“Growing up, I got really into skate-based movies. I watched Mid90s when I was in seventh grade. I got really into homemade skate videos for a while. Even though I never learned how to skate, I just really liked the aesthetic. Then I watched SLC Punk in the summer between seventh and eighth grade. I had gotten a pair of Docs for my birthday and I was really into them. I watched that movie and I literally wore them every single day because Docs are a really big part of punk subculture. That still has a place in my style now, but I’m not as obsessed with trying to stick to one specific aesthetic anymore,” said Strong.
Strong now embraces the many stylistic phases she went through, citing them as the foundation of her strong sense of personal style.
“Sixth grade, I was wearing jeans from Justice and horrible Target kids shirts. I think to have good style, you have to have some really bad outfits for a year. When I first started thrifting, I would thrift these button-up vests [that] people wear in three-piece suits. I don’t know why. Not the vibe. But that’s okay. Now, I love a good sweater because of that phase. I think you can tell when people don’t have personal style, when they never had a phase,” said Strong.
Despite the evolution in her style, certain pieces have remained constant throughout the years. Strong’s JNCO jeans, worn through multiple phases, serve as a physical record of time and experimentation.
“I’m not going to say I got on the JNCO jeans trend before everybody else, but I will say my jeans look lived in, and I do have JNCO jeans you can’t buy on the website anymore. There’s literally a phone imprint on the pocket. They look like I’ve worn them because I have. I’ve worn them for four years,” said Strong.
Last year marked a period of experimentation and change for Strong, who began to incorporate more feminine elements into her style.
“Last year I wanted to be more feminine. I don’t know why, but I [did]. I played around with silhouettes. I started wearing more patterns, cooler shirts. I experimented with my hair. I straightened it for the first time, and I couldn’t do that until January last year. The whole year was a big style evolution because I was feminine as a little kid, then I went super masculine for like three years, and then I went back a little. I used to be more influenced by male aesthetics and more masculine stuff, but now I’m shifting a little bit,” said Strong.
Strong highlighted the confidence and vulnerability needed to experiment with styles at Andover, especially as she began to incorporate more feminine elements.
“Wearing clothes that are different takes confidence. Performing femininity is vulnerable. The shift from masculinity to femininity was big for me. I had to find it within myself, because it’s difficult, especially as a queer person. Andover is accepting, but it can be hard to break out of a mold you built for yourself. Andover is also not the most alternative place. I’m from a city, and my friends at home dress really alternative compared to what people think is normal here. I toned it down for a while,” said Strong.
A close friend of Strong, Kai Mafunga ’26, underscored Strong’s constant reinvention as what defines her approach to fashion. While Strong returns to familiar staples, she resists settling into a single aesthetic, always taking risks with new pieces and silhouettes.
“When I met her freshman year, she was very much baggy all the way. Now she has branched out of that comfort zone and started experimenting more. Even wearing pants or tops that are considered tighter. She has just started to play with that more [which] is really interesting. I think she has gotten more comfortable expressing more feminine parts of herself,” said Mafunga.
This year, Strong hopes to challenge herself to continue expanding her style, keeping her everyday outfits dynamic.
“But one thing I want to do this year is judge myself more, like I did in eighth grade. Like, why are you wearing the same thing every day. Switch it up. It’s easy here to get into a monotonous routine. Clothing is a way to make life more interesting when you’re at Andover. Upper winter is the throes of madness, so I want to use clothes to keep my life interesting and make me feel sane,” said Strong.
