Closet Confidential: Gabriella Romney- A Transformative, Tailored Trailblazer
By Soph Penelope Hill
Fashion, as we are all aware, is ever-changing. It’s flexible and interesting, and constantly moving in different directions. I do not think anyone I have spoken too quite understands the transformative power, and specialized nuance, fashion is capable of quite like Gabriella Romney. With a myriad of pieces, and lots of coolly integrated accessories, she has carved out a rare sense of style. It is specifically her, but not specific at all. Gaby sat down with me to talk about the influence of her surroundings in terms of style and culture, a great fitting pair of jeans, and a shared obsession with vintage shopping.
Originally hailing from Utah, Gaby had a lot of different fashion influencers around her throughout her childhood and teen years. She explained to me the unique fashion landscape that has cropped up around such a conservative state. Exploding with Mormon mommy bloggers who have gained thousands, upon millions of social media followers; that focus on curating bohemian, Free Peoplesque looks. Linen dresses and muted tones cover their feeds and have truly fermented a stylized Utahian way of dressing. This hyper-aware fashion culture has informed Gaby but has not swayed her from true individualism. She, instead, has mastered the art of personalized style through transformation.
This over-arching sense of modesty did, at one point, consume her style. But she later switched that out for hipster expressionism, then slowly landing upon an eclectic mix of all these things her senior year of high school. Here, and continued at St. Andrews, Gaby recalled a shift in the way she thought about clothing. Instead of frequenting fast fashion houses for trendy, expendable pieces, she has narrowed her focus on finding permeant base pieces. Leaning on tried-and-true brands such as Madewell and Everlane to match with her more outrageously fun items. Gaby also gained continued inspiration from working at Nordstrom’s, where she was surrounded by new shapes and styles. This was where she learned a very important lesson: FIND A GREAT TAILOR! Tailoring has helped Gaby really bring her idea of a piece of clothing to life; and is a tool that allows her to find great vintage pieces and fit them exactly to her body.
As she matures into her own style more, Gaby draws from multiple different fashion bloggers (not all mommy bloggers) for outfit inspiration. People like Katie Sturino (who runs the 12ish Style) and notorious maximalist Leandra Medine both serve as muses for Gaby, though she rarely dresses like them herself. Another figure capturing her attention is Harry Styles, who’s Gucci-clad androgynous looks have served us all a sizzling cup of chic, hot glam.
She has an uncanny ability to mix completely different styles and have them blend into her own realm, allowing for every outfit to scream GABY; while it may be completely different from the last. I suppose I learned, however, as I always seem to do, that what makes great personal style is the person themselves. And Gaby exemplifies the phrase: “It’s confidence you are wearing, not the clothes.”