The Identities We Embrace: Angela Wang

Writer: Armana Haque (IG: aeroslippers)

Photographer: Peytan Ivans (IG: peachypey)

Stylist: Angela Wang (IG: dearrrangla)

Personality is important, but that isn’t the first thing people see when they look at you. Style is what gives people an idea of how you want to present yourself. It’s like describing yourself about what you like to do, but in fashion. Fashion is a journey that is essential to your own self discovery, and there is a lot you can unpack from it even before getting to know someone.

Angela Wang, a fashion merchandising major from Houston, Texas, has not only always had a passion for fashion, but also discovered her talent and love for dancing. She participated in dance performances throughout her childhood and teenage years, and later joined Choreo Block and the Korean Culture Exchange club performance branch when she came to UNT. She’s done over twenty different hip-hop dance performances since she’s joined KCE, and has even performed at public events outside of UNT.

Angela describes her own style as casual yet chic. “I like to mix fancy/formal items with something casual. For example, if I wear a blouse I like to pair with distressed jeans.” To add some pop to her outfits, Angela likes to add some simple jewelry that coordinates well with her current outfit to make it look more interesting to herself.

Angela gets the majority of her fashion inspiration for her outfits from social media, specifically Instagram. She follows a lot of fashion bloggers, celebrities, and will even get inspiration from outfits from watching her favorite dance choreographers. She also gets some inspiration from watching Chinese and Korean dramas along with other TV shows, seeing what the characters wear for the shows/dramas.

Angela picked up on some certain characteristic she looks for in the outfits that she makes after experimenting with her style for so many years. She realized that she tends to gravitate towards clothes that have some unique characteristic to it. “I like to be different, so when I go search for an outfit I like to find something that is unique but also not too much.” Angela outfits usually have an interesting piece that personally makes her feel more confident, whether it be her favorite track suit with her red backpack, or a solid black top paired with her pink slacks and white booties. She likes to add a twist to her outfits just to make it more fun for herself.

During the last couple of years, Angela’s style has toned down compared to her current style. She said it was mainly due to not having as much time to dress up as much as she did back in middle school and highschool, so she doesn’t find the time or occasion to dress up as much as she did in the past. Angela is mainly preoccupied with school and dance practice at the moment, so her usual style will be an athleisure style outfit. Track suits, bulky tennis shoes, and hoop earrings have been her go to outfits recently.

The majority of Angela’s closet is filled with clothes she either bought from Zara, or clothes she thrifted from Thrift Giant. She can get a lot of unique items at these places that she can’t find anywhere else, so it’s just the place for her. “I love to go thrift shopping, especially vintage thrift stores. Finding one of a kind items is always exciting and I can't wait to show it off.” Angela loves finding vintage items that are like centerpieces to her outfits such as jackets, hats, earrings, and uniquely styled pants. She’s found a lot of her hidden treasures at vintage thrift stores, but Zara also has a unique assortment of clothing for her to choose from.

Angela really started to get an interest in fashion because her mom always dressed fashionably, inspiring her to “dress to impress” just like her. Her mom was modelling as a side job when Angela was really young, so her and her sister got a lot of exposure to fashion and their mom styled them when the three would go out anywhere. Angela’s mom would also get Chinese fashion magazines for the two sisters to look at when she was busy. During that time, Angela and her sister discovered a new interest in making scrapbooks and collages for fun. Since then, Angela’s passion for fashion has grown even more, to where she actively seeks out fashion and continuously explores new styles to experiment with.

Angela likes to style her outfits because she feels like it's a good way to express her personality in more than just words. One way that she usually tries to add a unique style to her outfits is by adding some pop of color to make it look more interesting. “I want to have fun with my outfits because it gives me more confidence to go through the day. For example, if I wear all black I like to have a red bag or a pair of white shoes just to make it pop.” Angela gets a lot of her inspiration for athleisure outfits by keeping up with bloggers and dancers on Instagram and sometimes reading about fashion news on WGSN (Worth Global Style Network) to see what’s the latest trends. She also just learns new styles from the people around her, and she’ll try experimenting with her own outfits like that.

Along Angela’s fashion journey, she discovered some fashion pet peeves that she realized that she could never get behind. She doesn’t like to layer patterns such as a striped shirt with a polka dot jacket. It’s not attractive to her at all because it’s only clashing with the entire outfit. Angela likes to style her outfits to coordinate altogether, not clash together. She likes to pair her printed and more detailed tops with simple bottoms and jewelry, or have a simple outfit and statement jewelry to even out the focus of her outfits.

Angela’s passion for fashion has become a part of her lifestyle now to where she wants to pursue a career in the fashion industry. She’s majoring as a Fashion Merchandising student at UNT and is also interning as Jan Strimple’s assistant at her fashion show production company. She’s learned a lot this past semester about the amount of effort and time it takes to produce fashion shows, and has met a number of celebrities at the events such as Bob Mackey. Angela has a personal goal to start dressing more sustainably by thrifting outfits she buys, and recreating them herself to make them look more modern and add more of her own style to it. She also hopes to work as a Product Developer for a fashion company one day because she loves creating outfits and designs, so it’s just the job for her to express her style.

It was really fun interviewing Angela because I got to know more about her life with fashion, and it gives me more inspiration to keep exploring myself. Hopefully it inspires others as well to express themselves through fashion or in other unique ways. Fashion is like your own canvas for creativity that you can paint in any style that you want.