Wearing a cropped fuchsia sweater paired with brown jeans, Yssie Vargas ’23 completes her outfit with gold hoop earrings and black high-tops. In developing her unique style, Vargas has found confidence experimenting with the various shapes and contours of her outfits.
“Because I feel like I have a unique body shape… I don’t really like skirts [and] pants are really hard for me to style. Every time I find something that… works I adapt to that [style] in a way,” said Vargas.
Vargas credits her recent style evolution to her ability to try out new styles during quarantine. Kaia Heslin ’23 noticed Vargas’s experimentation with style as she started thrifting, making her own pieces, and trying out different trends to see what fit her the best.
“I really started noticing [Vargas’s] fashion over the summer and over quarantine. My first impression was that she was really bold and extroverted… [She’s] not afraid to wear whatever she wants and she’s really confident when she wears the things she wants to wear. I think confidence adds another level to her looking amazing,” said Heslin.
Vargas, who has been experimenting with ’70s and ’80s pieces, has recently discovered an interest in ’00s fashion as well.
“I’m getting more into patterns and layering and I make statements with a normal pair of pants and do an abstract top,” said Vargas.
Nour Rustum ’23 also saw Vargas’s interest in style spark over quarantine, a contrast from her Junior year at Andover where she would wear sweatpants and a sweatshirt almost every day. Now, Rustum admires Vargas’s fluidity and willingness to try different styles.
“I think my favorite thing about [Vargas’s] style is how she looks good in every different style she wears. Sometimes, she goes for more of a casual, streetwear type of outfit, other times she goes for ‘soft-girl.’ She makes everything work, and I think that’s really impressive, not many people can do that,” said Rustum.
During quarantine, Vargas found fashion inspiration from Internet influencer Emma Chamberlain, as well as from pictures on social media. The privacy of quarantine allowed Vargas to confidently experiment with these different style influences.
“When I first met [Vargas] last year, I think she was more shy and not focusing on fashion. Once she started to develop an interest in fashion, she started to become more experimental. It has been really amazing to see because she looks amazing in every single outfit. I think she’s also become a more confident person, and with confidence she owns every outfit she wears, even if it might not be something that you would usually think to put them together,” said Heslin.
