A Week in Her Boots: Ryan Holguin, Journal #1

Profile:

Who: Ryan Holguin
From: Los Angeles, CA
House: Josselyn
Year: 2017 Field of Interest: Biology/Art History

Journal #1

In the 1954 film A Star is Born, Norman Maine advises aspiring actress Vicki Lester, “Don’t settle for the little dream. Go on to the big one.” While I am not an aspiring 1950s actress, I did go on to dress with this in mind everyday. I try to wear clothing that will make me feel happy throughout the entire day. 

For example, when I took the SATs, I chose to wear a powder blue, 1950s dress with oxfords instead of sweatpants and a hoodie. I was the only person in the room who was happy about anything.

Personal style is very important to me because I often use it as a kind of diary entry. What I wear that day is how I woke up feeling and how I hope to feel. There are days when I am Grace Kelly on her wedding day and other days, I might as well be an extra on My So Called Life. This is how I felt this week:

Day 1:

“Never say never” when browsing the defective clothing on sale. I found this silk dress with a sticker on it and a stain maybe smaller than this font. I did not pay $80 for it and I did get the stain off. Made my mom proud. I am not entirely sure how to wear these socks yet. At least I knew I had cats on my feet, looking out for me.

Day 2:

Today felt like an Angela Chase sort of day. I woke up with a lot feelings so I was ready to dress “90s high school.” The dress was a purchase in San Francisco three years ago. I knew I would wear for years to come. It’s a great go-to without exerting too much effort. The long sleeve shirt is very important to me. My father bought it thirty years ago in Quebec on one my parents’ first trips together. My dad didn’t get much use out of it because in Los Angeles 50° weather is terrifying. I cut the bottom and hemmed it to fit me. I strongly suggest learning how to sew. Take an intro class over break. You will save money by avoiding the tailor and everything can look exactly the way you wanted it to. 

I found my shoes on Etsy and they are pretty sturdy. However, they mysteriously do not have any type of label or marking on them. I don’t really want to know why, so I don’t ask questions. My socks remind me of my AP Spanish teacher in high school. One day, she made a point of telling us that her favorite color was dusty rose. Browsing the sale page on needsupply, I found these “dusty rose” APC socks that were on sale. Like, really on sale. It was a great purchase and getting the actual package in the mail made it worth the wait.

A lot of people in high school thought I was a witch doctor. I just really like bones but not in weird, creepy way. They’re beautiful to me and maybe I am a witch doctor. I made this headband by hot glue gunning coyote toe bones onto the top.

Day 2 Photography by: Clare Neal 

Day 3:

So I may or may not have worn a dark mustard suit to my senior prom. I had already gone two years before that and it was time to wear what I really wanted to. Guess who was the most comfortable girl there? Yep. Me. Well, the pants are from the suit, which I am glad I can wear again. You can’t wear a lot of prom dresses again unless you went to prom three years in a row. For a suit, it was great quality and reasonably priced at Zara. In the next few sentences you’re either going to hate me or love me. My shirt is a Comme des Garçons shirt from their PLAY collection. I wasn’t about to pay $150+ for a shirt but I wanted it; I dreamt of it—I’m not joking. I finally found one on eBay for less than 25% of the original price. Resale queen alert.

My shoes are used Dr. Martens but they are actually pointed unlike rounded, combat boots. 

Pro-Tip: If you’re scared of wearing used shoes or if you’re going to wear used shoes at all, swabbing the inside with rubbing alcohol is wise.

At the end of the day, I added multiple layers. Here is a picture of me in the library looking like “Big Edie” Beale and “Little Edie” Beale of the documentary Grey Gardens. Never be ashamed to look like a crazy person especially if its 40 degrees outside.

Day 4:

This is a picture of me trying to model in my room but it didn’t work. The outfit did work though. 

My friend from high school didn’t want this dress anymore. I gladly took it off her hands. It seems like a handmade vintage dress because there are no labels or lining. 

My headband is from American Apparel. The headband has wire in it so you can wear however you want. I liked this outfit so much, I wore it again to the Decades Dance in the Villard Room. I got bumped around so many times but the headband stayed strong and kept my hair out of my face.

Day 5:

I am always glad to take this dress out of my closet because it means that it is most likely fall. The dress is wool but has ties on the side so it does not  provide coverage on the side. It was cold enough outside that I wore it with a black long sleeve and Uniqlo Heattech tights, which have made my days here infinitely better. Many of the shoes I brought here are not practical because I did not think ahead and I am from Los Angeles. These shoes were a recent purchase. They are Eastland hiking boots. They cradle my foot, so they're very comfortable, but also appropriate for non-hiking endeavors.

Day 6:

I took a risk today and wore two tartan items that were different colors and slightly different patterns. Cher Horowitz wore patterns on patterns in Clueless so I gave myself the okay.

The green skirt is one of my favorite items of clothing that I own. I purchased this Banana Republic skirt for a grand total of $3.00 I bought the skirt at a vintage store down the street from where I live. It smelled really odd but I washed it in boiling water and it has smelled great since. Don’t let a little stank chase you away.

My faux-leather jacket lined with jersey is a recent purchase from Topshop. They killed it this season with outwear. I hope they keep it up. Another recent purchase is the light olive, cashmere beanie I have on. It’s from the Marc Jacobs website in the “Special Items” section, which is probably why it costed a lot less than everything else on the website.

I mentioned earlier that I really like my hiking boots. Well, I wore them again today.

Day 7:

This was my favorite outfit by far. I’m not sure why but this outfit turned out to be animal themed.

My L. L. Bean dress was another purchase from Goodwill. It is one of my favorite pieces because it has pockets and there are very few dresses that provide the luxury of pockets.

Alright, so the sweater. My mom was going through boxes in the garage and found this keeper. This is a sweater that truly makes me happy to wear. It’s easy to wear black and grays every day, but this sweater forces me to wear a color I rarely wear.

Yes, the socks do have geese on them. I purchased them on sale from Hansel and Basel. They came in a two-pack—it was a smart purchase.

I wear these Y. R. U. flats as slippers in my room. They’re really easy to wear with everything, but they also manage to attract attention despite their simple design.

Article by Ryan Holguin, '17
Photography by Imrul Islam, ‘17