I had the pleasure of interviewing two fabulous Her Campus Montclair members, Giselle Huasipoma, a sophomore and Stephanie Michael, a senior; on their style, friendship and of course, Instagram. Giselle is a communication and media arts major with a minor in public and professional writing and she’s got a stylish wardrobe to boot. Stephanie is an uber talented hair stylist and makeup artist and public relations major. Together, this duo curates Insta-worthy content and have fun while doing it.
What inspired you to create your Instagram?
GH: I run @msu.fits on Instagram! I’ve seen other Instagram pages such as @thedogist, @humansofny, and @redhawksofmontclairstate. Initially, this was my inspiration. I noticed many students roaming around campus with interesting outfits during the 2018 Fall semester. Because I have such a strong passion for fashion and inspirations, I decided to create @msu.fits. By then, the semester was ending so I decided to begin @msu.fits during the 2019 Spring semester.
SM: So, we don’t run a collaborative Instagram, Giselle runs @msu.fits and I thought it was a great idea when she told me about it! I encouraged her but that page is all her! She’s doing an amazing job and she even featured me on it! We did do a collab together on our own profiles. We had a lot of fun doing it since we both are very like-minded and I was able to bounce ideas off of her to make something more interesting than originally planned.
How do you go about choosing who to photograph and interview?
GH: For interviews, I literally just go up to people and ask permission for a photo and a voice recording for a caption. Anything that makes me look twice or makes me think, “I would wear that”, or “People would love to see this” is what I strive to post. At first this kind of scared me; going up to a complete stranger and asking to take a picture of them. But in reality, the worst they can say is no. Everyone I have gone up to has said yes so far. I ask them their name, year at MSU, major, their Instagram handle, and what inspires their outfits/fashion sense. I make sure not to have my head down, glued to my phone when I walk around campus. I keep my eyes peeled for anyone that stands out to me.
What lead you to have an interest in fashion and beauty?
GH: I’ve always liked fashion since I was very young. I feel like I’ve always had some sort of taste in fashion but no funds to fulfill it when I was younger, haha. Now that I’m older and work I create outfits with what I can afford. Aside from my own interest in fashion, my mom has always raised me to love photographs and dressing up. I remember being seven and dressing up at 9 PM on a school night, begging her to take pictures of my new outfit with my stuffed animals.
SM: I wasn’t always into fashion and beauty. If you looked at older pictures of me, trust me, you’d have no idea what was going on. I didn’t really have a fashion sense but I did have a lot of hand me downs. I made do with what I had which kind of carried on to now. I always loved makeup! I used to borrow my moms and I’d beg for the makeup that was in the kits at Claire’s. Later on, I got into painting and a lot of my artwork had beauty elements to it. I later realized that I could do everything I was doing on paper, on a person’s face. That was so exciting for me. Then I ventured into not only makeup but self-care, skincare, etc. All the facets of beauty absolutely intrigued me. I got more into it after reading Kevyn Aucoin’s book, “Making Face.”
How would you describe your own fashion/beauty style?
GH: Sometimes I get this question asked and I never have a clear answer because I shift between different looks. Some days I wear ripped jeans, sneakers and a jean jacket. Other days I wear a fluffy teddy coat and a skirt. It switches up every day, that’s what I love about fashion. You can change yourself all the time depending on what you’re feeling that day. As for beauty, I’m super simple and just do my brows, some concealer, liner, and mascara.
SM: I honestly have no idea. I wear a lot of neutral colors. Giselle has seen my closet and half of it is just black clothing. I stick to the neutrals and have some little pops of color that I try to incorporate. I like things that match without putting a lot of thought into it and adding jewelry for little accents. I like getting ready in 30 min, makeup and outfit all ready to go. I’d say if I have to describe it minimal but I have been going outside my comfort zone with fashion. My beauty routine is my 15-20 minutes of self-care that I know I will absolutely get and its very minimal makeup to make me look “refreshed.” “. I try to do a full skincare routine in the morning. Moisturizer is the most important thing for me. I try to get my skin very hydrated before putting any makeup on because it makes everything easier. I do really dewy makeup because I love that ‘skin’ look. I try to keep it simple and hydrated so I look good throughout an 8-10 hour day.
What fuels your creative fire?
GH: Many people look at others and copy their exact look or style. I like to observe and put my own twist on everything. I feel like creativity always stems from some sort of inspiration, but I believe it’s important to make it your own. Being in touch with my own sense of creativity is essential to creating outfits. Sometimes I just sit, look at my closet, and mix and match until I find what’s right. That just comes from my determined, persistent side of me; I always try to be the best version of myself.
SM: Oh man, everything. The most random things can give me inspiration. The other day I walked by a building that was blue and had green ivy along it, it even had little pops of orange. I took a picture right away. I write all my color combos and ideas down in my planner/journal so I don’t forget. I love seeing really odd paintings, photos, etc. They always give me the best inspiration. I’ve even gotten inspiration while reading the news or articles. Really anything can fuel the fire, but it’s all about putting it into an idea/picture and making it happen.
How did you two meet/become friends?
GH: Stephanie and I met through my sister, Cynthia. We were at a New York Women In Communications Inc. event in the city. Stephanie told me about Her Campus Montclair. If she never brought HCM up, I wouldn’t be here today. We decided to create posts inspired by NYFW. I came over to her apartment and she did various makeup looks on me (she’s crazy talented). I brought over a duffle filled with clothes that had similar patterns to looks on the catwalk. The whole experience was so much fun, it was nothing like I have ever experienced before. The looks are up on both of our Instagram accounts. We hope to collab again soon!