I have always admired the way certain people dress. Whether it is someone’s great sense of fashion in general, the way their clothes match, or the way they refuse to conform to what seems like any traditional fashion belief.
Gabrielle Vuylsteke and Caitlyn Fisher, two Community High freshmen, fit into the last category best. Vuylsteke and Fisher always wear bright clothing, and match in a way that may appear odd or strange to an average passerby.
Gabrielle Vuylsteke:
“I’d say that my style is different because of the many colors I wear in each outfit. While most people wear one or two colors, I try to wear as many colors as I can. Some people might say that my outfits don’t match, but by my way of thinking, there are three ways of matching. ” She goes on to explain about color matching (wearing all the same color), tone matching (wearing brightly colored clothing with brightly colored clothing), and Style matching(wearing casual clothing with casual clothing, ect.). “Factors such as simplicity and balance keep the outfits from becoming too extravagant.” She said. About her style she said “After all, what are style rules for if not to be broken?” When she pulls colors out of patterns, instead of picking only one, she pulls out as many as possible.
“I dress the way I do because it’s more fun! I get excited about wearing new outfit, and enjoy creating new combinations.”
On an average day Gabrielle may spend hours picking out an outfit, spending all afternoon on it and 
” awaiting to wear it all night. Other times, I grab random articles of clothing or use previous outfits.”
Over the years Gabrielle’s style has changed, greatly influenced by her mother, both indirectly and directly. “My mom picked out my outfits for me through the third grade, I mostly wore “sporty” clothes in the 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade. In 6th and 7th, I wore a combination of sporty clothes and clothes that would now fall under my current style.” She said her mother influenced her style in other ways as well “She wears a lot of purple in different textures and styles of clothing.” Another person who influenced her style, indirectly, was her art teacher: “In the 8th grade, I got an art class assignment to do something out of the ordinary – I responded by wearing my entire (extensive) collection of jewelry. The rest of the year, I wore different unique outfits such as a dress made of newspaper, crayons as hair decorations, and only black and white clothing for over a week. I suppose my style has calmed down a bit, but it is still very different.”
” I find my clothing in lots of places.” said Gabrielle, “I get clothes second-hand from friends, neighbors, thrift stores, my aunt and my mom.” According to Gabrielle there is no need to spend more than two dollars on a skirt. “Though little of my clothing is new, I always wear the articles differently than others had in the past…
…I like bright colors. They are happier and more eye-grabbing. I’d rather wear colors I enjoy looking at. I also think I look better in darker and brighter colors, so that probably helped too.”
Caitlyn Fisher on the topic of her style:
“I have no idea what makes my style different, I just happen to now agree with the styles that are ‘in’.” Caitlyn said. She goes on to explain that she sees herself as an “artist”, that “the way I dress to be ‘creative expression’.”
“I never really plan what I’m going to wear. I just pick something out and make an outfit around it.”
Unlike Gabrielle her style has always been very similar to the way it is now. “I would say I’ve probably always dressed the same, or at least in a similar fashion (no pun intended).” Like Gabrielle she gets her clothing in second hand stores and second hand from friends and family as well.
“I think the way I dress is somewhat influenced by my love for the Beatles, seeing as how most of my styles are 40 years behind.” She said.
On her style in general she answered “I didn’t decide that I would dress a certain way, I don’t decide, I just do.”
