Juan is comfort-maxxing

The campus can sometimes be like a catwalk. Students talk about what they wear and why. This time: Juan likes to wear Catholic jewellery to keep his history with him.

In a few days Juan (22) will be finished with his studies. He studies Media & Creative Industries and his thesis is almost done. He says he’s already had the hardest part: “I’m only checking the APA references today.” To concentrate properly, he prefers to keep his outfits simple. “I’m a bit of a cartoon character: I always wear the same thing. I want my outfit to be clear so I can lock in easily. The less I have to think in the morning, the better.”

At the moment that fixed outfit is shorts and a T-shirt. The T-shirt is simple, semi-fitted, cotton with pieces of fabric in different colours stitched on. “I like it when my clothes have a bit more design that makes them stand out.” The shorts are comfortable, made from a sturdy green fabric. “When something is too tight, or keeps riding up, I become too aware of it and can’t concentrate. At uni I’m comfort-maxxing.”

With the heat it’s hard to wear the same thing all the time, because he has to wash his clothes more often. But this is currently his only pair of shorts. “I probably should have washed them by now”, he admits. Juan still washes his T-shirts, underwear and socks. On his feet he wears black Puma Speedcats: ‘size 46.’ Over his shoulder hangs his usual black leather shoulder bag that he once found on the floor of the second-hand shop Episode. He pulls out a pink yo-yo. “My girlfriend and I have been practising together because we saw Faye Webster yo-yoing at her concert. We think she’s so cool.” Juan doesn’t want to show any tricks yet.

He wears a lot of jewellery: silver rings, a small cross around his neck and bracelets of leather and metal. Most of the jewellery was a gift or came from family. “This one my aunt once bought in Mexico”, he says of a bracelet with a unique hook clasp. “And I like this one because it’s a bit strange”, he says pointing to a bracelet on which the whole Our Father is engraved.

“I was raised in a Catholic family, but when I was sixteen I decided to stop going to church”, Juan says. “I don’t pray and I’m not religious, it’s not for me. But I try to keep that history with me and in a way reclaim it. That’s why I like to wear Catholic jewellery.”