho-chic, street-style and elegant look all in one week. On top of that, I don’t really follow trends; of course, I’m aware of what’s hot at the moment, but I’m rarely caught up by it, unless it’s a style that really captures my attention. Otherwise, I’m more inclined to just incorporate bits and pieces of trends in my outfits from time to time.

As over the map as my style is however, there is a constant that you’ll find across all my different outfits: prints. I love prints – classic ones like prints and stripes, but especially funky ones like cactus, bananas (!!!), dinosaurs, you get the gist. To show you how much I love print, here’s a little story: I once ordered a banana-printed dress online, and when it arrived, it was nothing like how it looked – the “dress” length was more like a shirt and it completely lacked structure. However, I still went completely bananas for it, simply because of the printed singing and dancing bananas.

Terri for HC SFU: Speaking of dancing and singing bananas, do you still sing or dance? If so, what are some upcoming involvements with the two that you’re excited about?

Sandy: In terms of dancing, I haven’t really done any proper dancing since I graduated from high school. However, I’m still involved in the community as a spectator and admirer. I’ve been to a bunch of local dance battles over the last few years and it amazes me every time I watch all these dancers freestyle and dance their hearts out and it just makes me wish I could move like that as well.

As for singing, I have this big plan that’s been bubbling in my mind for a few years now, and maybe this will finally be the year it comes to fruition. Picture this: a cool summer evening at a park, an intimate group of friends n a picnic, a guitarist, a singer, and live music that accompanies the group into the night under a sky full of stars. Why I want to organize this type of concert, or as I’d like to call it a music get-together, is not so that I can have a chance to perform, but because singing is such a large part of what I like to do with my friends, whether it is going to karaoke or recording covers at Central Park, and I just really want a night to highlight that aspect.  

Terri for HC SFU: Have you ever thought about fashion blogging? What are your thoughts on that?

Sandy: I have actually tried my hand at blogging while I was taking Publishing 101 where a section of my blog was dedicated to weekly fashion posts. I would compile all my outfits of the week, dig a little deeper into a couple of them, talk about what inspired these outfits and include mini reviews of any new beauty products that I’ve tried or new food places that I’ve been to. I didn’t continue these posts after the class ended however, because I realized how dull my content was. The posts I were making simply weren’t conveying what I wanted to say and the way they were formatted was like the many fashion blog posts out there already – I wasn’t bringing anything new or special to the table. Besides lacking the ability to articulate my thought process behind styling outfits the way Jenn does, I also simply lack a thought process in general when styling, which made it difficult to I pick apart an outfit and explain all the bits and pieces. With that said, I haven’t given up on blogging yet, and am searching for a way to present my way of thinking in a more engaging way!

Terri for HC SFU: Even though you’re not blogging at the moment, how do you feel about the content that’s out in the community right now?

Sandy: To be honest, I’m not very impressed with the content in the current fashion blogging community. There’s too much of one style – the Tumblr-esque aesthetic of basic, monochromatic looks. I understand the appeal of such simplicity, but I just wish that there is more diversification and colour to the community as to highlight the versatility of clothes and to reflect the infinite possibilities one can achieve through fashion.

Terri for HC SFU: I know from experience that getting dressed on a cold, winter morning is the biggest struggle as a college student. What inspires your style or better yet, what motivates you to get up and get dressed in the morning and still come to school looking on point?

Sandy: I’m a big believer of “Look good, feel good” and that’s what motivates me the most in dressing nice no matter the occasion. Rather than dressing to impress others, I’m the most confident when dressed in an outfit I like and that’s the version of me I’d like to present and bring out. Dressing nice day in and day out isn’t so difficult if you pick out the outfit the night before!

Terri for HC SFU: As a Chapter Writer for Her Campus SFU’s Editorial team yourself, what are your favourite aspects of HC SFU? What were your motivations in joining the team?

Sandy: My favourite aspect of HerCampus is the community itself. Although the writers and readers come from many different backgrounds, we are all going through the same phase in life, which makes the content we produce and share so much more relatable. Also, I love that we are doing our part in normalizing and bringing attention to topics that are often deemed sensitive in society, such as masturbation and periods.

My love of writing fueled my decision to join the team; I love writing but I knew I wasn’t doing nearly enough of it, since the only writing I was doing for a while was term papers. I told myself it was time to pick it back up, and since I’ve joined HerCampus, not only have I have been able to do what I love every week, but also meet a whole new group of amazing women.

Terri for HC SFU: So we are both from Richmond! What’s your favourite part about living in Richmond? Least favourite?

Sandy: My favourite thing about living in Richmond has to be the food. There are so many delicious options to choose from in Richmond, and that makes it so easy to fulfill any sort of cravings that I may have. As for the least favourite thing, there isn’t really one unless we count the lack of activities to do past evening, but that’s probably an issue many of us have living in Vancouver in general.

Terri for HC SFU: *New Year’s Resolution?*

Sandy: Although my friends would undoubtedly describe me as loud and (extremely) talkative, I actually find it difficult making new friends in completely new surroundings. In such environment, I tend to hide in a corner and wait until someone approaches me. Therefore, my goal this year is to introduce myself to more people and just take the initiative to meet people rather than waiting passively. Who knows what kind of friends I’ll make?

Thanks so much for taking the time to chat despite your busy schedule, Sandy! The rest of us and I are looking out for your own fashion blog to be created soon!

Photos provided by the interviewee

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