Wearing blue “Miss Me” boot-cut jeans with silver designs on the pockets, East junior Tonya Topeka saunters through East with ease, her unmistakable style catching the eyes of many. There is a noticeable dichotomy in Topeka’s style; some days she exhibits her many interests through band tees, spiked jewelry, and leopard prints, other days she may be wearing pink bows and skirts.
Although her style may seem incongruous, she is consistent when it comes to accessories. “I mainly wear silver, chunky bracelets, big necklaces, hoop earrings, and rings with designs on them are my favorite accessories to wear,” Topeka told Spark.
Topeka’s expression and willingness to explore different styles stems from her past approach to fashion, which she did not differentiate from much. Her music taste has had a substantial effect on her past, stagnant style to transform into her present style.
“It depends on what I’m wearing because if I’m wearing a band t-shirt then obviously it’s going to be from a band I know. It correlated more when I was younger because I’m into different music now,” said Topeka.
Music genres that Topeka listens to that have a direct effect on her flair are nu-metal, metalcore, rock, and indie. Tonya gained her unique music taste from her friends and family.
“I became a fan of bands like Pierce the Veil and Radiohead from my cousin,” said Topeka. Some of her current favorite artists within the aforementioned genres are Sleep Tolken, Motionless in White, Korn and Adrianne Lenker.
Music is not the only muse to Topeka’s style, but also local stores. Topeka selects a majority of her clothing secondhand at thrift stores, not only because it is inexpensive but sometimes the items can be unique and good quality; Topeka shops at Goodwill and Plato’s Closet in particular.
“I thrift because of the cheap cost and variety of clothing, said Topeka. Her favorite find from the thrift is her black Tripp NYC pants with red straps on the side.
Topeka also frequents the local Liberty Center for some of her clothing. One of her favorite items of clothing being from H&M, a cropped button up she usually pairs with an oversized black jacket.
Inspirations in Topeka’s style can be found in the media she consumes, taking different aspects of characters styles and implementing them within her own unique look. “Pirates of the Caribbean” and “Twilight” source some of Topeka’s style, with characters like Jack Sparrow and Bella Swan inspiring specific looks.
Celebrities also contribute to Topeka’s stylish amalgamation of clothing as she cherry-picks features of personalities like Helena Bonham Carter and her famous gothic style. Other celebrities from whom Topeka takes style inspiration, specifically in the form of jewelry and makeup, include punk-pop icon Avril Lavigne and rugged grunge actor Johnny Depp.
“My nails are always either red or black but my makeup and hair usually don’t correspond [with outfits] because I don’t know how to do either differently. Unless I know something my hair would look better with my hair up in a ponytail or bun.,” said Topeka..
Even though Topeka lacks the desire to change some aspects of her style, she gives effort to fluctuate other features within it. Whether it is light or dark colors, or bows or spikes, Topeka is always dressed with careful consideration with what would look best and .
