School: Tisch School of the Arts
Year: Freshman
Major: Drama
Style Inspiration: BULLETT magazine and old films
School: Tisch School of the Arts
Year: Freshman
Major: Photography
Style Inspiration: Androgyny and the color black

Movies, music, sense of humor — there’s always some overlap among friends. Tisch freshmen Sea Faubert-Shimo’oka and Zoë Hoetzel are two California transplants who became friends at NYU and happen to find style inspiration in similar places.

They sing the praises of minimalism, citing BULLETT magazine and Alexander Wang as fashion influences. The pair also believes in splurging and buying investment pieces that will last a long time. Both dress according to their moods before considering any other reason to wear a certain piece.

“Style really reflects who you are,” Hoetzel said. “When I wear certain things, it makes me feel a certain way. I have a couple of long black capes that I love, and I feel kind of untouchable when I wear them as I’m walking through New York.”

They have a lot of style points in common, but more than anything, the two are huge fans of the color black.

“Zoë definitely only wears black,” Faubert-Shimo’oka said. “We’re very similar on that.”

“I’m kind of scared of color and of white,” Hoetzel said, laughing. “I pretty much only wear blacks and grays.”

However, the two certainly aren’t clones of each other.

Faubert-Shimo’oka embraces the feminine silhouette.

“She’s more feminine,” Hoetzel added. “She’s a little bit more fabulous, very sexy. I’m more covered up than she is.”

“I wear a lot of black and studs but also dresses and high heels,” Faubert-Shimo’oka said. “I think my style is a mix of the ’50s, ’60s and ’90s. I’ll wear miniskirts and then a leather biker jacket over it. It goes from grunge to that feminine, womanly aesthetic.”

Hoetzel’s style steers more toward androgyny.

“Less skin is more. I like style that is well thought out, but you make it look effortless,” Hoetzel continued. “I was the one girl in Los Angeles who wore black. It would be 90 degrees and I would be wearing leather pants. I didn’t fit in, so coming here, I feel like I fit in a lot more, and that’s really nice.”

New York is definitely the home of the muted color palette, and Faubert-Shimo’oka and Hoetzel draw inspiration from looks they see on the street. When at home, the two look for muses on Tumblr. It’s clear they can relate to each other’s aesthetics, and both know the importance of putting some of yourself into what you wear.

“Jeans [and] a T-shirt just doesn’t fly,” Faubert-Shimo’oka said. “You’ve got to have some kind of personality in your clothes.”