“It’s just a fun little expression.”
To Hailey, that’s exactly the point of fashion — a way that we can express ourselves without being too blunt or out-there. Fashion is less about wearing brands or showing off and more about all of our unique qualities and tastes.
“I love the quirky little subversive pieces that are normal but have a slight twist.” This statement is pretty much the epitome of Hailey. It seems like everything she wears is in the realm of ‘normal’. What I mean is, you wouldn’t be absolutely shocked if you saw her on the street because her outfit was incredibly loud or flamboyant. But when you look a little deeper, that’s when you notice the features that make Hailey stand apart from all of us other basic white girls at USC.
Not that she never experienced this type of uniformity. When she was growing up in an affluent area of the Bay, all of the girls would come to school in their honeycomb textured Free People tops. “Why would I spent $90 for what everyone else had?!”
And she has a point — why do we all want to conform to these expensive items and brands that are suddenly deemed “cool”, or more so, we are deemed “uncool” if we don’t have them. Instead of giving in to the mass-consumed products and pieces that other girls had, she turned to her grandmother’s old sewing machine and started to do her own thing.
“Everyone would ask me where I got that cute shirt from and I’d be like ‘oh, I made it!'” But this doesn’t seem like a deliberate flex. Actually, Hailey is quite the opposite–humble and relaxed. She made the clothes not because she was fishing for compliments or looking for attention, she made them because she was sick of the same old same old.
Fast forward a few years, and her interest in fashion hasn’t stopped. In fact, she deferred transferring to USC after her freshman year at another school to take an opportunity working for Vogue in San Francisco. Casual. When she tells me this, though, it’s the farthest thing from a brag. She laughs when she tells me this, following up by saying that she learned that she definitely does not want to go into the fashion industry. For a big picture thinker, high-end fashion is a little too nuanced for her. “All these textures and colors, they all look the same to me.”
With fashion, specifically men’s style, being something near and dear to her heart, but a simultaneous disinterest in luxury brands, you’re probably wondering where that leaves her — at least I was. What you don’t know about Hailey, though, is her love for sports. Until an injury ruined her career path, she was on track to playing D1 volleyball at USC.
“I’ve always been a tom-boy,” she divulges, sharing that she pretty much exclusively wore athleisure in high school due to her early morning practices. So you’re guessing, like I did, that she probably wants to work for Nike or Lululemon or something up that alley. Nope. “I think the hybrid of sports and fashion, my ultimate dream, would be alternative jersey design for the NBA.”
For someone who doesn’t really deal with nuances, that seems awfully specific to me. But hey, someone’s gotta make those jerseys, right? But the mere creativity in this job description fits her personality perfectly. There’s so much to Hailey that we can’t see from far away– her individuality, her creativity, and most importantly, her warm sense of humor.
The girl has an adorable giggle and this cool spunk about her that makes you want to know more. The mismatched fly on her jeans and her vintage denim biker jacket just represent the quirky, “just a little subversive” character that is Hailey.
quick questions
who is your style inspiration?
i would say for men’s style i love harry styles and bruno mars, their funky silk shirts. i don’t really look to women’s style — i dont even follow fashion bloggers.
what’s one article of clothing you can’t live without?
moto jackets, i have a whole collection of them.
heels or flats?
heels — i can do anything in heels from vogue. i’m so good at sprinting up and down the stairs now!
if you could only shop at one store for the rest of your life, where would it be?
for everyday wear it would be aritzia. but if i had all the money in the world… vetements.
dressed for class 