The outfits of Noemi Elliot ’22 often consist of vibrant colors such as the fiery rose-colored sweater she is wearing.
In addition to keeping her warm in the cold, the colorful scarf is one of Elliott’s favorite accessories and recurs in her outfits.
Donning a sharp and striking scarf that complements the softer silhouette of a fiery rose-colored sweater, Elliott finishes her casual yet dynamic outfit with cuffed blue pants and a pair of simple white shoes, a choice that not only captures her vibrantly elegant style but also deliberately and simplistically complements her appearance.
“I think I aesthetically like things that are more embellished but also pay attention to what I think would match my features…There’s a scarf that I love that’s multi-colored and I repeat that a lot because… it has reds, browns, and so many different colors that it goes with everything… [even] most of my accessories have many colors so they can go with a lot of things and make it easy for me to wear and not have it clash,” said Elliott.
Elliott attributes the development of her style to her younger years at Singapore American School. Having to typically wear uniforms except for during free dress days every other Wednesday, she began to consider her clothing choices more deliberately on the rare occasion where her fashion was not restricted to collared white shirts and blue skirts.
“I would use those days to try new outfit choices, wearing flowy dresses, for example, with cropped leggings underneath. While I would never wear something like that now, that was the starting point for my interest in fashion that eventually transformed into my own personal style and aesthetic,” said Elliott.
More than anything, Elliott finds that her style centers around the implementation of classy color palettes. This holds especially true for many of her shirts and sweaters, which often contrast her more neutral pants and skirts. Elliott also believes that many of her outfits have a clean and complementary style, an idea directly influenced by the character Blair Waldorf in Gossip Girl.
“My closet consists of…vibrant colors. Everything is sparkly or bright, and even the pieces of clothing that are black contain some kind of color, like yellow or red, that matches the rest of my clothes. I also make sure my outfits look put together, which means everything’s ironed and the colors coordinate. When I shop, I always look at colors before anything else, so if there’s a rack with…my favorite color, I would look at it and then think about whether it would look good on me,” said Elliott.
While Waldorf serves as inspiration for the early foundations of Elliott’s development of preferred color palettes and overall cohesiveness, the general aesthetic and tone of her fashion was inspired by famous actors’ clothing pieces, specifically those from Golden Age Hollywood movies. Primarily borrowing aesthetics from fashion icon Audrey Hepburn, Elliott aims to emulate charm and elegance in her outfit choices.
“Actors like Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn, and Katherine Hepburn… carry themselves with such grace and poise, and I think the whole glam aspect of what they and their characters embody is something like what I would wear to Abbot,” said Elliott.
Elliott particularly derives inspiration from the movie My Fair Lady, which stars Audrey Hepburn in its leading role. The movie’s most iconic outfit—Hepburn’s white dress with detailed neckline beading and embroidery—served as the base idea for both Elliott’s prom and graduation dresses.
“My graduation dress is inspired by My Fair Lady, because it has this really similar dainty look with sequins and sparkles. Thinking about this dress transports me to the moment in the film where Hepburn goes to this ball and surprises everyone with how she’s transformed. The entrance she makes is the entrance and exit I hope to make, because it’s going to be my last time here,” said Elliott.
As Elliott’s time at Andover draws to a close, she also notes that many accessories, specifically jewelry, have become emblematic of her time and growth at the school. Specifically important is her charm bracelet, which was given to her as a matriculation gift and has been used for luck during all of her tests at Andover.
“I got my charm bracelet from my aunt when I came here—she gave it to me a few days before I matriculated as a Junior. It reminds me of how sad I was when I first left Singapore to come here, yet as I’ve continued to wear this and make new memories here, I’ve really come to love this place, and the bracelet is a representation of that,” said Elliott.
