Sebastian Ardemagni, a 26-year-old Fresno City College cognitive science student, sets a great example of what style is. He easily pulls sophisticated and chic outfits which are fresh and casual at the same time.

Although, he doesn’t like hyper fashion or following trends he does like to stand out with his clothes. In high school he received a “Best Dressed” award even though his style was completely different from what it is now.

“When I first started high school I dressed for attention,” said FCC student Sebastian Ardemagni. “I had spiky green hair, glitter on my face and really wide jeans. I had a shiny silver vest with built-in speakers and you could plug a walkman in the back and listen to music. I even wore a belt on my head once. I was really a weirdo kid.”

His senior year he changed the crazy and bold clothes for preppy and neat. Lots of button-ups and clean cut clothes became his essentials.

A lot of influence on Sebastian’s style had New York where he moved at 22 to be a flight attendant.

“I started dressing a little bit more urban,” he said. “Maybe even trendier since I had an access to better stores but I still tried not to dress the way everyone else was dressing. I would still follow the classic.”

Ardemagni’s look is a mix between laid-back Californian and sophisticated New Yorker. He enthusiastically mixes bold and classy details with comfortable and functional clothes. He loves wearing boots and gingham shirts with stretchy jeans that he could easily move around in.  “I’m still a little bit in transition coming from New York to Fresno,” said Ardemagni. “When I get dressed every morning I have to remind myself to tone it down.”

One of the things Sebastian Ardemagni hates about Californian style is when men wear flip flops.  He believes men’s feet should mostly be covered and flip flops are terrible for them. “In California we drive everywhere all the time, so we own the worst shoes,” he said. “In New York, shoes are taken very seriously. People walk a lot over there so the shoes have to be very supportive and high quality and I still think it’s important here too”.

Ardemagni wears a lot of grey and silver shades which are his favorite colors. He’s had naturally grey hair for a long time as well so it became his style signature which he gets a lot of compliments on. He loves wearing glasses because he feels very exposed without them and hates when people wear pajamas to school because it is lazy.

“I think clothes should be fun,” he said. “I appreciate when people wear unique things and it actually bothers me when they are not creative enough and just wear the same clothes everyone else is wearing. It doesn’t have to be perfect; it just has to be you!”

On Sebastian: boots – Bjorn; jeans and bag – Uniqlo; T-shirt – He’s my Brother, She’s your Sister concert shirt; top – Gap; jacket – Urban Outfitters.

Style inspiration: “Bio teacher hipster chic”

Hobby: “Theater-goer”

Music: “Midlake; Antony & The Johnsons; He’s My Brother She’s My Sister; Soul music”

Movie: “Masters of the Universe”

Food: “Birthday Cake ice cream; flavored chips; nachos”

Place in Fresno: “Iron Bird café”

Place to Travel: “The kitchen. I hate traveling”

Color: “Gray. Grey. Greige.”

Fashion ‘Don’t’: “White socks and white underwear”