At the beginning of junior year, Aidan McAndrew (12) made the decision to change the way he dressed, develop his own personal style, and use fashion as a form of self-expression, he said. “You can play around with style,” he said. “It’s very much like using your body as a canvas to make art.”

McAndrew describes his current style as “avant garde-luxury,” though it is constantly evolving. “I’m going to wear what I’m going to wear, and I don’t really care if I’m trendy or not,” McAndrew said. 

Before junior year, McAndrew had no interest in fashion or style, he said. “I didn’t really understand why you would spend more than ten bucks on a t-shirt or the histories behind certain fashion labels,” he said. 

However, after a conversation with his friends in which they questioned why he dressed so plainly, McAndrew began exploring the world of fashion and considering how he wanted to present himself. “I’m a very expressive guy,” he said. “I’ve always been very artistic since I was little, but I never really saw fashion as part of that until then.”

During junior year, McAndrew started watching YouTube videos about famous designer brands and their histories. Then, he began examining street-wear and playing with the form and shape of his own clothing.

When McAndrew first started to experiment with how he dressed, he worried about what others would think and say about his style, he said. Now, however, he is not very concerned about other people’s opinions. “I realized that the people that judge you are the people that are afraid to take that risk and express themselves,” McAndrew said.

McAndrew also loves androgynous clothing that plays with gender neutrality, he said. Many big fashion houses create gender neutral clothing, especially on the runway, McAndrew said. “You don’t have to be afraid to just try stuff out.” 

In the future, McAndrew wants to learn to sew and make his own clothes, he said. Sometimes he will draft drawings and send them to his friend to bring them to life, he said. “If I make my own clothing then I can make exactly what I was thinking about,” McAndrew said. 

When shopping, McAndrew’s philosophy is quality over quantity. “You want to have that stuff forever,” he said. McAndrew recommends shopping at thrift stores, consignment stores, and little boutiques in Manhattan and Brooklyn. He says he often goes to pop up stores or thrift stores that show up on his Tik Tok “for you page” as well. 

McAndrew’s style has evolved tremendously over the course of high school. “It’s a journey to get to this place,” he said. “I’ve really learned a lot about what I like and how I want to present myself.”