Fashion Mechanics: A Vintage Ralph Lauren Jacket Look

Images: Chelsea Todd

Fashion Mechanics is a series about my personal thoughts, feelings, and connections to pieces in my closet. It explores the deeper meanings of, attachment to, and sentimentality of fashion.  

This may be crazy of me to say, but I think this jacket is one of my all-time favorite pieces, ever. I first saw it on Instagram on the account of a vintage seller here in Houston, Yoko Vintage, in 2018. Not too long after, some friends and I were vending at a pop-up event in East Downtown. Yoko Vintage was also there and somehow, it was among her wares that night. Even while I was dealing with customers, I kept my eye on it to make sure no one snatched it. When I was finally able to step away to see it up close, it was even more beautiful. The owner tailored and re-purposed it herself! Anyone who can sew has my respect and this jacket was so amazing that it was an easy purchase. I  also love supporting local artists and business owners and Yoko Vintage deserved every cent of my money. 

I've worn this jacket to some important events over the past year. It was my go-to for my best friend's bridal shower, my younger sisters' high school graduation, and Distant Worlds, the Final Fantasy orchestra show (we've already established that I'm a nerd). It is honesty that jacket. 

One of my favorite things about this jacket is that it is loud, but still subtle. It's a bright, almost neon green, with gleamy gold-tone buckles, but it still has the look of a classic, somewhat preppy jacket or coat. It's something I reach for anytime I need to look good, but can still get away with showing off my personal style and I'm never getting rid of it. 

Style Profile: Juan, the Vintage Shopper & His Love of Pharrell Williams

Image: Chelsea Todd

Style Profile is a series on Millennial and Gen Z consumers' fashion choices and preferences, personal style, and takes on where fashion is headed. 

Juan is a student at University of Houston. Here, he discusses his style inspirations, favorite looks and pieces, and how much he loves Pharrell.

On his favorite brands and designers: For designers, I guess I like Pharrell Williams and what he's doing with Adidas. And Adidas is probably one of my favorite brands too.

His style inspirations: My style inspirations are definitely Pharrell and A$AP Rocky. I love both of them. Everything Pharrell does is unique and next level. He's amazing. He's got a book that has all of his creative ventures in it called "Places and Spaces I've Been." You should read it, it's crazy.

On his personal style:  I love rocking vintage. Stuff like vintage hip-hop shirts and Vans. Hoodies, sweatshirts, and things that are cool, but comfortable. 

On following trends: One of the last trends I got into was super destroyed denim. I remember A$AP Rocky and Playboi Carti rocking that look a lot. That might be how I got into it.

A recent purchase he's fallen in love with: Probably this vintage Nas hoodie I got from a thrift shop on Montrose.

On shopping in-store versus online: I'm definitely an online shopper. The store is okay, but for most places I just like to get in and get out. Unless it's a thrift store. I'll go to one of those. 

His all-time favorite outfit: The jean jacket and layered hoodie look is my favorite. 

Fashion Mechanics: A Nostalgic Look Featuring the Adidas Yung-1 Frieza

Images: Chelsea Todd

Fashion mechanics is a series about my personal thoughts, feelings, and connections to pieces in my closet. It explores the deeper meanings of, attachment to, and sentimentality of fashion. 

There's always that one thing growing up that all of your friends loved, but you aren't as familiar with and can only understand subtle references and some character names. For me, that thing is Dragon Ball Z. It's a show I never got around to watching because I was too busy with Nickelodeon to catch a lot of Toonami, but have this love, respect, and appreciation for. 

Most of my close friends love anime and so do I, but I find it hard to keep up with and many anime shows don't keep my attention these days. But last year when Adidas announced its collaboration with Dragon Ball Z, I instantly perked up. The two pairs that stood out the most to me were the Goku inspired shoes and the Frieza inspired shoes that I couldn't help but purchase. In my defense, I waited until very recently to get them on StockX since the price kept fluctuating between reasonable and annoying. 

