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Oppan GRANDMA Style

Her Campus Placeholder Avatar Larissa May
Her Campus Placeholder Avatar Stacey Oswald
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Vanderbilt chapter.

 

As I reached into my mailbox the day after Christmas, I was flooded with catalogues from JCrew, Free People, Nordstrom, and Bloomingdales.  The front pages featured lanky models in Resort wear, including sandals, neon swimsuits, and sunhats.  I took a moment to step back and evaluate the situation.  I was perplexed by the idea that companies were already trying to sell me the next best trends.  

What was wrong with the clothes I got for Christmas the day before?  

Were they worthless already? 

Our culture is always focused on striving for the better… the next… the latest. Unfortunately, new and better are often used synonymously. Hold up fashionistas, because we have it all wrong. 

The last day of Christmas break I was rummaging through my attic, when I came across a tattered box.  Curiously, I looked into the dusty casket where I found a fuzzy cheetah headband and a white coat with geometric shapes, comparable to a polar bear. Later that day, I discovered these items used to belong to my grandmother and that my mother wanted to donate them. 

Within this very moment, I revolutionized my fashion mantra. Instead of looking at this collection as an exhausted style, I found a treasure. I went against the grid. Instead of looking to the future for better fashion, I found it by rummaging through the past. In a culture always focused on youth and modernity, we fail to recognize the beauty that has been established in fashion before us. 

This is when I realized I am a descendent of fashion, just as I am a descendent of my grandmother. This year I strive to innovate my style through the little treasures that exist.  I don’t have to buy more, to be more.

Let’s do it: OPPAN GRANDMA STYLE. 

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Stacey Oswald

Vanderbilt

Stacey Oswald, originally from South Florida, came to Vanderbilt as a member of the class of 2015 and got involved with HerCampus her freshman year. She became assistant editor that year and is now the Campus Correspondent for Vanderbilt HC as a sophomore. Stacey is currently a columnist for Ask Miss A- Nashville and the life section of The Hustler. She's also very involved in her sorority, Kappa Delta, as well as Invisible Children. Outside of school and her extracurriculars, Stacey finds happiness in many sources, the most crucial being exercise and the sun. She loves to attend exercise classes and is an avid runner; she recently completed the Country Music Half Marathon. She also loves Vitamin D, especially when on the beach- though of course, she only soaks up the sun after applying SPF. A few of the things Stacey couldn't live without? Good food (especially from Sweet Cece's, Bricktops, and Samurai Sushi), great books (The Hypnotist's Love Story is a recent favorite), her family back in Florida, her wonderful boyfriend, and all of the great friends she's made at Vanderbilt.