by LAUREN SCHUSTER, Asst. Features Editor

Lexi Salerno is a sophomore from Long Island, N.Y. She is majoring in adolescent education with a concentration in social studies. She sat down and shared her style with us.

The Quadrangle: How would you describe your style?

Lexi Salerno: If I had to describe my style in one word, it would just be eclectic. Depending on the day, I have outfits that my friends describe as, “oh you look like a gypsy.” I have other outfits where my friends are like, “oh you look like a student teacher.” It just depends on the day or what I’m feeling. It’s warmer outside [now] so I have a lot of my flowy-er clothes, but then [when] it comes to winter, I pull out the turtlenecks and the boots and everything and it becomes a little more “young professional” I would say. So just eclectic, because there’s no one way to describe it.

TQ: How have you noticed your style change as you grew older?

LS: Well my friends always used to make fun of me because they would say, “oh this is Lexi’s phase, this is Lexi’s phase,” because I rotate out my wardrobe every single year. It’s probably really bad that I do that, but I can’t help it, I love to keep up with trends.Then I don’t even realize I’ve created an entirely new wardrobe over the span of like six months.The way that it’s changed is I guess just with the trends of every year. Rings made a comeback, so I started wearing rings again. The ‘90s came back, so I started dressing like it was the ‘90s again. So I just like to keep up with what’s going on in the world, so that’s how my style is changing.

TQ: Would you wear what you wore in high school now?

LS: Yes and no. Because I went through a phase in high school where a wore a lot of really, really long flowy skirts, and then a year later I was like, “no, I don’t want to wear flowy skirts anymore, I only want to wear mini skirts and leggings and thigh high boots and chokers. Then the next year I was like, “no, I want to start wearing flowy skirts again.” But then I was really preppy when I was in the tenth grade. I wore J.Crew and Banana Republic, and I would never dress like that again. It was just too much to keep up with. 

TQ: What are some of your favorite places to shop? 

LS: My favorite places to shop are definitely Forever 21 and Urban Outfitters. A majority of my wardrobe comes from those two stores, like, almost entirely. But I always go in at the end of the season. I always slip in and I always get all the super sales. I rarely buy anything that’s full priced. Then like ninety-nine percent of my shoes are Steve Madden, that’s where I get my shoes. 

TQ: Tell us where your outfit is from!

LS: My rings are from Alex and Ani, my earrings were a gift from my grandma. They’re gold knots so I thought they would match the gold jewelry. Gold is my favorite jewelry [finish]. I always wear this “Aries” necklace, I don’t take it off. I had it made in Chelsea because I love horoscopes and astrology and I could never find an astrology necklace that I felt like fit me. So I had this one made, so I don’t take it off, I love it. This jumpsuit is from Urban Outfitters and these shoes are Steve Madden.

TQ: If you were given $1,000 to spend in one place, where would you spend it and why?

LS: One place? Okay, I’m going to be smart with this. If I could go to one place, it would have to be to a store that had everything. So I would say maybe Bloomingdale’s? Because they would have all the brands that I would like in terms of outfits, but they would also have makeup and then they would have the shoes that I would want. 

TQ: How do you plan your outfits?

LS: It depends. A lot of my clothing is statement pieces, so I’ll know if I wear this certain jumpsuit, this will speak for itself, I don’t really have to stress too much about the shoes that I’m wearing with it or whatever jewelry I’m wearing, this will be by itself. So it makes it easier almost if I have one thing that I can slip on. I wear a lot of rompers and jumpsuits and dresses, so that makes it easier. So I don’t normally plan my outfits until the day of, or I see how I’m feeling. So [it’s a] spontaneous thing.

TQ: Do you have a favorite piece of clothing?

LS: I love flowy, bohemian clothing. This [jumpsuit] is probably my favorite piece of clothing that I have only because it has the Juliet sleeves, yet it has the smocked top so you don’t feel like it’s going to slip off you and then it’s flowy down here so even though it’s shorts, it looks like a dress. So you can dress it up or dress it and it doesn’t matter what time you wear it in. I’ve worn this outfit so many different ways that I love how versatile it is.

TQ: How do you incorporate your makeup into your style ?

LS: I used to not really focus too much on my makeup actually, because when I was in high school I would just do the same makeup look every single day. I just did pink and I did a smokey eye, but then as I progressed and I got better at makeup I learned to put the colors that I was either wearing that day in my look or nuance it in some way. So now I do a lot of browns or greens or I’ll do dark blues, but I’ll do it in a way that doesn’t make it look like it’s the 1980s kind of thing. That’s also I guess what influences what I wear because sometimes I’ll really want to wear green eyeshadow one day and I’ll be like, “okay I should wear something that will work with that.” Also I wear a lot of black in the winter. My wardrobe is almost exclusively black in the colder months so then I have more liberty to do with my makeup what I want.