Joy Lambert, a sophomore at Northwestern State University of Louisiana, is always raising the bar one outfit at a time, with their eccentric, colorful and comfortable style.

Joy is a fine arts major here on campus and a graphic designer for our on-campus radio station, KNWD. When Joy isn’t creating new material for the station, they are walking the hallways in an outfit that will turn heads.

They found their sense of style in the second semester of their freshman year of college. Back in high school, they wanted to experiment with their style but were more apprehensive because of living in southern Louisiana.

“I feel like my style is tied to my gender identity. It all feels more personal to me, the way I dress,” Joy said.

For them, wearing a good outfit and putting on makeup is gender-affirming, as opposed to just wearing a typical outfit. It is also very satisfying and joyful when someone takes the time to come up to them and compliment them and their look.

Joy recently has found a lot of their style inspiration from fashion editorial shoots or magazines. One in particular that has caught their attention is the Robert Pattinson GQ shoot.

Lots of Joy’s outfit pieces tend to come from brands such as Tommy Hilfiger, which they always have their eyes open for when shopping. When it comes to shoes, Joy believes in a suitable pair of Converse.

“Converse are very versatile and the shoes that I have the most of in my closet because they tend to go with most looks I wear,” Joy said.

Items that Joy often finds themself wearing are their Edward Scissorhands necklace, a heavy knit sweater from Tommy Hilfiger, yellow bottoms or even their favorite pair of red jeans.

Goodwill is where they will find most of their style, along with Target and even Plato’s Closet.

“Plato’s Closet is more geared to what is trending so I really like shopping there,” Joy said.

One thing Joy is very passionate about is how they refuse to shop at SHEIN or any other fast fashion company.

According to Joy, starting to expand your style is simple.

“Start on Pinterest, get an idea of what kind of outfits you like, and then simplify that outfit to what you like. It is okay to take inspiration from runways and models,” Joy said.