I sat down with the two gals in charge of Champaign-Urbana’s own Styllini a few days ago to discuss the 1 year anniversary of their blog. Founded April 2007, the blog charms all who read and inspires the midwestern style hungry. Check this out:
When did your friendship first blossom?
Paulina: A few weeks into freshman year, we were bonded by the adhesive of mutual non-insanity and a penchant for Salvation Army.
Ria: We bonded pretty quickly at the beginning of freshman year. Highlights would include getting dressed up in matching salvation army outfits and then spending friday night at isr e-chomps becase we had nothing else to do, also, harassing kids, and watching Grey Gardens together in my bed.
What’s your definition of street style?
Ria: Someone with street style is anyone who stands out in the crowd, seems like they have an extra spring in their step, glitter in their veins, but it helps to be wearing something really directional (low crotch pants, for example) and/or be an international student from Hong Kong or a cute boy.
Paulina: Street style, much like human existence, is an oft-debated and ephemeral creature.
What lead you guys to the idea of bringing this idea to Champaign-Urbana?
Paulina: The prospect of meeting Yvan the Facehunter at a street stylers convention.
Ria: After spending a good portion of last year staring at influential street style blogs (the sartorialist, facehunter), we decided to start our own here. It can be a bit of a challenge due to geographic isolation and a tremendously homogenous student body, but I think it’s fun to see some really fashion
forward students.
How has the experience been taking photos on the way to class?
Paulina: The quad is my oyster.
Is the fashion industry making a comeback?
Paulina: It’s no longer as shameful to care about your appearance, I think. This is in part because the Sartorialist has turned it into a meaningful art form that is a reflection of everyday life and one’s inner self and so on. But I’m mostly motivated by the urge to look like a TeenVogue photo shoot 24/7.
Do you think street style is in part because of this?
Ria: There’s definitely a strong relationship between street style and the fashion industry. Even before this influx of blogs, designers would look to the *streets* (chloe sevigny’s street, for example) to see what the kids were wearing and drew inspiration from that. Inversely, lots of fashion forward people work to interpret runway looks to ones that can be worn everyday, on the street.
What’s your outlook for summer and fall?
Ria: Personally, I’m hoping to develop a uniform, like Carine Roitfeld, Yoko Ono, or Kevin Federline. More broadly, I’m hoping American Apparel takes a chill pill. Its fine for comfortable tee shirts and child porn, but it’s become way too much of a fashion statement for a lot of people. Once neon is dead to the masses, it will probably be all about overalls with bra tops.
Paulina: Thou shalt not don a lower half that falls below thy bellybutton.
And to conclude, if you had to each pick a few songs that inspire your personal style, what would they be?
Paulina: Probably the Kinks and the Stones. Not so much lately for 60s styles, but more as if I were a 64 year old wealthy woman who once slept with Mick Jagger but now just wears billowing blouses and and culottes on her yacht as she reflects on days past.
Ria: Diamonds- lil kim
“After hours” Velvet Underground
“Suzanne” Leonard Cohen
Justin Cudmore: cudmore2@gmail.com
Comments
michael roberts (michael roberts) says:
(Posted December 10th, 2008 at 5:01 pm)
wow
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Justin Cudmore
cudmore2@gmail.com
Ria (Ria) says:
(Posted April 18th, 2008 at 4:56 pm)
why didn’t you include an mp3 of lil kim- Diamonds????????????????????
see you in like 5 minutes.