By Zoe Taylor
“Creating your wardrobe in college is hard,”-- something senior Jasmine Johnston has come to realize as she enters her final year at Wellesley. One part of her wardrobe that hasn’t been so hard to build is her sneaker collection. Rather than immediately looking at the tops or clothing of her fit, you’ll become enamored with the shoes she wears. Which is purposeful–Jasmine plans her outfits around her shoes. When she met me to talk more about the evolution of her style, Jasmine wore loose-fitting polyester Adidas wind pants paired with a white scoop-neck, long-sleeved crop top and Sk8-Lo vans. The bold, royal blue of her pants was the most eye-catching feature of the look. As of late, Jasmine has been experimenting more with colors, especially with the colorway of her current favorite pair of sneakers: Puma RSX Toys Sneakers in Bunnie Blue and Sweet Lavender.
The palette of her wardrobe hasn’t always been this vibrant, though. Freshman year Jasmine would resort to athleisure outfits that were more monochromatic and grey-scale than that of the outfits you’d see her wear now. Jasmine attributes this major stylistic change to her year abroad last year at Spelman College in Atlanta. With college hallways full of young students who wore dynamic tones that complemented their complexions, Jasmine was inspired to step out of her own comfort zone, or comfort color scheme. “People [actually] got dressed [up] for class,” and Jasmine followed suit. Since she was surrounded by creatives studying at Spelman and surrounding schools in its consortium, it was only human nature that Jasmine would come into her own stylistically. It was during this year away from Wellesley that she crafted her style, which she describes as “sporty-chic,” collecting street-style elements to contrast with upscale pieces she found from Atlanta consignment shops and street fairs.