Even though I never quite watched Dragon Ball Z, what I love most about these shoes is that they remind me of my friends. They remind me of how we used to (and still) nerd out about anime and video games and everything else. They're also purple, which was my absolute favorite color growing up. Interestingly enough, they also have a pop of pink, which is my current favorite color, making them a perfect mix of old and new. They come close to curing me of my FOMO when it comes to Dragon Ball Z. But I also suppose it's never too late to watch!

Style Profile: Nya, the Sporty Casual Gen Z'er Who Loves a Pop of Pink

Image: Chelsea Todd

Style Profile is a series on Millennial and Gen Z consumers' fashion choices and preferences, personal style, and takes on where fashion is headed. 

Nya is a high school student who likes to keep it sporty casual. Here, she shares some of her favorite brands, purchases, and talks about what she loves about the current state of fashion. 

On her favorite brands: One of my favorite brands when I was younger was Baby Phat because I loved Kimora Lee Simmons and how much of a boss she was and still is. I also really liked House of Deréon, Beyoncé's brand. Another favorite write now that's an essential for me is American Eagle. I'm really tall, so they make jeans that fit me really well. Being tall, it's hard to find stuff that actually fits.

On her personal style: My style really depends on my mood, so sometimes I'm sporty and wear leggings or if I'm going out, I like something dressier. But overall, I dress pretty casually. Graphic t-shirts, shorts, you know. I love a sweat suit.

On following trends: If I see something I like, I just like it. It doesn't have to be a trend.

On her favorite influencers: Beyoncé. She always does something outside the box and stays ahead of the game. When she does something, it's always an instant hit.

A recent purchase she fell in love with: I got this really cute pink Champion sweat suit a while ago and it's probably one of the things I like to wear the most.

On shopping in-store versus online: I prefer to shop in-store so that I can try things on. I hate getting stuff that doesn't fit.

Her favorite outfit of all-time: My favorite outfit of all-time was one of my birthday outfits. It was a dress that was pink and sparkly and super girly. I love getting dressed up for events like homecoming or for going out to dinner, so it was literally perfect.

On where fashion is headed: I like a lot of what I'm seeing in fashion. All of the 90's and 80's inspired looks that are popping up are really cool and I can get with it.

Fashion Mechanics: An All-White Shoe Affinity

Pictured: Nike Air Force 1's and Fila Disruptors 

Fashion Mechanics is a series about my personal thoughts, feelings, and connections to pieces in my closet. It explores the deeper meanings of, attachments to, and sentimentality of fashion. 

There are few things I love more than white shoes. As overused as this word is, they are an essential for any footwear collection or "shoedrobe."

White is a color most of us, unfortunately, associate with innocence, purity, elegance, and weddings. And while I personally believe myself to be very non-traditional, these cultural and societal meanings for different things still come to my mind. Being raised Catholic, I remember rocking white buckled shoes to church and wearing a white dress and veil for my First Communion. But if I could do it all over again as an adult and if it was socially acceptable, I'd wear white ankle boots with a tailored cape (you know the ones with the split sleeves!) and pants ensemble. No kidding.

Pictured: Missguided boots and YRU Hercules boots

However, with athleisure and streetwear holding steady in the trend department, I will make the call that white sneakers, specifically, are the new white buckled church shoes. From the popularity of the Fila Disruptors to Superga's white platform sneaker and my personal favorite, a classic pair of mid-rise Air Force 1's, white sneaker options are everywhere. 

One thing I really love about them is that, however bad I am at it, they hold me accountable as a consumer. They show every scuff and dirt smear. Though I keep an old, dirty pair of Air Forces on standby for outdoor events and music festivals, I prefer my white shoes to be neat and clean. I have yet to find a cleaning product I really like (recommend some to me in the comments!) and usually keep my shoes in good shape by staggering their wear. 

