SN Style: MSU writing whiz pens unique styles

The State News caught up with Katie Livingston, who goes by Violet, to talk about her unique sense of style. Livingston is working on her master’s degree in critical studies in literacy and pedagogy. She hopes to one day teach writing, but today she is teaching us how to let your identity express your personal style.

State News How would you describe your style?

Violet Livingston I would say my style is part autobiography and part performance art. It’s like both, who am I, and this is who I am and who I am is fabulous, it’s both.

SN Where do you get your clothing and accessories?

VL I get them in kind of a queer way, like I will just pull stuff. I’m not saying I don’t shop at stores like everyone else, but I just take in strange elements from everything, from vintage stuff, handmade stuff and I am really into making my own clothes.

I really like to make my own clothes because I think it puts some of the power back with me. People are selling these products to women, like ‘buy this and your hair will be pin straight and shiny’, or ‘buy this, this is the right way to be a woman,’ ‘no this is the right way to be a woman,’ that’s why I (dread) locked my hair.

SN Do you like having locked hair?

VL Yeah, I love it, it’s like a way of saying I won’t ever be that woman in the hair commercial, like that throws her beautiful shiny hair over her shoulders, but that is OK.

SN Will you eventually shave them off?

VL Yeah I think that probably when I get rid of them I will shave them. I started them really small, and they were like spiny little aliens on my head.

Someday, they will run their course and I will probably shave them.

SN How do you put together a daily outfit.

VL It’s about a mood, like I walked in here and I said “Oh I love these colors together.” I will draw inspiration from anything,

I really have these color families that I like, that other people might find very abrasive but they just feel right to me.

Style is about taking your inside and bringing it out for people to see and being proud of that. I really like teal, red, black and white lately. Oh, it’s so nice.

SN What is your favorite accessory or pieces of clothing?

VL My favorite accessory is my wool hair, I have a bunch of different colors and they’re handmade. I really like them, I feel like they can really dress something up.

SN Is there anything else that influences your style?

VL Yeah, I would say my identity influences my style. For example, I’m a feminist. You wouldn’t be able to get me right unless you got that.

I use my gender identity in feminist ways, like I identified as femme. If you take all the parts of femininity, all the ideas of what women are, and traditionally that’s been either; women are weak and need to be protected; or women are wild and they have to be tamed; it’s putting your agency back in it.

Instead of being who everyone thinks I should be, and I’m going to be who I am. It’s taking femininity and celebrating that, but only the parts that serve you.

Published on Monday, July 21, 2008