Yes, Aberdeen University’s very own Campus Style is back! And who better to kick off the process with than Ysabelle McGuire? Ysabelle is a 3rd year student studying English Literature and International Relations. We spotted her about to start a revision session in the library and couldn’t help but grab her to take these pictures of her outfit and ask her some questions!
HC: Can you talk me through your outfit?
YM: Trousers are from Oasis; they were an expensive buy for my 21st birthday meal. My top is from Topshop, and coat is Jack Wills (sale of course). I usually live in jeans, but I just got a new tattoo on my thigh, so I am trying to stay away from the denim because it can be damaging during the whole tattoo healing process. My boyfriend’s mum knitted my scarf… It’s so cozy so I love being able to throw it on during the freezing Aberdeen winter!
HC: Looks fab! So tell me, where are your favourite places to shop?
YM: Topshop is where I get most of my wardrobe from, ASDA (cringe, but I always get really good bargains…), H&M because they have the essentials for really cheap – even if it isn’t the best quality all of the time, and I quite like to shop at Oasis if I am looking for something fancy or smart!
HC: Where do you get your style inspiration?
YM: I don’t really have any style inspiration. Most of my style inspiration on a daily basis comes from what I will be most comfortable in at the time. If I could afford to dress like anyone I would love to be able to dress like Taylor Swift. She’s been rocking some great outfits recently!
HC: If you could have any celebrities wardrobe, who’s would it be and why?
YM: Jennifer Lawrence (but can I have her bod to match?). She always looks flawless, and I quite like how bold some of the pieces she wears are, not just her red carpet dresses but I feel like I could take on one of her pant-suit combos. Plus that girl can rock a pair of skinny jeans like no other. And probably Taylor Swift too just because she always looks effortlessly beautiful!
HC: We totally agree! Describe your style in 3 words?
YM: Comfortable, casual, chilled (alliteration is clearly my forte)
HC: What one item could you not live without?
YM: Probably my new parka, I got it in the Jack Wills sale and although it is huge it was only like £35. Such a bargain! But I’ve recently found such an amazing hat from M&S… no seriously! It looks like a Christmas tree and I want it! I think it could be my new staple… If my boyfriend’s reading this, you know what to get me for Christmas!
HC: You mentioned earlier that you have some tattoos; can you tell me a little bit about them?
YM: There isn’t really much to tell about my tattoos if I am honest with you except by describing them. I just get them because I trust that my tattoo artist knows what he is doing and knows what will look nice. All of the tattoos that I have (not really that many at all) are picked because I think they look nice! I have one tattoo on my ankle of an old school love letter, and my boyfriend Steve has the same one in colours that match his other tattoos, so that’s always cute.
HC: Aww, that’s dead sweet! So we hear this is an ‘old school’ style – What does ‘old school’ even mean, and why did you decide to get them?
YM: Old School was a thing that my boyfriend introduced me to, and he of course introduced me to our tattoo artist. It is just a more simplistic style of tattooing, more traditional and there are a lot of bold colours involved. Originally, I used to get the standard black and grey tattoos and I was scared of getting colour tattoos but I adore my coloured ones now.
HC: They cover large areas of your body; can you talk me through the decision process of getting a tattoo so big?
YM: For me there wasn’t really a decision process that needed to be made. I honestly don’t think that in a workplace, people will ever see my tattoos, nor do I think they will steer me away from anything. I have always been a fan of tattoos – my dad is absolutely covered in them!
HC: Do you have any regrets?
YM: I definitely do not have any regrets about my tattoos (except one on my ribs, which is really awful – but it’s so painful to get tattooed there! Still, I’m going to have to man up and get it covered with something awesome soon). I think it depends entirely what style you are going for, my tattoos match my style, and I think they show a little more of my personality and therefore I have zero regrets about them, and I think they will just add to my style in the future!
HC: What did your parents say?
YM: My mum is never best pleased when I strut home with a new tattoo, but there isn’t really very much my parents can say or do. My dad is mainly just jealous of how epic my tattoos are. I have a different relationship with my parents than most people do, they completely respect that I am an adult and I think it depends on your life experiences and how that affects your relationship with them. We have been through quite a lot as a family, which meant that when I was young I had to mature very quickly and deal with very adult situations, which definitely helped me mature a lot quicker than others. I was never an irresponsible teenager; I have always been very level headed when it comes to things like this. They know that every decision I make I have thought about it for a long time before doing so. I think they also take the opinion that it is my body, so I can do whatever I want with it, and they always say things like ‘who am I to judge?’ which I think is great.
HC: Okay, so super controversial question coming up… please don’t take any offense, but we’d love your take on it! What do you think about way that some people view large tattoos as a form of self-harm?
YM: I could totally see how people could perceive it that way, because my last tattoo, which I got last week, was the most painful tattoo I have ever had and you do put yourself through pain (though it is not as bad as people make out at all) but I don’t believe that this is the case with tattoos. From my understanding of self-harm, you have to be in a certain mind set, a very upset, confusing mind-set to intentionally hurt yourself because you want to feel something. I don’t believe that tattoos are anything like that. Ever since I began getting tattoos I have never felt anything even close to the feelings that those feel when self-harming. I think that associating tattooing with self-harm some what trivializes the importance of the issue that is self-harm. Although I am not an expert on self-harm at all, I have known people that have felt the need to do it in the past and it is absolutely nothing like the experience of getting a tattoo.
HC: Such a good answer! So what’s your advice for those planning a tattoo?
YM: Make sure you do your research on your tattoo artist; going to any old shop in your local area might not give you the best tattoo (especially if it is something big, and artistic). Steve and I travel to Glasgow every time we get a new tattoo because we know that our tattoo artist is the best at what he does in Scotland, and his work is amazing. I also think that giving your artist artistic freedom is essential, if they enjoy what they are drawing and then tattooing it is going to look 100 times better than something you particularly might want, always be open to what the tattoo artist says, especially if they are a really good artist because they know what they are doing, and they know what will look the best. Have faith in them!
HC: And finally, how do you think your tattoos add to your style?
YM: I don’t think they add that much to my style in particular because most of the time jeans cover them! But I love my calf tattoos because I get to show them off in a midi skirt every now and again and feel like a pin up princess.