Dressed in a navy blue utility jacket and emerald green chinos, Cindy Koh ’17 ties a pink and green watercolor scarf around her neck to complete her look. The scarf comes from Runway, a small boutique in Itaewon, a popular shopping district in Seoul, Korea, from which Koh has accumulated a large collection of clothing and accessories.
From the sixth to eighth grade, Koh attended Fay School, a junior boarding school in Massachusetts, where the strict dress code required her to sport a button-down, blazer and dress shoes with either a skirt or formal pants. The dress code inspired Koh to find different ways to add personality to her outfits.
“There was not much room for fashion at Fay. However, the strictness of [the dress code] inspired [my friends and me] to go beyond the uniform to express ourselves. We tried to find cool dress shoes or flats and funky scarves to dress up the uniform, because those were permitted,” said Koh.
At Andover, Koh enjoys the freedom of not having a dress code. She blends Korean style with classic American pieces in a look that is more comfortable and colorful than the uniform she wore at the Fay School.
Koh seeks inspiration from various fashion blogs and Instagram accounts. Flipping through the daily posts, she finds colors, styles and brands that influence her daily attire.
“I follow lots of different brands, designers, stores and fashion blogs on Instagram, so I get inspired each time I go through my feed. I don’t copy piece by piece what is shown in the posts, because I don’t like buying things just because someone else wears them. [Rather,] I like mimicking different looks or themes that I find there. Social media is a great resource in that way,” said Koh.
Koh enjoys shopping on Newbury Street in Boston. Specifically, she frequents Pinkyotto, a boutique that mixes Korean style with preppy New England pieces, emulating what Koh considers to be her personal style.
“Pinkyotto on Newbury Street has very unique designs that incorporate a lot of cool layers and fabrics. They tend to sell sweaters that match with certain shirts, so you can go in there and buy a whole look,” said Koh. “One of my favorite shirts from Pinkyotto is a green top that has knit sweater material in the front but is sheer in the back and floats out longer behind me. I do skating this term, and I love the way the back of the sweater floats out when I skate.”
Recently, Koh wore a blue sweater dress over black leggings with grey leather Superga sneakers. She finished the outfit with a scarf with charcoal gradations to add warmth to the fall look. During the summer, Koh continues to mix her classy style with color and comfort in outfits such as a blue jumpsuit covered in an intricate white floral pattern. Koh can also be seen wearing a well-tailored denim jacket over a white T-shirt with black diamonds and a lilac, chiffon miniskirt.
“[Koh] wears really soft colors and flowy clothing that are very elegant, and other days she will look really cute and preppy with her patterned sneakers, pencil skirts or button down shirts. And I also really love when she wears leggings with a thicker dress on top in the winter, especially the ones with geometric shapes,” said Camilla Guo ’17, a friend of Koh’s.
