occupation: student

“I like to wear things that make people say, “Ew, thats disgusting.’ It makes me feel special. It gives me a sense of individuality.” Hiraku Morilla

For me, everything about Hiraku says distinct and nothing says “Ew,” but I get what he is saying, because few can understand how to rock and roll a velvet, leopard-lined mumu with antique broaches like he does. Memorable to the point of a new obsession for me are his oversized scarves, perfect touches to everything in proportion and pattern. Hiraku is a creative force in the burnt orange ethnic scarf with the timeless Lanvin blazer and his “this year’s” leopard shawl, with the literally infinite and ingenious ways he wears it. Despite Hiraku’s penchant for the unpredictable, his roots in the traditions of style comes from his grandmother, who is a tea ceremony teacher in Japan and where he was “surrounded by beautiful kimonos.” But mostly, his mom, who moved Hiraku from Tokyo to the Bronx when he was 13, was serious about fashion and heavy on the traditions and rules. If he was wearing a heavy jacket in the beginning of the fall, she would say, “But what are you going to wear in the winter?” Hiraku says that she “fashionably” educated him, and he glows with the appoval he would get from her over “the splash of color” of his belted royal blue jumpsuit. However, they are worlds apart in many ways – she would take off the leopard scarf and and he wears it with everything, everyday, and in every way.

occupation: student, dj and entrepreneur

“I am not one to talk very much. I am the person that walks into the bar and goes straight to the corner to watch everyone else.” Nikole Ramirez

Nikole has a picture of her “Nana” in her closet in honor of what a big influence she was on her style – she was very glamorous (I remember a big head of coiffed hair) and she never left the house without makeup. It’s hard not to notice the correlation between the strong and well-dressed women in her family (her mother too) to Nikole’s fascination with the performance artist Leigh Bowery, guys in drag, and club kids, whom she is so inspired by because of their freedom to express themselves in the most extreme ways. She loves watching their confidence to appear in public looking “completely ridiculous, with glitter all over their faces and in get-ups that resemble condoms.” Nikole interprets the street into her own – often but not always less glitzy, with a myriad of mixes of denim and black leather (not surprisingly, considering her obsession with punk and rock). She is proudly from a few generations of entrepreneurs, who over time transformed a hot dog stand into beautiful restaurants. Nikole’s big black eyes reflect the deep roots of her heritage and has given her an understanding of the beauty of all parts of a culture, from the homeless in with their “dirty” and “torn” clothes to her prized Givenchy peep toe boots.

occupation: designer

“As you progress in age, everything comes back. If you always shop to suit your style and your body type, you’ll always be able to wear everything in your closet.” Magda Berliner

Magda is a pro of classic meets cool, high meets low, most exemplified by her mixing of thigh-high, eight-year-old Margiela split-toe boots (they make my heart skip a beat) with her quilted, colorful YSL vintage blazer. She is so passionate and literate in everything related to culture, style, and fashion that its hard to consider keeping up, even though I am dying to. An accomplished fashion designer and mom of a teenager, she still manages to know probably every vintage haunt in the world, get on a plane to Paris, New York, or Portugal for the opera, and still not miss the “trade night” in LA (her hometown) at “What Goes Around Comes Around,” where she recently acquired her red leather “Pat Benatar” blazer. She styled for Aerosmith and during that time, among other things, helped design custom YSL for Joe Perry and juxtapose classic English sweaters with Tripp. For Magda, it’s the hunt for quality over quantity and thus her attraction to all things European, like the experience of eating two ounces of the best ice cream instead of a pint of Ben and Jerry’s, and her extremely precise wardrobe of the creme de la creme of what suits her style and body type to the point of not needing anything more. She is so educated in the ways of the world that she opened my eyes to the fact that even the cheesiest store in Paris has state of the art hosiery, because of how refined the French are with dressing, and she herself is a confessed sock and tights freak. Magda’s acuity for experimenting with design came early, when she dressed Barbie in curtain fabric and tissue paper and started gluing seams together outside of a garment. Her own Margiela blazers today are conceived in this way. Magda loves grocery shopping as much as perusing Balenciaga, and like the Europeans, it’s more about the visual and experiential stimualtion than consumption and accumulation.

