Photo by Madaline Stevens

Before coming to Whitman College, first-year Shannon Zander was expecting that her unique style of dress might fade away, sticking out too much in an environment where “people are generally … laid-back and casual in the way they dress.” Instead, however, her flair for heels and dresses only grew stronger.

“I found that I don’t mind standing out,” said Zander. “I prefer just being true to my general aesthetic.”

As a result, by her own admission, Zander has become well known as “the one who always wears heels on 8:00 a.m. classes at Mondays.” Though that’s not an entirely accurate depiction, as, according to Zander, she’s a bit more relaxed with her style most mornings.

“I will say the way I dress in the mornings and the way I dress in the afternoons is fundamentally different because I am not a morning person,” said Zander. “[M]orning classes – yeah, I’m wearing jeans. But afternoons [it’s …] dresses, heels, etc.”

Zander summed up her typical look as “Senator’s wife who’s low-key running things.”

For Zander, a pair of heels is the most important part of her ensemble. “There’s just something about a putting on heels which, well, not only makes me feel taller […], but also just lifts my mood. Like I could be sitting in the library doing homework, but it feels so much more important when I’m wearing heels.” Her more formal wear seems to have an acute impact on her productivity, as “whenever I wear sweatpants, it just feels kind like laid-back […] and I feel myself getting distracted […]. But when I’m really like, dressed to impress, I feel like I’m more able to focus.”

Naming her favorite piece of clothing, Zander singled out a scarf she owns with dogs on it. “It’s just great.”

The most important part of any style, according to Zander, is simply that “it should be natural, it should be an extension of yourself.” With that in mind, Zander will preserve her self-described “tailored, but still very modest” look as long as it suits her.