Meet Ashleigh

Name: Ashleigh
Location: Los Angeles
Age: 17

How would you describe your style? "I always hate this question because I never know what to say."
What's your favorite store/place to shop? "Secondhand shops & flea markets, 90% of my wardrobe is secondhand because I’m really cheap."
What are your favorite thrift stores/flea markets? "Thrift stores: thank you mart in Westwood village is really cool & every single thing in the store is $3.99, Jet Rag on La Brea they bring out bins of clothes on Sundays & sell everything for a dollar, Wasteland on Melrose always has an amazing selection of secondhand designer clothes. Aaardvarks is quite possibly my favorite store ever, they have so many quirky weird ugly cool clothes & it's relatively inexpensive. I never leave Aaardvarks empty handed, they even sell wigs there. As for flea markets, I love the Rose Bowl flea market in Pasadena, it's the second Sunday of every month & there is just aisles & aisles of vintage clothes, bags, shoes, accessories, sunglasses. I could, and usually do, spend the whole day there. I even have this weird shopping cart thing I bring to help me lug around my treasures."
Does LA influence the way you dress? "I'm not sure. I'd like to think that I would dress the same no matter where I grew up. The weather is normally pretty nice so I can wear dresses year round and I always see lots of well-dressed people when I'm walking around the city. It's not just fake tans, blonde hair, & juicy tracksuits like everyone thinks it is."
Where do you get most of your inspiration from? "Books. I'm a huge book nerd & whenever I get really into a book I want to dress like the characters from the books. After I read The Virgin Suicides i wanted to wear saddle shoes & paisley print dresses and after I read Great Gatsby I wanted to wear long beaded shapeless dress & red lipstick."
Describe what fashion means to you in one word. "Something that shouldn't be taken as seriously as every one makes it out to be, it's something that people should have fun with & experiment with. I know that is way longer than one word but i can never contain my thoughts to one single word."
Do you plan on majoring in something related to fashion/art? "I’m going to FIDM in the fall & majoring in visual communications so I can become a fashion stylist."


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