Alina Peña is a rock and roll fairy. I think that's the most succinct way to describe her. I met her in my gym class, a class notorious for its fashion-diminishing quality. However, Alina is capable of dressing like a cool-as-fuq chick even when we're sweating and awkward in the uncomfortable environment that is a high school physical education course. From the first day I saw her, wearing her over-sized, high-waisted sweatpants, funky t-shirts, and old-skewl sneakers, I knew we had to be friends. And it turns out she's just as awesome as her clothes proclaim her to be. She's a fellow passive aggressive feminist and Rookie lover, as well as having her own unique thangs that she does. She makes zines, terrariums, and pins, and has the most amusing Tumblr I've ever seen. She always has what is seemingly fairy dust sprinkled delicately across her cheekbones. But most importantly, she has her own unique style that is just so Alina, but at the same time so difficult to pin point. Basically, she can rock everything, and totally will if given the chance. Without further ado, I present to you, Miss Alina.
Odelia: How would you describe your
style?
Alina: I knew you
were gonna ask this! It's kind of a bit of an adventure 'cause I
can't make any decisions whatsoever, it's just kind of an emotional
roller coaster when I try and answer that question. But I don't know,
it depends on the day. Sometimes I wanna be a go-go girl, sometimes I
wanna be a rockabilly rebel, it just depends.
Odelia: Who are your fashion icons
and who do you admire aesthetically?
Alina: Tavi Gevinson and Petra Collins are my queens, but I don't really know
people, it's really bad. It's usually just old children's books, art
deco children's books that I read, or photos from the sixties that I
see on Pinterest and other pretentious things like that that usually
are inspiring.
Odelia: Where are your favorite
places to shop?
Alina: I was
asking myself this the other day, 'cause I have a lot
of clothing, and I don't know where it comes from! When it's me,
myself, and I, it's usually just thrift stores, and the Salvation Army, and things like that, or vintage shops, but my mom does a lot
of shopping for me, 'cause she's really good at that. She gets all
these emails with coupons and goes back to stores to see if things
are on sale, yeah. And it's all from, like, Century 21, and it all
rocks. She does a lot of shopping for me.
Odelia:
If you could own
one or more items right now that you don't have, what would it or
they be?
Alina: Ugh, I feel like I should name drop something! I really want
this jacket I saw on Etsy that's red, white, and blue, and it says
“Love” on the back, and it's all fringe, and it's really wild
with like, hearts on it. I also want some pins. I just wanna be the
kind of person that has pins all over their chest, on your butt,
like, anywhere. Pins on my face. I just want lots of broaches. It's
mostly pins, but then a few bug broaches here and there.
Odelia: Would
you say that fashion is a big focus in your life?
Alina: Jesus Christ, yeah. It's a problem.
Odelia: How
would you describe personal style as a concept?
Alina: Personal style as a concept?
Odelia: Like
what does it mean to you.
Alina: I think it's just all of the inspiration that you gobble up
and spit up however you like. It can change as much as you want, you
don't really have to be pinned down, that's why it's so difficult to
talk about, I guess.
Odelia: How do
you feel that high school has influenced your sartorial choices?
Alina: I've always cared way too much about how I dress, but have
always kind of been on-trend whether I want to or not. But I guess
it's kinda pushed me a lot because people are super crazy fashionable
in high school, and I'm so defensive about it, I feel like I have to
be the best. It's been a good motivator.
Odelia: But
there's also a lot of people that are really nastily dressed. It's
kind of disheartening.
Alina: Yeah, that's true. I don't mind it too much.
Odelia: I'm that
person that gets angry.
Alina: I don't know, it depends. It honestly depends. If I really
hate it [the outfit], or I have something against the person, then
I'll criticize them for it, and if I like them, I'll be like, “She
can do whatever she wants, it doesn't matter, don't judge her!” So,
I don't know. I don't really mind either way, as long as I feel like
I look good! [Laughs]
Odelia: Okay,
I'm throwing in a bonus question in reference to your scene days, but
not really. Do you feel like your style evolves frequently, or is
there a core Alina thing?
Alina: No, it changes all the time. It's so difficult for my mother
when she wants to buy me things for Christmas 'cause she doesn't know
what I'm into anymore. I mean, I'll get nostalgic for things I had
when I was five, but there's not much holding it together other than,
I guess, being really quirky. I guess that's a really core part of
me. But otherwise I'm all over the goddamn map.
Odelia: Is there
anything else you want to say?
Alina: Uh, I wanna be you when I grow up. [Laughs]
Odelia: This is
funny, because she's older than me. So it's physically impossible.
Alina: [Makes kissy face at camera]
[Photos by me.]
Look at that magic. She really is shimmering.
I learned all about the pure genius of layering tights from Alina.
She and our friend Julianne wear their Growlers pins erryday. They're just big Growlers fans, I guess.
Her bangs were probably the best decision she's ever made. Not many people can rock the midi-bangs (half way between micro bangs and regular bangs), except maybe Alina, Rooney Mara, and Tavi Gevinson. All of this Googling of bangs has made me really want to get bangs again, but make them midi-length this time. Please do all that is in your power to talk me out of this. I will regret it. So much.
What even is this pattern??? Pastel fairy vomit??
Whadda shmerp.
This fancy lady is supercute and quite fashionable. Nothin' you didn't already know.
There may be a few weeks in between this "Can I Have Your Closet" and the next one, seeing as I don't have any lined up as of this moment. However, I have a few subjects in mind, so don't think this segment is going on a massive hiatus the way it did last time. Also, there will be more Fashion Week coverage coming your way as soon as I can find the time to write things up, plus there's a bunch of fancy projects going on behind da scenes here. Stay tuned! (I never really understood that phrase, because it literally means to adjust to the frequency of a required signal, so it doesn't even make sense in a television or radio context nowadays.)
