The Voice’s Spring ’25 editors sat down with five Georgetown students, who model for the magazine ADDED TO THE FILE, to talk about all things fashion. We asked them to walk us through their fits, where they derive inspiration from, what Georgetown fashion means to them, and how their style has evolved, among other things.
These interviews have been edited for length and clarity.
Photographers: Madeline Burns, Brady Stoffregen, and Manya Dyer.
Brady Stoffregen (SFS ’26)
Can you tell me about what you are wearing?
I am wearing a pair of leather dress shoes, that are also somewhat walking shoes. They are actually my grandfather’s… He’s a very big role model in my life and I learned from a young age how important it is to dress your best from him. So, I think it’s very fitting that I wear these dress shoes basically every day. They’ve seen the world, essentially in every way that I have.
Building up from that, these are my favorite pair of pants. They are dark brown pinstripe, baggy dress trousers. I got these in Spain when I was traveling. I wanted to experiment with women’s trousers because the shape of them is so much more dynamic, and keeping it just in the box of being a trouser for women is unnecessary. So many clothes are not gender specific in my opinion.
That takes me to the blazer that I’m wearing, which is maybe my favorite piece of clothing that I own. I basically had not been out of the country before last year, and last spring I had planned a trip to Paris with my girlfriend, Ellie… I had been so desperately craving artistic inspiration because I felt like the first two years of my time at Georgetown were so academically rigorous that I didn’t allow myself to be expressive.
That trip was what started my desire to really engage with fashion with intentionality. I got this jacket at one of the thrift stores there… And it became the first piece that I started designing outfits around.
You said that your grandfather started some of this inspiration. Can you talk a little bit more about that?
He is probably, I’d say my primary masculine point of reference growing up. For my whole childhood, he’s worked in local government. Every day that he goes into work, he’s always putting on a nice dress shirt and a tie and a blazer.
His intentionality was so interesting to me. Anytime I would dress up as a kid, whether it was going to a nice family dinner or something like that, I would say, I’m wearing a ‘beebee’ outfit.
Do you think that there’s a particular style that students work here at Georgetown?
When I see people dressed up here, which is very frequently—people wear suits all the time—it feels very one-note. Your navy suit, your black suit, black ties. It feels very same-y sometimes, which is why I like to have fun, twisting it just a little bit.
Taylor Moses (CAS ’27)
Can you tell me about what you’re wearing today?
I have a long white skirt on that I actually stole from my younger sister. She does not know that I have it. I steal a lot of my younger and older sisters’ pieces, because all of us are really into fashion.
This tank top is also my sister’s, and then this sweater I thrifted and I cut. Sometimes I feel like I look a little washed ashore because of how it’s falling apart.
On my feet I have these platform, brown leather Doc Martens with these yellow laces. I really like the platform of it and it’s a very loud shoe, and I’ve been getting more and more comfortable with having real statement pieces.
My rings are honestly my most prized possession. I used to hate my hands, so one day it was just like, what if you wear rings instead? And it’s really caught on. All my rings are secondhand. They’re either gifts from people or I’ve thrifted them, so they’re all really cool, chunky rings. And my mom hates them because she thinks that they’re so much, but I’ve worn them to prom, graduation, all my interviews, everything, even with outfits that it doesn’t really match with because I feel like they’re representative of who I am.
If I forget my rings, I would rather be late to class and go back to grab my rings.
Do you think there’s a particular style students wear at Georgetown?
I don’t know if it’s the shift to college, but I feel like everyone has on a trench coat, everyone has a purse, everyone has dress shoes, everyone’s wearing a polo. There seems to be this almost like ‘adultification’ of a lot of people. And I understand, especially when it comes to seniors, you’re literally an adult at that point. But I think sometimes, like freshman year, even a lot of my friends [dressed that way], and it’s like we were 18. What are you doing wearing a trench coat? Yes, like I love it, and wear whatever you want, sometimes I think, ‘Is it because there’s a dominance of professionalism here? Is it because everybody’s always focused on their next interview, their next job, that they instill that in what they wear?’
How has your style evolved since coming to Georgetown?
I went to a very homogeneous high school. Everybody dressed the same, everybody looked the same, everybody presented themselves in the same way.
I think coming to college has definitely given me a lot of freedom to kind of dress the way that I want. I feel like I have a lot of people around me—even people I don’t know—I have random clothing crushes. I’ll see people and I’ll be like, ‘Ugh, I’m obsessed with you and your clothes and I will never interact with you, but I’m obsessed with you and your clothes.’
And I feel like I try to channel those people that I’ve seen on campus and try to do my own thing. I think once you come to college you just get a level of independence in general. So I feel like that independence also gave me confidence to dress independently.
Is there anything you’d like to add?
I wish more people had fun with clothing. I wish people on this campus cared a little bit less.
Clothing can be very liberating, and very constricting. I think that’s an interesting duality where clothes can be very repressive of who somebody is or it could be very expressive. And I hope and wish that people take the more expressive side and just wear whatever they want.
I think college is the time to experiment with your clothes and experiment with who you are. And I wish more people did it. And again, if you hate it, go back to your dorm, change. But at least you tried. I think that it’s so much fun and I wish more people did it because I feel like there’s not enough of realizing the potential that clothes have. But maybe I’m just fashion obsessed, who knows?
Catherine Patterson (CAS ’27)
Can you tell me about what you’re wearing?
The whole outfit is vintage inspired with a little bit of my own personal modern twist to it.
I’m a really big fan of vintage fashion and certain vintage styling. So this skirt that I have, it’s wool and it’s original vintage from the sixties.
