Style Scoop: Johnny

By Glory Okeleke, August 9 2023—

“Don’t dress like everybody else is dressing. If you have something that you like and something that you feel good in, you feel like it’s cool — then wear it. Next thing you know other people will be wearing it.”

His charisma and style were two things about Johnny that undeniably stood out to me. Johnny, fitted in a pair of straight-leg jeans, paired under a white t-shirt with an appealing “NY-New York” graphic print on it and completed with a pair of black-laced boots, tastefully personified a downtown style in his own manner which I found simple and yet admirable.

Did you have a specific intent behind putting this outfit together?

“Feeling good and looking good,” he pointed out in response. Looking good in style was a manner of creativity for Johnny, because as he also alluded, dressing up “[is] a mode of expression I like to use.” 

What would you say inspires your style the most?

Inherently, a good sense of style is something that runs in the family for Johnny; his older siblings, as he highlighted, also partook in this flair and finesse. Quite apart from this, a very interesting theme which inspires Johnny’s style is history.

“A side project I had when I used to be a history major and something that I really enjoyed was taking little bits and pieces of fashion, and then going, that would look really cool with this other thing,” he said. 

An agenda Johnny was allured by during his time as a history major, was with drawing style inspiration from different countries and different periods of history. 

Could we get a breakdown of the entire fit and where everything was purchased from?

As one who benefits from thrift fashion, Johnny would classify himself as a diligent and conventional thrifter. 

Whilst summarizing a breakdown of his full outfit, Johnny started off with his laced-up black boots – the classical fusion into all of his appearance, despite looking beat up they were newly-bought by him; this roughened-up look, according to Johnny, was accredited to “a lot of adventure, and [the] countless kilometres,” he had walked in them. 

Johnny then affirmed that his light-wash Tommy Hilfiger pants were acquired from the Hello Vintage thrift store in Canmore, and his uniquely printed New York white tee was purchased while on a trip in Vancouver. 

Then onto the sole jewelry piece that fit together with Johnny’s attire, “the most expensive part of my outfit: my 30-dollar watch from the Hudson’s Bay,” he said. His black watch, he admitted, was also incorporated as a means to colour-code his entire look.

So do you have any essential fashion advice or styling tips to share with the rest of the campus community? 

“I would say, my biggest thing is don’t dress like everybody else is dressing. If you have something that you like [and] something that you feel good in, you feel like it’s cool — then wear it; next thing you know other people will be wearing it,”  said Johnny. 

Despite appearing as an effortless look, Johnny told a lot about his personal style through how he wore it. Witnessing the confidence he exuded, I can attest that his walk corresponded with his talk. 

My last words to you: stay authentic with your style. Take a leap of faith by trying something different.