Evelyn Marshall ’28 credits her experimentation to not having a dress code.
Miniskirts, a leather jacket, and layered silver jewelry form the base of Evelyn Marshall ’28’s wardrobe. Purple, black, and dark red appear often. Marshall’s wardrobe also includes thrifted pieces and clothing she has sewn herself.
Marshall’s approach is less about following one aesthetic and more about building a routine for experimentation. On Sundays, she spends about 20 minutes laying out outfits for the week.
“I don’t subscribe to a specific style. I don’t like to be tied down to just a specific, very limited idea of what I should dress. I like to experiment with different styles. My style is very grounded in my accessories. I wear pretty much the same jacket and jewelry every day, which creates a consistency for what I wear, but I don’t have a specific style descriptor,” said Marshall.
Marshall’s early style developed through people and media. Marshall cited influences such as her sixth-grade English teacher, Gregg Araki’s films, and David Bowie’s glam-rock style.
“My sixth-grade English teacher was the coolest person ever. I don’t actually dress like her at all, but she would wear these huge glasses, and she was always wearing these really long skirts. I just thought she was the coolest person ever. So less specifically aesthetically, but more her general energy and vibe as a person, is something that definitely inspired my early style,” said Marshall.
For Marshall, clothing breaks up the routine of student life.
“My clothes are a big motivator for me every day. They help break up the monotony of life at Andover. Every day I wake up, go to breakfast, go to class, go to sports, come home, and do my homework. It’s boring in that sense, so clothes have been a way for me to spice up my life a little bit and have a little more fun with my day,” said Marshall.
She continued, “My Spanish final last year was at 8 a.m., and I was in a full miniskirt. I was wearing a corset top, and my friend was like, ‘What? Why are you dressed like this? It’s 8 a.m. We’re here to take a Spanish final.’ And I was like, ‘No, this is going to motivate me to be successful.’”
After learning how to sew, Marshall made a corset-style top with purple flowers and used the same fabric to create patches for one of her jackets. Her time at Andover has encouraged her to branch out of her comfort zone stylistically.
“Since coming to Andover, I started to experiment with my style a little more, I think just by nature of being at boarding school and realizing that no one really cares. You can just wear whatever you want, and also not having a dress code at all was kind of freeing. So I started experimenting more with my style freshman year, and then I came into myself a little bit more sophomore year, just with how I liked to dress and figuring out what I liked,” said Marshall.
Marshall’s friend, Hanna Lisauskas ’28, noted a connection between Marshall’s sharp clothing and her personality.
“I think her style is a little bit edgy and very sharp and kind of striking, and I think that’s what her personality is like too. She’s very smart, and she’s also really funny and sarcastic. But in contrast to that, she’s super nice,” said Lisauskas.
Emma Hong ’28 described Marshall’s confidence and assuredness.
“She was already a very self-assured 14-year-old. She knew who she was more than the rest of us did, but now she just really knows, stylistically,” said Hong.
