November

Ben Howard.

@benhoward2

How do you use fashion?

I use fashion as a form of experimentation.

If I ever want to express myself in a way that is new or unconventional I will always do it through fashion first. Fashion is a good way to test the waters.

Whether that be a mardi gras fit that is very raunchy or a ridiculous combo you want to become a trend (I've most recently started wearing dress shoes with shorts and knee-high black socks), I think our personal fashion is something that will always thrive off trying new things even if some of them are a bust. 

Describe your style in three words. 

Gay, prep-school, chill

How do you put together your outfits? 

Like everyone, I have the same five A-tier shirts I wear as soon as laundry is done, and then when those have been used I move on to the B-tier ones, then the C-tier until it's time for laundry day once again. 

My typical outfit is usually on the more simple side (a drastic change from my freshmen-year self who wore a nearly one-pound cross around my neck every day). It usually consists of a polo and jeans. Though it sounds boring, I make sure to switch them out to create a plethora of combos; yellow polo and short jean shorts, green and purple tie-dye polo with baggy jean shorts, striped pink polo and flare jeans, you get the picture.

I used to also wear a lot of sleeveless shirts back when I went to the gym, though those days have long passed. In the winter months, I like to layer a ton. Depending on how cold it is I'll usually wear some sort of dress shirt with a sweater over it, then a coat over that to maximize the look. 

What is your favorite season to dress for and why?

Despite my love for the warm weather, I love dressing for winter more than any other season by far. My love for winter dressing comes from my childhood growing up in a family of big skiers. My parents grew up skiing in a time when those Nordic sweaters and bomber jackets were all the rage and now I've stolen all of them for myself. In fact, I love any knit sweater with a pattern, especially stripes.

Going to boarding school in Rhode Island right on a cold windy beach I spent years curating my winter wardrobe with turtlenecks, Barbours, and Patagonia everything, and to this day all of my most sentimental pieces are jackets (my absolute favorite being my red Patagonia bomber which used to belong to my uncle in the 90's). 

What is your key to success in winter dressing?

I think your key to success for dressing in the winter, and by the way, I mean real winter, not New Orleans winter, is GLOVES!

It is crazy how many people I see walking around bundled up in parkas but leaving their twitchy frostbitten hands out to suffer. Our extremities are the most vulnerable to the cold. Gloves, in my opinion, are the coolest winter accessory to have. I have a nice pair of leather ones I got aboard in Italy that are still in great shape. I think they always look elegant and of course, keep your hand warm and snug.

What are you thankful for and why?

I'm thankful for my family. We are at a time in our lives where we are all getting along and it's quite nice. I’m very thankful for my friends here at Tulane. I feel like every one of my friends has such a distinct style and I love borrowing little looks and ideas from them. I'm also thankful for all the personal growth I've done in my time at Tulane, which is heavily reflected in my style. Though I miss the more eccentric and adventurous outfit choices I used to make when I was more unsure of myself, it is nice to have come into myself more and taken up a more consistent, relaxed wardrobe.

What are your “go-tos”?

In my closet, I have a few go-tos which I call my “staple pieces.” These are things that I wear every day in every outfit no matter the color or vibe. Right now I currently have two. First is my metal necklace. I just say metal because I don't know what it is made of. It was two dollars at a flea market in Rhode Island and I thought it would give me one of those green rashes but it's been four years strong and it hasn't even faded. 

My second staple right now is my red platform Converse. I was first inspired to get a pair by my handyman who had a similar pair. When I complimented him on them he urged me to look on eBay, saying I could find a whole set of different colored pairs for thirty dollars. Lo and behold he was right. The red pair is my favorite because red has become a sentimental color to me in recent years. Firstly I live in a red house on Broadway, and red is also the color we use for promotion material for my sketch comedy club, Office Hours. In our shows we always wear a “pop of red” and of course, I had to wear the Converse. 

Any questions or comments you want to make?

My biggest comment on fashion is that it is always better to curate a closet of nice-quality pieces than to constantly purchase new clothes. Of course, new clothes are always nice on occasion, but I think you really want to have timeless token pieces that represent you as a person and have sentimental value.

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