Spotted at: Union Square, SF
Occupation: Student, Barista
What is your occupation?
I'm a barista. I work at Peet's Coffee.
Are you just coming from work?
I came from school. I live in the East Bay, towards Hayward.
What are you up to today?
Today is actually my birthday! I came here to find a birthday outfit.
Really? Happy Birthday! Have you just set out on the search or have you been looking around for a while?
I've been looking around for a little bit but it's so difficult. There's too many options, so many stores.
Any ideas on what you're looking for?
Not really—I mean, a dress? Something simple and cute for going out with my family.
What are your birthday plans?
We're going to have dinner in Santana Row. It's my 22nd birthday.
What do you do when you're not working? Where do you go to school?
I go to Chabot in Hayward, and when I'm not doing that I'm just hanging out in Oakland, I like to come to the city, even Hayward is changing a lot.
What are your favorite places to visit in the Bay Area?
Oh my gosh, that's difficult. I like to do tourist things. You know, being from the Bay Area you kind of get bored with it. My friends and I usually like to hike or do that type of thing—try to find different places, like bars and nice places to hang out.
Any good hikes you've been on lately?
Usually we go hike Garin Park in Hayward, or we go to Berkeley.
Great hiking in Marin too—that's a whole other situation!
Yeah, I used to live in San Rafael and Petaluma. I lived in Petaluma first for a little bit—out in the boonies—and then we moved to San Rafael, like in the downtown area.
How did you like living out there?
I didn't. It was beautiful, but I didn't like it at all. I moved right out of middle school, so all my friends were going to high school together, and it was just like, “Oh, you're moving!” And then I had to pick up and go to a new place.
That's tough to do in high school!
Yeah! It is when you're really young—and I'm really quiet so I wasn't super excited about a new area. But it's really beautiful. I appreciate Marin County because it's so beautiful.
Any recent obsessions?
I'm really obsessed with Beyoncé and Solange right now.
What about them?
I'm obsessed with Beyoncé because I like how she's kind of changing her image and pushing out that she's a feminist. So I like that part. Because nobody used to look at Beyoncé as this feminist role model so I like that she's kind of using her position to spread that. And Solange, her sister, is my biggest style influence. Plus she's just really sassy and smart and cool.
How would you describe your personal style?
It's usually really simple. I dress for comfort. It's like no in-between—I'm either simple and comfortable or really dressed up. Like what I'm wearing today is really dressed up. You know, because it's my birthday and stuff [laughs]. I also like loose clothing.
What's a challenge you've overcome lately?
Small talk. It's really challening and especially working in customer service, working at a coffee shop, you have to do a lot of that. A whole lot of that. So I try to push myself to get used to it and not think of it as a huge scary thing. Because people are just people. And they don't want to probably talk that much either [laughs]. They really don't! So, I'm like, ok, they're just like me! And I guess school probably helped too, because of public speaking. I'm not really a fan of it, but with school it's just like, you gotta do it!
What are you currently studying?
Just now I'm doing my general ed requirements but I'm either thinking of majoring in psychology or health education.
What drew you to those fields?
Psychology because I really love people and the human mind is so interesting to me. And then health education because if I were really to go for it, I would be a women's health teacher. I'm really interested in the body, and young women knowing about our bodies and understanding our bodies on a different level—apart from the male perspective.
So lastly just wanted to ask you quickly about everythng you're wearing and how you put it together. I love the braids and how you have them in a bun!
Thank you! My mom just did my hair yesterday and I wanted to be low-key today but my mom was like, “Oh, you should do it up and put it in a bun, you know, draw attention to yourself!”
So now you can tell her, it worked Mom.
I know! [Laughs] she's going to be so happy!
How did the whole outfit come together?
The newest pieces are just the flannel and the jacket but all of this other stuff is old.
I also noticed you have a lot of little sparkly rings on as well.
I got them at Forever 21. I like the mid-ring. I like the costume jewelry feel, the little bubble embellishing on the rings. I thought that was cute. Some people might think it's tacky or something.
How long have you had your piercings?
I've had my hoop for for . . . oh my gosh, a few years? I've had my septum for about a month, my septum is pretty new.
What inspired your piercings?
I've been wanting to get a hoop done. In the past, I wanted a lip piercing but since growing up I realized I don't want that any more so I decided I'd get my nose done. It was kind of spur of the moment. For my septum, I just wanted something new. Something fun and cute.
I also see you have a Bad Brains button and who is this other button?
The other button is Basquiat. I've recently been getting into punk music more. I really wasn't into it in high school. I have friends who are really into it so they just gave me a few bands to listen to and Bad Brains was my favorite. So I researched a little bit about them. And then Basquiat, oh my god I'm a huge fan.
