Comm Ave Runway: March Edition
Our ongoing fashion series finds stylish students and asks them how they achieve their look
Comm Ave Runway: March Edition
Our ongoing fashion series finds stylish students and asks them how they achieve their look
After a restful spring break, Terriers are tackling the second half of the semester donned in over-the-ear headphones, Adidas Sambas, and double-breasted coats that would make James Bond envious.
BU Today interns explored post-break Comm Ave to bring you this month’s roundup of Terriers with a unique sense of style and flair. Read on to find out more about their outfits, thrifty fashion tips, and what inspires their style.
Want to be featured or know someone who should be? Email us at today@bu.edu.
Victoria Witkowski (CAS’25)
Tell us about your outfit. Where did you get each piece?
These overalls—which are my best thrift find ever—are from Savers, freshman year of high school. I found these Docs used at Buffalo Exchange for $70. This is my friend’s shirt from high school that I wore skiing one time and never gave back to her. Necklace, my mom gave me; earrings, my friend gave me; and then my rings are from various places.
How would you describe your fashion sense in a few words?
Witchy, grandma, and bucolic, [meaning] “prairie.”
Your favorite places to shop?
I pretty much only thrift. My favorite place to shop is Savers, but I can’t get to them here, so sometimes I go to Buffalo Exchange, even though it’s kind of expensive.
What are your fashion influences?
My sister and one of my friends from home, because they kind of wore whatever they wanted.
Your advice for students who want to look great on a budget?
Thrifting, of course. Also, shout-out to BU Closet, where I’ve gotten two awesome pairs of jeans for free. They have clothing swaps every few weeks, and you just bring clothes you want to donate and then you take clothes for free. Usually at Kilachand.
Giselle Meskin (COM’27)
Tell us about your outfit. Where did you get each piece?
Boots are from The RealReal [an online luxury consignment store]. My jeans are RE/DONE. My top is stolen from my roommate. My jacket, I got in Japan. My gloves and my scarf are my mother’s, and my bag is also The RealReal. And the sunglasses are Le Specs.
How would you describe your fashion sense in a few words?
A little eccentric at times. Minimal. I do wear a lot of the same colors, but I like to have a pop somewhere. Maybe uncomfortable a lot of the time. I [prefer] style over comfort.
Your favorite places to shop?
The RealReal is the best. It’s an online luxury consignment store, but you can return everything. It’s a huge database. It’s the only place I shop for clothes, and everything is secondhand, so it’s sustainable. I love Depop. I love Revolve, Réalisation Par. I hate shopping in person.
What are your fashion influences?
I think my mom is a huge inspiration. She has incredible style and the most incredible, curated wardrobe. I love Kate Moss [in] her ’90s days. [I love] the messiness, the vintage, but it’s chic. I love that. Also, Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy (Wheelock’88).
Your advice for students who want to look great on a budget?
Secondhand. I think the best thing that you can do is if you have certain basics that you love and adore and wear every single day, keep those [few pieces] and make it fun. I wear these jeans like three times a week. I wear these boots every single day. Confidence, as well. You can look good in anything as long as you feel good.
Willa Jiang (COM’26)
Tell us about your outfit. Where did you get each piece?
The shirt is from China. The brand is Only. I always buy a lot of clothes from there. My pants, I bought at the Prudential Center when I came here for the first time last year. My shoes are Crocs with decorations.
How would you describe your fashion sense in a few words?
Comfortable, because I take a lot of courses and need to walk a lot on campus. Also, fashion[able], because sometimes I go out with my friends and take a lot of pictures. In order to post those pictures, I take care to be a bit more fashionable than in school.
Your favorite places to shop?
Urban Outfitters. I can find many clothes, toys, and other things in the same store, so it’s a one-stop store. There are a lot of discounts during Black Friday. And Champion, because it’s really comfortable and convenient.
What are your fashion influences?
Friends are the most important ones for me, because sometimes my friends tell me about a new brand or a new shop on Newbury Street. Also, my parents, because we buy clothes together in the same store.
Your advice for students who want to look great on a budget?
Always pay attention to the online stores. Sometimes, they’ll have some discount, especially at the end of the season. Clothes from the last year will have another discount and are on sale.
Jackson Cross (CAS’25)
Tell us about your outfit. Where did you get each piece?
I found this pearl necklace at a thrift store in Vermont. I don’t remember which one. The sweater is from the Aran Islands in Ireland. It was a Christmas present, because I wanted a sweater that looked like the one that Billy Crystal wears in When Harry Met Sally. The jeans are from Urban Outfitters. The coin rings were a gift from my mom when she was in Mexico City. The bracelet is also from Mexico City.
How would you describe your fashion sense in a few words?
Casual. Normcore. I just throw on whatever I got. I only started to pay attention to fashion very recently, so I don’t have that many clothes that look nice.
Your favorite places to shop?
West Campus Goodwill is a huge one. I think almost half of my wardrobe at this point is from there. All of the clothes that I have that cost [more] money are gifts from other people. I’m from Brooklyn, so [I shop] a lot of the thrift stores in Brooklyn.
What are your fashion influences?
My roommate Austin has very good style. I met him and I was like, “Oh, I should start [thinking about fashion].”
Your advice for students who want to look great on a budget?
Go to thrift stores. Find stuff that’s really cheap, and then start messing with it. My roommate and I do a lot of cutting clothes and doing all sorts of wacky stuff. Just have fun with it.
Wanjing Li (CFA’24)
Tell us about your outfit. Where did you get each piece?
I actually got most of my pieces back in China. My mom owned a clothing store, so she sold comfy clothes. The hat, I also got it in China; I think it’s sort of a trend. Around winter they have seasonal things and there are some repetitive patterns. This is the stuff that gets very comfortable. The coat and everything else is just [from] the Chinese equivalent of if you went to Newbury Street here.
How would you describe your fashion sense in a few words?
Comfy and vibrant.
Your favorite places to shop?
I don’t have a preference. One of the reasons I shop here in Boston or Newbury Street is clothing started [as] my connection with my mom back home. That’s her way of expressing her love for me; whenever I go back home, she gives me a bunch of clothes.
Your advice for students who want to look great on a budget?
We have Buffalo Exchange in Brookline. Sometimes if you have very close friends, exchanging clothing [with them] can be another way, or sharing your clothes with your partner.
This Series
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