By Lora Hlavsa

Larsen Husby ’12 is a man of impeccable taste. Always stylishly and comfortably dressed, the Lexington, Massachusetts native exudes a sense of fashion maturity that transcends the popular sweats-and-a-t-shirt philosophy of which many college students are guilty. A student of Art and Linguistics, Larsen’s academic interests are reflected in his manner of dress, from his penchant for contemporary colors and modern fits. This week, Larsen and I discussed a plethora of fashion-related topics, ranging from our favorite designers to floral prints. Who would you say are your three style icons? Jil Sander is probably my favorite designer, overall. I love her aesthetic and wish I could afford to wear it. Scott Schuman, who writes the fashion blog the Sartorialist, is always inspiring—he has an amazing eye for interesting fashion. And I have always looked up to my high school friend Nate. The evolution of his style has definitely prompted some changes in my own. You went abroad to France last semester. Did you find that your time there influenced your style? In general, do you think that traveling affects style one way or another? Not my time in France per se—I lived in a small, rural village which is worlds away from Paris—but I did visit Berlin and Copenhagen, where they have some really interesting styles going on. Especially in Denmark, you see men dressing a lot more adventurously and trying new trends which haven’t taken off in the US. Traveling shows you new ways of dressing that you simply do not see at home, and sometimes it’s inspiring. I’d like to be a bit more bold in my style, too, but it’s hard, and more often than not expensive. Does being from the Boston area make a difference in the way you dress? I think it does. Boston doesn’t have much of a reputation for style. The opposite, in fact: GQ once called it “America’s least fashionable city.” That comment really got under my skin, so maybe I try to dress well in part to prove that not all Bostonians wear Red Sox paraphernalia 24-7. Do you dress more for comfort or for style? With men’s fashion, I find that the two go together rather well – no tight miniskirts and no six-inch heels. I’m rarely uncomfortable in the clothes I want to wear. I tend to think that sweatpants and the like are not so drastically more comfortable than other, significantly more attractive clothing. What inspires your fashion sense? I’ve chosen a general color palette which I think works for me and have gone from there. I wear a lot of navy, red, tan, black and white, and that lends itself to a somewhat more conservative style, so that’s where I’ve been going. And I look at what other people wear. Of course, not everything works on everybody. There are outfits I’ve seen and love, but would never wear myself. That’s the difference between copying someone’s style and being inspired by it: knowing what looks good on them versus what looks good on you. What clothing trend you would like to be able to pull off? Floral prints. I really like floral prints, and interesting prints in general, but it’s almost impossible to find one for men, and even harder to find one that looks good. And even if I did, I don’t know I’d have the confidence to wear it. That’s heteronormativity for you. Until that perfect floral print comes along, I’ll stick to stripes and plaids and Nordic sweaters. Does art influence the way you dress? In terms of practicality, sometimes. Last semester, I tried painting for the first time, which required I set aside some clothes as ‘painting clothes’ which inevitably became covered in paint splatters. Mostly, though, I use pencil, watercolor, and collage, none if which ever gets too messy. Though this semester I’m taking Printmaking 2, which has the potential to completely ruin your clothes with ink. That’s when an apron and rolled-up sleeves are necessities. What fashion icon, living or dead, would you most like to have dinner with and why? Probably designer Iris Apfel. She seems like quite the character, and the kind of person who has plenty of stories and opinions. And she could give me some tips on how to accessorize.