Josephine Hong’s ’19 style has evolved since coming to Choate.
In celebration of “spirit week,” I introduce Josephine Hong ’19, one of our school’s very own fashion icons, and a woman whose style has evolved since entering Choate.
“I wore collared shirts and shorts and nice little coats,” said Hong, describing her style as a freshman. However, if you’ve recently seen her on the path or in the Dining Hall, Hong’s fabulous and original outfits have surely caught your attention. Hong’s style has evolved enormously throughout the last three years, and Choate has played an important part in that change.
Hong explained, “The whole ‘no dress code’ thing? I would never have been able to do that in my old school. People at Choate in general are so supportive.” Hong continued, “I wear a lot of black, but I like to have muted colors with points of brighter colors in them, or just a crazy overload of color. Either or.” Coming from Korea and having grown up surrounded by stylistically conservative people, Hong understands how it feels being caught between two cultures. “When I go back home to Korea, sometimes I still have to dress more conservatively, but now I incorporate my own style into looking decent and presentable,” she said.
With the capability of appreciating and recognizing both sides of the fashion spectrum, Hong finds it amusing to participate in Choate’s yearly “Dress like Deerfield Day”. She explained, “It’s so funny to me. We all dress preppy and obnoxious, Vineyard Vines and all that, while the Deerfielders dress in sweatpants, apparently. It’s such a cool rivalry, and I’m sure they feel superior to us, but also I feel like, ‘yo, chill out.’ I just think we’re so much more open minded in some ways.”
Within our school, Hong has realized more than ever that fashion plays an important part in discovering and developing a sense of self. She said, “I use my outfits as self expression, as well as me kind of developing who I am as a person. It’s helped me kind of look into myself more and the kind of things that I like, instead of following what everybody else tells me to wear.”
To me, Hong perfectly describes the best image that I have of our school. During Deerfield Day, school spirit spreads throughout both the Choate and Deerfield student bodies, truly showing what each of our institutions aspires to represent. Generally being perceived as more laid-back and flexible, our students have more space to dress the way they want to. In my opinion, and in Hong’s as well, this contrasts the message spread by Deerfield students, all conforming to the same khaki pants and buttoned down shirts. Hong chose to accept Choate’s energy, which has helped her branch away from her comfort zone and develop into the person you see on the path today.
