Living & Arts

Swat Style Snapshot

Swat-style-snapshot

Camila Ryder | Phoenix Staff

Jacob Phillips '13

In print | November 12, 2009

Name: *Jacob Phillips
*Class Year: *2013
*From: Fort Wayne, Indiana
Current Residence: Willets

What He’s Wearing:
“I got these jeans from a boutique in Canada.” His socks are his dad’s from the ’90s. He wears a J.Crew button-down shirt, a Burberry sweater, a vintage tie, and TOMS with laces. Phillips epitomizes the perfectly dressed J.Crew man by combining the formal aspects of a shirt and tie with the fun, eclectic nature of the mustard yellow sweater, rolled-up jeans and TOMS with socks.
The yellow V-neck is a bold choice since it is a color that few can pull off, but Phillips wears it well, especially with its contrast with the dark rinse jeans. While the rolled-up jean look is reminiscent of summer and spring, Phillips transitions the look into fall weather with cool, printed socks and the TOMS. His style is similar to the looks on the runways of Paul Smith, Michael Bastian and John Varvatos. All three designers combine the professional look with the eclectic, allowing for men to look equally Don Draper (Mad Men) and Urban Outfitters.

How He Describes His Style:
“I like to mix different styles,” Phillips said, but he considers his style to be “trendy preppy.” He likes to have a balance of both, so as not to go the extreme with “all the way preppy [or] all the way weird.”

Fashion Influences or Inspirations:
Phillips reads The Sartorialist “compulsively” to get ideas, but also enjoys “looking at magazine ads and seeing what the different designers are doing with combining looks.” He doesn’t follow celebrities or try to model after them, but he “sees what works together and what doesn’t” based on what other people have done.
Even though he doesn’t idolize any person’s style, when asked whose closet he’d want to raid, Phillips mentioned Joseph Gordon Levitt from the movie “(500) Days of Summer.”
“I had half of the sweaters he wore, and the other half I want to have,” he said. “I really like that he wore a tie everyday.” Phillips enjoys wearing ties, though he claims he doesn’t wear them now as much as he did in high school.

Favorite Places to Shop:
He enjoys shopping at many places so as not to conform into a specific style. “American Apparel is my favorite for basics,” Phillips said, adding that he loves mixing solid colors.
“To get the preppy [look], J.Crew and Banana Republic,” he said. He recommends Urban Outfitters to show the trendy look. Phillips added, “For my fun things, Burberry or just random little boutiques in Canada and Chicago. That’s where I usually get my clothes. You can’t shop in Indiana.”

Favorite Wardobe Items:
His TOMS shoes that he’s wearing are his favorites because “they’re the most comfortable and versatile.” Phillips has had TOMS before, but upon receiving an e-mail about new TOMS with laces, he said, “it was the best day of my life.”
“They’re casual and formal,” Phillips said, “They are actually really warm; they’re quilted inside.”

Has he always been stylish?
“Oh my goodness, no,” Phillips said. He called his transition into dressing more fashionably in high school a “gradual occurrence of making something my own.” Phillips said he wore cardigans when others weren’t, until everyone began wearing them.

Do you think you’ve got great style or know someone who does? Then submit a photo of you in your best out fit to cryder1 @swarthmore.edu.