Take a look at Magda’s design collection.

occupation: student, actress, stylist and photographer

Style is the Dress of Thoughts. Lord Chesterfield

I met Becka through her friend Byrdie Bell. Becka lives in an apartment in Brooklyn that from the outside, looks more like a funky beach house in Venice, CA, a town known to be the pinnacle of bohemian chic décor. Murals in the hallway and ivy hanging all over the front porch, her entranceway is the perfect prelude to Becka, who is a whirlwind of diverse and profound interests and thus highly enlightened style. It hasn’t taken her much time in life to figure out what she calls the “core of awesomeness,” like her Rick Owens leather jacket that is sooooo worth every penny because she will wear it everyday and every year from September to June (a girl after my own heart, I do the same with my Rick, over and under everything, everyday.) Furthermore, Becka’s new addition to her impressive nucleus is her beloved Nicholas Kirkwood pump, which reveals her “super girly side, but as long as it is dark.” She’s a voracious consumer of culture and it all informs her style. Becka’s favorite biography is of Edie Sedgwick, she adores her Chloe booties because they remind her of Marianne Faithful, she loves all things French, thus her tattoo “Je t’aime,” and Joan Didion’s “The White Album” is another passion for its descriptive recollections of the notable characters of LA in the late 60′s like Charles Manson and the Black Panthers. Music is a huge influence, especially rock and roll and goth, and she has a collection of vintage T’s to prove it. David Bowie was her first crush and she has inscribed on each wrist “Diamond” and “Doll,” a play on his song “Diamond Dogs.” Becka’s love of culture and its icons has inspired her to become her own defining force of tastemaker, she has a powerful intuitive sense and never regrets a piece.

occupation:buyer of vintage clothing at screaming mimi’s

Style is knowing who you are, what you want to say, and not giving a damn. Gore Vidal

Nicollette says that she doesn’t take fashion too seriously, but at the same time she is a connoisseur of the iconic style points of different time periods and and the essence of the stories they tell. One of her favorite bags is her Mickey Mouse one, but at the same time she will get influenced by a 60′s motorcycle book and the decade’s obsession with the perfectly striped shirt, black blazer, and denim combo. Nicollette adds the sex appeal of a garder to this look, making it her own. She still wears her rhinestones and slips that she owned in 8th grade. In fact, the touch of undergarments seems to be a bit of a signature for her, it pops up in a few places, always toning it down though with more masculine pieces like camouflage, flannel and sneakers. She says that growing up in a small town in Florida, she was never a misfit, but not cool either. Weekends were spent at punk and indie shows and music became a big influence on how she dressed. Courtney Love’s haphazard hair, Gwen Stefani’s studded bra straps and the “cowboy boot-ed babes on Saddle Creek Records” donning high-necked secretary blouses and high-waisted pencil skirts were a big influence on her. She said at one time, she joined the league of mod “Spock Rockers,” with a helmet haircut, black turtleneck, leggings, and peacoat. What I most love about Nicollette, is her fascination with the fearless way in which an angsty teenager throws things together.

occupation: founder and lead singer of Third Eye Blind

I love that Stephan has the self awareness to say that his personality takes up a lot of space, so he likes his clothes not to. Knowing him, this is partly true; however, his taste for the genuine draws him towards clothing that are deceptively simple yet highly conceptual. He may be barefoot, in jeans and a t-shirt on stage, but there will always be the quintessential piece, like the Dickens-inspired top hat and sweater cape. Stephan is loyal and definitive to the core, and believes in wearing the shit out of your clothes. This only works with enduring materials and shapes that are dateless. When Carpe Diem first came onto the scene, with their emphasis on impeccable craftsmanship and experimentation with a modern take on historical references, he bought almost everything and still wears it all. In the same way that Stephan always wears the same brand of rag socks, his fans (including myself) always want to hear another Third Eye Blind song – the classics never get old. Stephan’s style rocks like his music, intellectual and raw.
Check out Third Eye Blind’s new album Ursa Major

occupation: student

A true to the spirit youth of Portland: Punk, Goth and Grunge are among the genre of bands that influence Angela. Her classic beauty and style makes her “tough-guy” love of things raw, undone, and modern. Although, she feels that living in the in the Big Apple is slowly influencing her more towards fitted blazers and less towards flannel shirts. She makes her mark on all of her clothing: tapering t- shirts, adding shoulder pads to jackets, and studding everything in sight. Angela wears lots of jewelry and the combination of industrial meets sparkle makes magic.

occupation: musician

It was Margo’s exotic and eclectic look that made her one of our first inspirations for Stylelikeu. Margo’s clothes can range form Brooklyn girl tomboy to coquettish pirate complete with a 3 cornered hat. While Margo is honest about using her style as a means to being the center of attention, and despite her arresting beauty, she is extraordinarily down to earth and open. She is a talented musician, check her out on her myspace!