Pairing an airy, lace-trimmed red blouse with a pair of classic navy jeans, Oxfords, and simple but meaningful gold jewelry, Olivia Isacson brings her heritage, style icons, and opinions on fashion into every outfit. To Isacson, fashion reflects both who she is and how she wishes to be seen, and every detail of her outfit entwines her fashion knowledge to her unique heritage.
Being Dutch on her father’s side and Uruguayan on her mom’s, as well as living in New York City and spending time in Paris, Isacson draws inspiration from a myriad of places. With her mom also working in the fashion industry, Isacson’s wardrobe is a wondrous collection of style and meaning.
“My mom worked in Paris, so I spent a lot of time there, so I’m really influenced by the navy blue and red color palette… I think she’s inherently curated my style because so much of what I wear, she made… Because I grew up in New York, so I’ve learned to experiment with my style a lot, whether that be thrifting with my friends or walking around and seeing the variety of outfits; that showed me how to take risks,” said Isacson.
Gender and presentation are important aspects of Isacson’s style. She spoke about toying with the idea of masculinity and femininity in fashion:
“So many different parts of who I am and my ethnicity impact [my style] like New York, Uruguay, France, and Belgium to a certain extent… I think I make people a little bit confused. I really like to toy with androgyny, like I can go really feminine or really masculine, but I’m always a little bit in between, which I really like. People associate different things with masculinity or femininity, and I like to kind of [mess] with that a little bit, because I’m a woman, so even if I wear a suit or a button-down shirt, I still look feminine in it. I’m trying to question the way we dress,” said Isacson.
A big part of Isacson’s journey on discovering her style involves her twin sister Mia who is also a fashion enthusiast. Isacson noted how her sister keeps her accountable.
“I think my twin sister and I, we keep each other in check. The best thing about a twin sister is that we cut the BS. It’s this built-in, honest critique that I don’t think you can get from that many people,” said Isacson.
Isacson voiced many of her stylistic opinions; with her signature pixie cut and red lip, she’s a recognizable figure on campus. After discovering uniquely “her” accessories, such as hair, she gave advice for others trying to find their style.
“It’s hard to have perfect hair all the time, perfect nails, and perfect makeup. Pick things that you like to do. I have actually no interest in [messing] with my hair. My sister, she’ll spend hours curling her hair, but I have zero interest in it, so I cut it all off. But, I really like painting my nails… I think it’s [helpful to focus] on certain parts of your aesthetic that you like to focus on… And that’s fine, you can pick and choose. You can toy with your appearance… [I like] doing makeup more out of amplifying what I like about myself rather than [toning] down what I don’t like,” said Isacson.
After her own years of experimentation and figuring out her style, Isacson’s advice boils down to being brave enough to take the risk to try something new.
“Andover is very unique because you can experiment with clothing and not have that many real consequences. Andover doesn’t have a dress code for a reason. They want you to try out new things, and they want you to play around with it more. So instead of just following what you think people will think looks cool, try it out and see what happens. See if you connect with it,” said Isacson.
