“I really stepped into true fasionistism when I got into college, cause I feel like in college, you’re more free and able to do what you like without stupid dress code rules,” said Tracy Awino, Auburn senior in journalism.
She was born and raised in Nairobi, Kenya. She lived in Birmingham for three years, and this will be her fourth year in Auburn.
Since the day she was born, Awino was always around fashionistas, and it shows in her style and grace. Awino said her mother and grandmother were well into the fashion deal. She remembers being young and always seeing them dress up so well for work. Awino said it was so inspiring to have two very stylish people who heavily influenced her life when she was younger.
“I would say I really got into fashion from the moment I knew what clothes were, because I had these two powerful women who were really fashionable and helped in that aspect,” said Awino.
Not only does Awino get her inspiration for her style from her mother and grandmother, but she also gets it from the Bad Gal herself, Rihanna. “Such a cliché choice, but she dresses very well. I love her style and I really do like how she wears her style or wears her clothes. ‘Cause sometimes it’s not only about the clothes you wear, but it’s also how you wear them. The attitude you have while wearing them,” said Awino.
She also follows a number of Instagram pages for her inspiration such as V.ri0t and Ogfashionsense.
Awino isn’t your regular student whose wardrobe consists of t-shirts, t-shirts and more t-shirts, but a student who dresses up every day.
“Honestly, to me, it’s a matter of waking up and knowing that I feel like I want to be productive, and so when I dress well, I feel like I’m having a purpose to my day, and so I can’t just let my quote on quote outfit go to waste. So dress well, do well basically,” said Awino.
She said it doesn’t take extra commitment to dress up for class, because she’s a fast dresser and typically has an idea of what to wear the night before. She usually wakes up an hour or an hour and 15 minutes before she has to leave.
Awino not only has a unique style, but also unique pieces of clothing. She said she shops anywhere and everywhere that’s affordable, but she mostly thrifts. “So any city that I’m in and if I have time, I will most definitely go to their thrift shop, because you know a thrift store reflects its population. A thrift store is character, it’s a city’s character, the location’s character and you can get a lot of character from different places,” said Awino.
She also said she does the occasional Forever 21 and boohoo.com.
Awino enjoys a good pair of high waist jeans and coats. “I think they’re [high waist jeans] timeless. You can wear a lot of things with them and they’re just stylish, I think,” said Awino.
She also loves necklaces and earrings, she can’t choose between the two. She said she specifically loves chokers. She typically gets her jewelry from Forever 21 or H&M.
Awino loves jewelry and thinks she has too much. She also loves dresses and gowns. Her favorite designer, Elie Saab, is a designer of gowns, and she said she loves his gowns. She also loves 90s fashion. “I can’t explain it but there was something about the aura of people’s styles back then that was very cool to me,” said Awino.
The main thing she likes about 90s fashion is their jeans. She said she likes how classic jeans were, how classic they are and feel.
One surprising aspect about Awino is that her fashion sense doesn’t exactly have anything to do with where she’s from.
“I think a lot of things, a lot of people influence my style. So not necessarily where I’m from, but one thing I’ll say is that in Kenya the whole idea of dressing up as you leave the house is very common. So that’s why, maybe I always feel like I want to dress up every time I leave the house.”