Marta Garcia Ferreiro ’18 poses in the PMAC Gallery.
As a non-American student, I feel that a lot of Americans on campus tend to make assumptions about international students, particularly about their lack of ability to understand American culture, their socioeconomic statuses, and their consequent knowledge of fashion or lack thereof. More often than not, these international students take such stereotypes as an insult, and feel like there is no possible advantageous use for these assumptions. Defying this idea, Marta Garcia Ferreiro ’18 knows her international identity is a good thing. She said, “Since I’ve moved to the U.S. I’ve come to the realization that since my style is different to the American style, I can wear whatever I want and I’m not going to be judged. Ever since, I’ve been dressing a lot more freely, exploring outfits that I probably wouldn’t have worn in the close-minded society of my town in Spain.” Ferreiro, who comes from the Northwest region of Galicia, where the Spanish program visits every year, said her style “is pretty European and generally follows the high-fashion trends. After moving to the US, I still dislike Vineyard Vines, but other American trends are nice.”
The United States, on the other hand, has a reputation for being the land of opportunity, or did, until Trump’s order on Friday. Regarding fashion, especially in metropolises such as New York and Los Angeles, crazy street styles and rapid changes in trends amaze people from the outside. As Marta said, having a style so different from the American one permits her to experiment with her outfits without the fear of being judged. Maybe the idea of being able to move to a city like New York and seize opportunity is what makes the city so diverse and freeing. These same patterns exist on a smaller scale at the diverse campus of Choate. A lot of people here find freedom in expressing themselves and realize that wearing what they want benefits them in feeling comfortable and accepted. So, even if stereotypes often offend crowds, there can be bright sides to them, as rare as it may seem. Overall, as Ferreiro mentioned, in terms of style, coming from a foreign place gives one the ability to express oneself freely because people will be less likely to doubt your choices, allowing your style to be unique.
