Fashion Profile: Aisha Kazembe ’18

Aisha Kazembe ’18 recalls her fashion sense through the years.

Jessica Doyle and photos by Teresa Knecht

From the time she was learning to read and write, Aisha Kazembe ‘18 has enjoyed picking out her outfits.

“[I’ve] probably [been into fashion] since I was really little, even though my clothes were really ugly back then. I always liked dressing up and picking out outfits, and stuff like that,” Kazembe said. “When I was in elementary school, especially early on, like kindergarten and first grade, I used to change my outfits like five times a day, because I’d like come home and change, and change like an hour later.”

However, what she wore when she was younger, has now turned into a 90s theme.

“I love the crop tops and I love the high waisted pants and I love the sneakers.  It’s just really casual and cute and comfy all at the same time,” she said.

Kia Noibi ‘18 agrees.

“Aisha’s style is more 90s and I love it on her because she can really pull it off, especially her turtlenecks,” she wrote.

That doesn’t mean her style doesn’t shift from time to time, though.

“I think your style just changes everyday, as you do.  And style is just whatever you want to wear; it’s just whatever you feel,” Kazembe said.  “[My style’s] kind of just whatever I feel like wearing, because sometimes I bum out, and sometimes I dress more hip, and sometimes I dress more classy.  It just depends on how I’m feeling that day.”

“[Aisha] really [likes] to experiment with [her] outfits and [she’s] not afraid to try something different,” Samantha Young ‘18 wrote.

Kazembe’s confidence with fashion has built up since starting high school.

“I used to [second guess my outfits], but since I started high school, I just wear pretty much whatever I want now and don’t really worry about it,” she said.  “When I first got Doc Martens, I was really afraid to wear them, because I thought they were too big and bulky.  But as soon as I started wearing them, I got over it really fast, and I just started wearing like everything else that I wanted to wear.”

For those who tend to second-guess their outfits, Kazembe offers a few words of advice.

“I would say don’t second-guess your outfits, because if you pick it out and you like it, then you like it for a reason and you should wear it, and not let other people influence your decision.”

Kazembe also recommended shopping at local thrift stores.

“I would say experiment a lot to figure out what your style is.  Sometimes, I think thrifting is a really good idea, because you can see a lot of stuff that you wouldn’t see in other places and there are so many different things that you can try all in one place.  You get a chance to look at it all, from all time periods and all styles,” she said.  “The majority of my clothes are from thrift stores.  I shop at Goodwill a lot.  And my pants, I always put holes in them myself.  And shorts, I cut them off and roll them and stitch them a lot of times.  You can just find a lot of stuff there, that you can fix up or just wear it how it is, and it’s really cheap.”