Fashion on 5th is The New School Free Press’ weekly fashion column showcasing the student’s best and most unique looks of the week.
Audrey Xu (left), a freshman at Parsons studying design and technology, wore a thrifted neon-orange jacket from Beacon’s Closet and “cowboy-esque” Carhartt pants from L Train Vintage, paired with Nike sneakers. Xu trickled delicate silver chains throughout her outfit, from the earrings she got on Taobao.com, to her layered necklaces, and in the strap detail on her shirt that she snagged on Depop. The hat she found in a store in Shanghai seemed to be her favorite part of the outfit. “It makes me feel like a captain,” Xu said. “I really like it. I think it elevates my outfit.”
Emily Yun (right), a freshman at Parsons studying illustration and Xu’s friend, wore an outfit totally nailing the awkward weather transition in New York City right now. Her fall color palette included a patterned silk kimono-turned-shirt she thrifted from Los Angeles, beige pants from Zara and a classic pair of black Doc Martens boots. Her belt was also thrifted from L.A., while her necklaces were from Beacon’s Closet (longer chain) and online (top two). She said that although thrifting in L.A. is a lot cheaper, there are better finds here in the city.
“Sometimes we match… We live in the same building, and sometimes we’ll come out and it’s like ‘whoa, we’re kind of matching,” said Yun.
“I think it’s kinda funny, because it says ‘cowgirl up’ and that doesn’t make any sense,” Xu said of her shirt.
Avery Felman is a junior at Lang studying comedy writing and political satire. She wore a navy worksuit from Beacon’s Closet, purchased because it was ten bucks and she thought she looked like a Super Mario brother. Felman’s star-patterned white leather sneakers were Madewell for Veja, her backpack was her boyfriend’s gift for their anniversary, and the pink pompom was a street-find in Morocco. She added gold accents with her jewelry, which varied between being thrifted and gifted.
The sandwich was the model’s own and was made with hummus, avocado, lettuce, tomato and prosciutto.
“I feel like some days I really want to present myself in a way that makes me feel like I’m really well put together, and other days it’s just fun to say… am I allowed to say ‘fuck?’ Fuck it,” Felman said.
Suki Su, a fashion design freshman at Parsons, wore an almost full Zara look, with her denim jacket, pants and beige hoodie. Her furry shoes were from Anthropologie and her equally furry earrings from Free People. Su’s bracelets were from Stylenanda while her pink sunglasses, which matched her rosy eyeshadow, were from a small boutique in China.
“When I’m in China I need to think about how others will see me in that outfit. Here, I don’t need to care about that, about other’s opinions of me,” Su said.
Ines Emquies, a sophomore at Lang, said she felt like wearing something peppy that day. Emquies, who usually doesn’t wear much color, got her yellow cardigan from Beacon’s Closet and found her white top at the Melrose Flea Market in Los Angeles. Her skirt was a lucky snag from right around the corner at the Broadway street fair. “I’d been looking for a black miniskirt for years, and I was walking down 10th. There were a bunch of little street vendors and I got it for five dollars, so I was really happy about that,” she said. Emquies got her shoes online from Vagabond and her bag from a vintage convention in Los Angeles.
“I like the daintiness of my cardigan and my top together. I think it’s very cute, like a little doll,” Emquies said.
Gregory Carroll, a junior at Parsons studying product design, was wearing strictly black and white. “I usually wear more color than this, this is like very chill for me. But it is pretty color coordinated,” he said. Carroll’s black tassel loafers and white socks were thrifted at No Relation in the East Village. His black jeans were from Levi’s, while his cream button-up and white t-shirt were from Uniqlo. Carroll’s Ralph Lauren reversible belt was given to him by his dad right before he left for his flight to New York City from New Orleans. “I didn’t have a belt on and I was wearing really big shorts and he gave me this belt from his closet,” he said. His bag was JUDD, earring was Ladies & Gentlemen Studio and glasses Warby Parker. The finishing touch, the black and white striped paper clip, was from Staples.
“I actually wear paperclips on all my t-shirts when I wear them, just different colors. I have a pack of them and I just switch them out between solid and striped ones,” Carroll said.
Carlos G. Rivera Auli was the smiliest product design junior at Parsons, and nailed pattern layering. He thrifted his black silk jacket from Beacon’s Closet. As for his Brooks Brothers red button up shirt, Auli declined to tell The New School Free Press of its origins. “It’s [designed by] the guy who used to work for Comme Des Garçons. It’s like an eight hundred dollar shirt I found for thirty bucks, but I’m not going to tell you where I got it from, because it’s none of your business, ” Auli said. His striped t-shirt was from Tommy Hilfiger, green camo pants from Urban Outfitters and “overpriced J’s,” Cement 3s from 2011.
Photos by Anna Del Savio / Illustration by Ashlie Juarbe