Boy wears his sunglasses even when it’s raining

The campus can sometimes feel like a catwalk. Students talk about what they wear and why. This time: Boy enjoys mixing clothes for men and women.

“When I started growing my hair long, my style changed”, says Boy, twirling a lock of his black, wavy hair around his fingers. “I want to donate it to children with cancer, but since it got long, I’ve noticed my style changing: the hair is a statement in itself, so I prefer to dress in black, comfortably and with a little more coverage.”

‘Fashion is my life’

Boy is wearing loafers, wide balloon trousers from Stradivarius’s women’s section, a classic shirt and a cape by a ‘small-scale Indonesian designer’: an asymmetrical wrap that falls diagonally towards his hip. The master’s student in Commercial and Company Law enjoys mixing clothes for men and women. “I wear what feels right without trying to impress anyone. This is who I am, fashion is my life. I don’t have to think about my outfits.”

Boy adds a little colour to his outfits with his handbag. He has a large collection, most of which he has bought second-hand. The Dior bag he is carrying today is ‘the colour of a seat in a second-class train carriage’. After completing his bachelor’s degree in law in Indonesia, Boy worked in the corporate world for several years and travelled to Amsterdam by train every day. Now that he is ‘over thirty’, he is studying again so he can also work in the legal sector in the Netherlands.

He would prefer to keep his bags for ever, but they also provide a financial safety net: “I only buy designer bags in classic styles, with a certificate of authenticity and a dust bag. Their value keeps increasing and, if necessary, I can sell them at a profit.”

Eccentric, masculine and feminine

The finishing touch to Boy’s outfit is his sunglasses. “I never go outside without these glasses.” The large black Tom Ford frames have yellow lenses that are light enough to wear on dark days. “I like that they cover my face, because I enjoy shielding myself a little from the world.”

“People often stare at me or giggle when I walk past. I think it’s because they can’t quite place me”, Boy suspects. “I wear what I wear and I am who I am: eccentric, masculine and feminine. We all have our own ways of expressing ourselves. I wish everyone, especially young students, could embrace that.”