I usually prefer to keep my footwear simple when it comes to color and white shoes prove themselves to be a classic I keep returning to. If you have a favorite pair of white sneakers, boots, or even heels, give me a shout below!

Fashion Mechanics: A Sage Green Look

Images: Kristian Cormier 

Fashion Mechanics is a series about my personal thoughts, feelings, and connections to pieces in my closet. It explores the deeper meanings, attachments to, and sentimentality of fashion. 

Green is normally not my color. But sage is light enough for spring and dark enough to not be mint green. It's the perfect muted pastel, and therefore, is the winning green in my style book. 

Sage is a color that wouldn't have caught my eye if it weren't for one product: the Puma Thunder Desert sneakers. They were released in August, but I didn't become obsessive until December when they first started vanishing from Puma's website and Finish Line. Without a doubt, I've become a diet sneakerhead over the past few years and when I saw these shoes, I immediately thought they had one of the most unique color schemes I'd seen. No one did sage until Puma did, I swear. When I finally managed to snag them, I started searching sites for sage tops consistently. I needed something to match them! This is one of many reasons I've started to make attempts to curb my consumption. 

Also, I blame Kanye West for this muted color trend. While he's not one of my favorite people anymore for reasons I'm sure you can imagine, I can't be mad at him for this. I can't pull off his beige, brown, or nude-toned looks and he hasn't done sage yet, but I will absolutely thank him for the wonder that is manatee blue. 

I also love Kate Spade's take on this color with its very similar, but "different-enough-to-me" light pistachio colorway. Pop & Suki also has a cute version of its camera bag in it. However, I'm going to continue to avoid tempting myself and pull on this look when I'm in the mood for muted green. 

Fashion Mechanics: A Look Featuring Stacked Platform Sneakers

Photos by Jola Adesanya 

Shoes: Nike Vandal 2K in Hyper Magenta 

Fashion Mechanics is a series about my personal thoughts, feelings, and connections to pieces in my closet. It explores the deeper meanings, attachments to, and sentimentality of fashion. 

When I was 5 or 6 years old and lived in Louisiana, I went to a day camp in the summertime while my parents worked. I was with a bunch of bad, but very cool kids everyday and even though I was a bit of a goody-two-shoes, they let me hang around them and watch them goof off and make dances to songs by the Hot Boyz. One girl had a pair of super clean, white platform sneakers, so typical of the 90's, and I asked her where she got them from. I made sure to tell my mom the exact name of the place she told me and I got hit with the "no" so fast I got whiplash. 

To me, the platform sneaker was the ultimate shoe of the 90's. Dad shoes are up there, sure, but who didn't rock a lifted shoe back then? Me. I was the only one. Britney had them and so did Baby Spice (my favorite Spice Girl back then. I've since switched my allegiance to Posh and Sporty). I love my mom, but I was truly robbed of the experience of wearing that iconic style when it was actually iconic.

Being a lifelong member of the short club standing at 5-foot 2-inches, I love a good height boost. But in all honesty, I've never been one for heels. I can walk in them if they're 4-inches or lower, but only for so long until my right ankle starts to give out. It's sad, but true. The majority of my footwear consists of sneakers and since I am now financially independent, I've invested in several pairs of platforms to make up for the FOMO I experienced as a kid.   

The Nike Vandal 2K is currently my favorite platform offering aside from the classic one by Superga. It's stacked, but has a design that's simple enough to style with most pieces. I don't usually like my footwear to be too busy or have twenty different colors, so these are cool, but still easy enough to wear. I also have them in their first iteration, a shiny blue and red colorway, and in all-white, which is my favorite. 

I have an attachment to platforms that also exists beyond sneakers. As corny as it sounds, it's because that style is so reminiscent of my childhood. When the trend finally dies, I'll probably still be wearing mine. But, let's be real. As long as the 90's are back and have been for a few years now. Platform sneakers (and, love em' or hate em', chunky dad shoes) are going nowhere.