The whole energy of the look was styled around this little crocheted ribbon I have in my hair. My grandma actually made this in the sixties. When I was really into crocheting at one point, a couple of years ago, my grandma gave me a bunch of really fine crochet thread that she had saved over decades. It came with this ribbon and she was like, ‘Oh, you should have it.’ It’s super intricate, I don’t even know how she had the patience. So, I wanted to pay homage to that.
And then this ring that I’m wearing right here, it’s like a moonstone. She gave this to me also. So, whatever I had that she gave me, I also wanted to incorporate it into that outfit.
Do you feel like you are inspired in the way you dress by your grandma?
I’ve always thought of my style as sort of inspired by eras and lifestyles that I find really interesting… There was a certain crispness to the tailoring [in the Sixties]. A certain customization to the tailoring that I really appreciate that I feel we’ve kind of lost. Clothing was made to fit the body and not the other way around.
Do you think Georgetown has influenced your style?
I do think there are certain things about current trends, whether that be just fashion in general or like specifically Georgetown’s campus fashion that I’ve been a little bit influenced by. I don’t think it’s necessarily caving to social pressure as much as it is pulling inspiration from other people’s looks—that’s one of my favorite things to do.
The spring is one of my favorite times because everybody’s out on the lawn and I can look around and see, ‘Oh, how did she layer her jewelry? Or how did she style her clothes? What can I take from that to use in my own fashion?’
I think [my style] does change depending on the people around me, but I still try to make it my own. I do check in with myself at times to make sure that I’m not trying to tame myself or make myself smaller.
I come from a background where I’ve been in very small Catholic schools my whole life that have been generally pretty repressive in terms of personal fashion. So, I try to make sure that now that I have so much freedom to dress however I want, I’m giving myself the full spectrum of creativity.
Karan Patnaik (CAS ’28)
Can you tell me about what you’re wearing?
I’m wearing these boots that I just got online. They’re pretty beat up right now because I wear them all the time, but I like how scuffed up they look. I’m wearing these jeans, which are called balloon denim because of the way that it kind of curves instead of going straight.
And then I have a white button down and this blue tie and I’m wearing this jean overshirt, which is the same kind of raw denim, indigo color with the pants. And then I have a bunch of random silver jewelry from all over the place.
Do you think there’s a particular style that Georgetown students wear?
Yeah, definitely. Country club prep—Ralph Lauren American flag sweater, Goyard Bag, Stan Smith, Golden Goose, straight leg, light washed jeans. You’re thinking of the same kind of person I’m thinking of… the teddy bear sweater.
A lot of it is just what New England country club private school style is. There are a lot of people with cool, unique styles on campus, but it definitely leans on the preppier side, especially compared to a general sample of people our age.
Do you think you stand out on campus because of your style?
I’m not doing anything particularly revolutionary, but it’s a conversation starter. Sometimes people are like, ‘Oh, where’d you get this from?’ or ‘I like your jewelry.’ And it’s also a great way to make friends. If you find someone with a similar style, it’s easy to meet new people that way. It’s a way to show a little bit of yourself to the world and help make it easier to connect with other people.
Do you think your style has evolved since coming to Georgetown?
It’s hard to say because I just got here. I’m a freshman, but I’ve definitely been encouraged to dabble more in fashion and be more open with it. My school back home, I had a uniform I had to wear where it was a polo shirt and khakis every day. And then we had certain days where you could dress down, wear whatever you want. So those were my only days where I ever got to really wear what I wanted to, and most of the time I was just restricted.
So just being in a place where I can wear whatever I want all the time, and also engaging with the fashion magazine as well, it’s given me fun, like-minded people that I can take inspiration from and talk about this kind of stuff with.
It’s just being in a college environment with no one telling you what to wear and being able to experiment, I think it helps anybody grow. It’s a really important time to experiment because again, once you enter the workplace, you’re probably gonna have more restrictions placed on you. This is a great time to develop your personal style, so that in whatever setting you need to be in, you can stay true to yourself.
Manya Dyer (SFS ’26)
Can you tell me about what you’re wearing today?
The dress that you see is actually a dress that I bought for a formal ball. I went to Trinity Ball in Dublin and I needed a formal dress. I realized that it goes really well as a layer underneath outfits and also minimizes cost per wear, which is something that I think is important to me when I’m buying clothes because I don’t like to buy a lot of clothes. So, when I buy something, it’s really a commitment to wearing it often.
The shirt that I’m wearing underneath, I just saw the sleeves and I fell in love naturally. The star top I had been thinking about for maybe a year. It went on sale for 25% of the price… it was a sign to buy it since it had been on my mind for so long.
Is there something that defines your personal style and how does it make you feel?
I feel most confident when I’m dressed in something that feels a little bit out of the ordinary, where I’m taking risks, compared to what would be considered a normal outfit.
Not to say that I don’t think I dress normally. I just like to put normal clothes together in a way that makes them seem a little bit more interesting. My style is defined by my music taste because often I’ll see an artist that I like and really want to copy something of theirs. The blue eye makeup was a bit inspired by [David] Bowie.
Do you think your style has changed since you came to Georgetown?
Since coming to Georgetown, I enjoy trying to be a little bit more bold with my outfits and blue eye makeup.
University can get quite stressful and the days can feel quite repetitive sometimes. So, I think being purposeful in choosing something to wear that represents your identity outside of just going to class is a good thing to do.
How does it make you feel when you stand out?
I wouldn’t say that I stand out, but I always enjoy when somebody catches on with something that I tried to do. It’s quite a common thing now, but one of my favorite outfits involves a kilt skirt over these black jeans.
I remember I got complimented on that once when I was wearing it for the first time. And I felt affirmed by it, that people like the choices that I tried to make. I think it’s important just to retain a semblance of yourself in a space when there are a lot of others who can just influence you. I think the way to do that is just to try and do something a little bit different.
