CURRENTLY STALKING: PAUL SALAMANCA

Ask Paul Salamanca about his personal style, and he will give you a description that crosses somewhere between “mom” and “weird.”  The Weinberg sophomore, who studies Mathematical Methods in the Social Sciences (MMSS) and Sociology, has a style that truly reflects his desire to be different in a straight-laced world.

Salamanca is a vice president for Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP), an activist group that promotes drug policy education about how policies marginalize communities of color. He is also in Community Health Corps, which is dedicated to improving health outcomes in the Evanston and Skokie area. But, Salamanca is most excited about being a PA for MMSS students.

“I just wanted to feed off the energy of the new students, and I want to change the culture of MMSS a bit, because it's so boring and business-oriented,” said Salamanca.
 

Unlike a lot of his peers, Salamanca does not want to go into banking or finance. Salamanca wants to be creative. He wants to utilize what he is passionate about, including activism about how societies can either marginalize or protect minorities of gender and race.
 

His creativity in his professional life directly translates to his style, from his fashion to his hair. It is evolving just as fast as he is, and he doesn’t stray away from taking chances.

What are you the most passionate about?

I am really interested in the sociology of sexual capital,and how that relates to the identities of sexual and racial minorities. So, like a queer person of color experiences marginalization differently than a white queer person. It results in super high rates of mental illness and sexually transmitted infections, and it is not always the fault of the individual, even if society perceives it that way.

How would you describe your personal style?

I'm really all over the place. My style is constantly changing as I see new pieces that I want to incorporate. It changes every year or every season. Is weird a bad word? Out there? People usually think I look weird, but it's fine. I just really like stuff that looks weird. I get really bored when I go shopping at a mall, so I tend to go to thrift stores or markets to find pieces that you wouldn't find at the mall. 

How often do you go shopping at markets and second-hand stores?

It definitely depends on how busy I am. It could be a couple times a month to, if I have a lot of time, once or twice a week. I also like to shop a lot when I travel. I was just in New York over spring break with my boyfriend, and I was shown around a bunch of thrift stores near NYU. I was also in San Francisco, and I went shopping there. It's fun to thrift wherever you travel, because it's like a little memory.

Do you have any inspirations?

I follow a lot of people on Tumblr, which is where I see a lot of style inspiration. It's weird because something will blow up, like Versace from 2012. As far as celebrity inspiration, it would probably be FKA Twigs’ looks. She's like really cool, and she always looks super weird. Sometimes she looks like a little alien, and I'm like, 'yes! I love that!' Twiggs is a black woman, and has said some really cool things about feminism.

Now, I actively look through the men's and women's section when I go shopping. I tend to think women's fashion is a lot more interesting. It can definitely be more outside of the box or more creative. I think most guys are afraid to wear something that is not masculine, even though it might look super good on them. In the past year though, I've really liked how women's jeans fit me, especially high-waisted jeans.

The adjective "weird" has come up twice now. Why do you like to describe your style in this way?

I know it may come off as annoying. Maybe it isn't really that weird. But I don't think I'm trying to dress weird, I'm just literally so bored when I look at men's fashion on the rack. Even when you go somewhere that is supposed to be alternative, like Urban Outfitters, it's still so boring to me. I think you can look creative with what you're wearing. I feel my best when I have an outfit that I like and makes me feel super creative. I like to express myself a lot with what I'm wearing and how I look.

You like to change your hair a lot. Why?

Again, I get bored really easily. I have a hair person in Andersonville, and I'm down to experiment. Recently, she has been using a knife to cut my hair, and she just hacks at it. It’s really fun and gives my hair great texture. In high school, I did a lot of colors. The summer before my freshman year, my hair was green. If you look through my Facebook page, you will see all of the different iterations of my hair coloring and style over the years.

Do you buy clothes in pieces or in outfits when you go thrift shopping or to markets?

I have a pretty good mental inventory of my closet. I can remember what I have, and what I can wear it with. I thrift almost everything that I own, so I don't spend a lot of money. That way, I can just see how it looks and if I don't like it, I will just give it away or keep it until I find something that will work with it.

Do you have 1-2 pieces that you always go back to?

I bought these high-waisted women's jeans that are cut-off at the bottom with strings. I love them because if I have a boring top, I can wear them. I also got a new pair of doc martins with straps, that I really like. I like Docs because I like how they look. I have a green pair somewhere. It's been raining a lot, and I have this cute little yellow raincoat. I change my style a lot, but I also have a hoarding problem. It's fun though, because I will buy something new and I will be like, 'oh, I haven't worn this in a while,' and it reinvigorates old clothes.