Students who consider themselves “chronically online” may find themselves indulging in the content posted on all the Instagram accounts run by and devoted to the College of William and Mary’s students, from @wmcrushes to the now-retired Cuisine of W&M. This past semester, right before summer break, a new Instagram account dubbed “Swampy Styles” made its debut and is now providing weekly content for anyone with an appreciative eye for fashion.
@swampy_styles is an account dedicated to showcasing fashion looks all over the College’s beautiful campus, or as its bio states: “fits of the twamps all across the swamp!” Its posts showcase a variety of different looks — from jeans and sneakers to dresses and cardigans — donned by many of the College’s students. The pictures are taken all over campus, some in front of the Crim Dell, and others at Williamsburg’s beloved Wawa store. Students might never know when someone will come up to them and ask to take a picture of their outfit.
That someone would be Brianna Edwards ’27, the admin behind the account. Edwards explained how the idea of the account began at the end of last school year. She and her boyfriend at the time were inspired by similar accounts at other schools like Virginia Commonwealth University.
“I made the account, I made the logo, I made the name and then, this summer we broke up and then he dropped out of William and Mary –– so it’s my account now,” Edwards said.
Edwards noted it was only recently that she began to develop an eye for fashion, explaining that before she wouldn’t give it much care. Edwards credited her former relationship for encouraging her to try out new garments and eventually introducing her to important platforms in the world of fashion such as Depop, a clothing reselling app.
“I didn’t really care to get into it myself until, I remember, one day he was like, ‘you should wear jorts,’ and I was like ‘no,’ because I never even consider the concept of jorts,” Edwards said. “And then I kind of fell in love with jorts, and then I kind of fell in love with these shoes called Onitsuka Tigers, and just getting into these specific brands.”
Swampy Styles posts new content every Friday, but it is on Edwards’s everyday walks to class that she is attentive to any outfit that might catch her eye to feature on the Instagram.
“During the week from Sunday to Friday, I’ll look for what I see in the hallways, or my classes, or anywhere, and if I see a fit I’ll stop the person and ask to take a picture,” Edwards said.
Edwards explained her current struggle with the account: adding more representation of men’s fashion.
“The men on campus dress like bots. It is so hard to find a well-dressed man on this campus, so I do have to keep my eyes out for the men a little bit more,” Edwards said.
While it is true that most of the account features female students and their outfits, it is important to note that all the fashion trends posted on the account are very diverse from one another. Edwards explained what she looks for in the outfits she chooses to capture for the account.
“It either just catches my eye because it’s so out there — some of the fits that I’ve seen are very bold — or I look for a specific aesthetic,” Edwards said. “I saw two girls last week that had a very coquette fit —all of it was ribbons — but I saw that they had a specific aesthetic and I was like, ‘oh, I would love to have that on the account.’”
Edwards said her experience as admin of Swampy Styles has helped her to step out of her comfort zone.
“In the beginning of this account, it was really scary, because the social anxiety to stop a random person and be like, ‘Hey, can I take a picture of you,’ is so weird,” Edwards said.
Given that the Swampy Styles account is relatively new and beginning to grow more followers by the day, Edwards explained that it is only her — for now — who is running the account.
“I’ve actually never even considered expanding it,” Edwards said. “I think right now it’s still pretty local, still pretty small. I feel like if it were to get really big, I might expand.”
Either way, it seems the College’s student body, known for being hard-working and friendly, is finally getting some recognition for its unique and diverse taste in fashion. All seems to indicate that students might not need to appeal to Pinterest for fashion inspiration, but can simply turn to Swampy Styles.