Ina Megalli’s statement earrings are a staple to her everyday outfits.
Matching oversized statement earrings with a brightly colored top, Ina Megalli ’20 finishes her outfit with her usual makeup look, using red and pink eyeshadow. For Megalli, her style grew out of her daily wardrobe, but has now become an important avenue of expression that outwardly portrays her personality.
“I think that at the base of it, clothes are what you need to survive the elements or whatever, but I also think that they’re a really valuable form of self-expression… On days when I just want to sit in silence, sometimes my outfit is a little more loud than usual and I just let it do the talking.”
Megalli describes her style as “Seattle hipster,” as her fashion is never about following specific trends or brands. She prefers comfortable, yet bold outfits that fit the weather and reflect her personality.
“She has a really eclectic style, which I thinks speaks to her as a person. She’s involved in so many different things, on and off campus, and she is friends with so different many people,” wrote Bea Hruska ’20, a close friend of Megalli, in an email to The Phillipian.
In picking her everyday outfits, Megalli focuses on the color coordination of her tops, and completes her statements with eye-catching accessories.
“I wear a lot of big statement earrings, so I think about colors and how they look together. Usually if I’m wearing yellow or red I wear my red earrings; if I’m wearing cooler tones I wear blue, and I recently got these really cool lavender hoops but those are hard to match with anything because it’s a difficult color… I also do my makeup every morning. Usually just eyeshadow, eyeliner or mascara, but sometimes I also wear some blush or highlighter,” said Megalli.
Megalli also accessories with items that are symbolic of her personal relationships. One piece of jewelry with sentimental value is a ring that references her time costuming the play “Heidi Chronicles,” which reminds Megalli of a friend.
“There was this character that would leave a scene by doing little finger guns and saying ‘keep the faith.’ My friend and I started using it as a goodbye… The summer before last year, I got her a necklace that said ‘Deuces,’ and she found a ring that said ‘keep the faith,’” said Megalli.
According to Megalli, confidence is key to rocking any outfit. The feeling of accomplishment when seeing herself in the mirror for the first time in the morning is the highlight of her day.
“I think it’s just about liking the clothes you’re wearing, and feeling confident that it’s working out the way you hoped,” said Megalli.
Megalli tries to shop sustainably and to avoid fast fashion, despite the limitations it brings.
“I shop a lot at Forever 21 but I feel really bad about it. It’s hard not to support fast fashion retailers with a teenage budget, but I’ve been trying to shift towards buying a few nicer items from more ethical places,” said Megalli.
Megalli continued, “I’ve been trying to find brands that have what I’m looking for at a price that works for me while also being ethically made and that is a huge issue for me. Often, the ethical stuff gets put on the back burner because it can be really exhausting just dealing with [thrift shopping].”
According to Megalli, having a variety of colors that matches her mood and comical designs she admires are important factors that affect her clothing choices. Megalli named her favorite piece as a bright green t-shirt from Zumiez, decorated with a hipster-looking clipart of a wizard and titled with the phrase “Man-Witch”.
“I thought the phrase “Man-Witch” was hilarious,” said Megalli. “Also the illustration is adorable.”
Ina Megalli ’20 finds satisfaction in putting together a good outfit in the morning. According to Megalli, eye-catching pieces can often be “loud” and say a lot about a person.
