Styling a white crochet crop top, with a pair of similarly patterned pants, Adaeze Izuegbunam ’20 completes her look with a pair of floral earrings, high-heeled combat boots, and a dark, bold lip color.
“Most of the time, [my outfits] are based in brighter colors, but it does tend to go between blue and red. I would say I’m working on like [contrasting clothing] length with things,” said Izuegbunam.
Izuegbunam’s style is largely based upon variety in color and pattern. During her first year at Andover, she has become more confident in her clothing choices and has developed a unique look consisting of floral designs and patterns as a staple.
“With Andover I’ve been allowed to express myself a lot more. I repeat a lot of items, but the way I layer things or like the way I combine them every outfit in itself is a little bit different. It exposes those different parts [of my style],” said Izuegbunam.
Color plays into Izuegbunam’s love for wearing makeup, or more specifically, lipstick, as well.
“My mom wears really bright lipstick colors. She has purples and bright pinks and she pulls it off and I’m always like, ‘I can never do that.’ But I can try. I got into it a lot this year. I almost never wore makeup at the beginning. I would just put on lipstick and be like ‘Oh good to go!’” said Izuegbunam.
Prior to Andover, Izuegbunam attended a local school in Canton, Mich. where uniforms were required. Despite desires to create her own clothing style beyond the school uniform, Izuegbunam cites her mother for instilling the value of taking pride in her appearance.
“My mom was always like, ‘When you leave the house, make sure you dress well… you can’t follow me wearing jeans and a t-shirt. You’re representing me,” said Izuegbunam.
Growing up, Izuegbunam often questioned the lack of black representation in the media. While she admired most clothing on popular TV shows, Izuegbunam cites star Zendaya Coleman as a specific source of inspiration.
“I watched a lot of Disney Channel [as a child] and I would always look at like the main characters, because a lot of them were female, and I’d be like, ‘Oh wow, I love that outfit. I wish I had those clothes.’ I saw [Zendaya] on Disney Channel, and she’s tall, and most of the people I saw on television were white. And she’s like one of the first that actually isn’t. Whatever she wears, she wears it with pride because she knows she looks good and it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks,” said Izuegbunam.
Izuegbunam’s flair for style does not go unnoticed. Her combinations of short and long clothing lengths and texture, paired with her eye for patterns set a vibrant tone for others around her.
“It’s really nice because it could be a terrible day, and she’s always dressed so nicely, and so put together. It’s just makes you happy, I guess. It’s very brightening,” said Emma Slibeck ’20 about Izuegbunam’s style.