An avid backpacker, hiker, senior and business major, Joseph Lyon, is this week’s College Street Style student. Sitting outside near the business building in one of the last days of nice weather, he shared a few characteristics of his style along with advice for fellow students.
NO-SHAVE NOVEMBER
Lyon was questioned on his knowledge of No-Shave November. He responded lightheartedly with, “I just figured people don’t shave for November.” Following a brief explanation, Lyon said, “I’ve done that before. Recently I had about 17 inches of long hair and donated it. When I first got to campus, I was rocking the man bun and then everybody started doing it, plus I kind of wanted to donate it anyways … So, I ended up donating it.”
For about six years now, he’s had his beard grown long. He admits that it actually takes a few months to grow it out to where he likes it as he finds growing it out takes longer for blondes than darker haired men. “When you walk around you’ll see a lot of darker beards than you do lighter beards,” he said.
PERSONAL STYLE
As for his style for school, he likes to wear clothes that are comfortable, as has been a theme throughout the series.
“I kind of keep it casual and just kind of relaxed. I’ve gone through different various fashion styles throughout my whole life,” he said. “By all means I kind of wear what I want to wear.”
Elaborating, Lyon explained,“I was a little more fashion-forward in my younger days. Now that I got a little bit older, I’m just kind of like, wear what’s comfortable — and have a tendency to wear too much flannel.” Who can blame him, especially with the comfort and warmth most flannels provide.
Sarcastically, he concluded, “I guess you could say I’m ‘a hipster grown up.’ I’m no longer a hipster anymore, I’m too old for that; I’m not cool enough so…”
All jokes aside, he finds his clothes while shopping online at stores with sales going on. When it comes to jeans, he likes a good pair of classic Levis. As for other brands, he doesn’t care much anymore since he prefers comfortable style over choosing clothing based on the name brand.
He would describe his style in a few words as either “me” or “my own.”
“I find the things that I like and I enjoy and it’s always constantly changing. Probably every 10 years, it’s very different, but there are some things that are classic,” he explained. “I’ve tried many different styles in my life and I’m kind of happy with my own right now.”
INVESTMENT PIECES
If Lyon had to spend the most money on one wearable item, he’d spend it on good quality footwear. “Boots,” he said. “Just a comfortable pair of boots and just like a good pair of shoes is a hard thing to come by.”
He further explained his reasoning, saying that he likes good shoes, “because I’m going to wear them a lot and I’m going to use them for a long time and beat them up … for all kind of different things. So, I want a pair that’ll last me.”
Because Lyon enjoys having a unique style, he spoke a bit about his vintage pieces that express individuality. “I’ve always been a big fan of vintage actually,” he said. In fact, he has a collection of vintage pieces to which he has been adding to for over 12 years now. He especially loves the cowboy button up shirts with embroidery detailing on them.
“Now that I think about it, it’s one of my most prized [items of] clothing,” he said. “I just like the way it feels, the construction and it’s unique.”
This uniqueness is particularly important for Lyon. He said, “One thing I hate is you find something really cool and keep in your wardrobe for a while and you come to school and like five or six people have it and you’re like ‘oh, that sucks.’ I like being kind of unique sometimes.”
STYLE ADVICE FOR FRESHMEN
Lyon had an impressive reply when it came to any style advice for freshmen by saying, “You should dress how you want to be perceived and dress how you want to feel.”
Further, he said, “Ultimately I think people should dress in a way that reflects their self-identity and who they are and like how they feel. If they don’t care about it they don’t have to care about it, but if they do, they should dress how they want to dress; but know that people do judge you for how you look and that there are consequences for individual expression.”
Looks like Lyon has his own individual style and is confident in changing it up every now and again. His style is unique and exemplifies how to manage such style effortlessly.
@Casualcolie