Post Pandemic Fashion

The pandemic has gone along so far university students are starting to forget what it is like to attend physical classes. From our weekly routine of waking up early in the morning to get a good parking spot before campus parking gets crowded to the mini-workout of walking around campus all day and of course, the thrill of picking out which outfit to wear each day that is equally comfortable yet stylish.

You may have encountered some students around campus that made you go, “Wow, that outfit is just (incoherent words),” or you simply cannot stop staring. Nowadays, all we have are random Zoom call screens and the only time we go wow is if he or she has a nice background, which by the way is not a common occurrence.

What we remembered from our heavy yet fleeting moments in the campus of student fashion before the pandemic stroke has probably changed drastically. Not to fret, here are some Taylorians who are willing to share their post-pandemic fashion and their thoughts on their styles. We have Esther Tan May Yinn, Nicole Law Xin Yi, and Nurin Razmyn, year two students from the School of Mass Communications, and Leow Wei Li, another year two student from the School of Business.

(From Top-Left: Nurin Razmyn, Esther Tan May Yinn, Leow Wei Li, and Nicole Law Xin Yi)

What is style to you?

Leow: You’ve probably heard this countless times but style, to me, is really just a medium where I'm allowed to express myself, and showcase a little bit more about myself through what I wear.

Tan: Style is definitely something that I’ve learned over the years in finding what sort of style suits me. It’s all subjective, isn’t it? Most of the styles that everyone has are just their own rendition or carbon copy of what they saw in the media. So I think style to me is seeing what I like online, taking it and matching it with other stuff I like, and making it my own.

Law: Style is something to express my emotions. Based on what I’m wearing, in terms of hairstyles, makeup, and choice of clothing, it showcases how I am feeling on that particular day. Overall, style is something very personal as everyone has their own preferences. They are arts, hence there is no right or wrong.

Nurin: Style is something that gives me an identity. I feel like once I’ve created my own style, people will often revert to thinking of me. I think style is also subjective; things I find attractive, others may not. But I do think that the reason I wear what I wear is to appeal to everyone. I try to style pieces and outfits that everyone would like and not just a certain group of people.

What do you wish people to see or feel when they see you in this outfit?

Tan: I mean I hate the idea of people comparing strangers’ styles when they don’t really need to because what right do we have? But if they were to see or feel anything from my outfit, I’d want them to see a different style and feel moved to try something similar.

Law: I’m always amazed at how the Winx Club’s fairies dressed – the animated version since I was young. It was very unique, the way they styled according to their own characteristics and behaviours. They were mainly inspired during the Y2K aesthetic period. Hence, I hope I could bring out the nostalgia and reminiscence days of the Winx Club comic book by restyling a modern slash back-to-school Winx Club-inspired outfits.

Nurin: I would like people to think that even the simplest of pieces, like the all-black top with red details, can easily be a full outfit just by styling it with matching leggings. I want them to feel like these two pieces come together to create something bigger.

Why these clothing or accessories, Is there a special story behind them?

Leow: I actually got the vest recently and really liked how it looked but because of the recent lockdown I didn't get to try wearing it out so I guess it's just the small excitement of wearing new clothes.

Tan: I think I’ve always loved having a nice variety of shoes. I never had a lot, to begin with, but I usually had like two or three pairs that I circulated amongst my outfits. In recent years, I’ve kind of grown my collection, though with very calculative and reasonable purchases albeit some impulsive ones, whoops. But the ones featured here are my three pairs of boots that I currently own! The heeled boots were my first purchase, the beige bulky one was my second and the black boots were my most recent purchase.

Who or what is your major fashion influence or influencer?

Leow: Anyone that catches my eye in the way they dress or bring themselves really, the people that are confident in what they do and aren't afraid to try out new things that could work out. I guess one of the people who really inspired me was one of my childhood friends, Abel (shoutout to you Abel!), and one of my colleagues when I worked at a cafe, Choy. Both of them really opened up my eyes to how you could have variations for different pieces of clothing, and make them work out. Also, the whole skateboarding culture and Instagram Explore Fashion section really helped as well.

Tan: I think I take more fashion influence from Asian artists both from China and Korea as well as from all those TikTok videos of China streetwear haha. In the past two years or so, I’ve been thrifting a lot of my clothes and trying to up-cycle some of mine, my sister’s or my mum’s clothes too. I also take inspiration from how my mum and late aunt used to dress up in their younger days because the styles they wore are coming back in fashion! So I can’t say I have a single or major fashion influence because I try to switch between a few styles though I generally love fashion that looks good and feels comfortable.

Law: I have no specific influences on fashion and styles, but I do favour a few fashion styles from the Y2K period like booty cut pants, low waist jeans, and flare jeans. That specific era has a unique style of having something only loose and flares on the ankle area than tight and slim fit for top, I took a liking to this where I tend to wear tight or slim fit for my top.

Razmyn: Over the years I’ve passed through multiple different style phases. But now as I’ve grown up, and away from exploding colours and irregular pieces. I find joy in simplicity. In whites and creams, easy-to-go pieces, and even asymmetrical styles.

Have you ever wondered what YOU would wear on your first day back to campus? Or how your friends’ styles have changed or stayed the same? Host a photoshoot with your friends as they did and find out together!