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It Girl of Tomorrow: Jane Aldridge

How the Texas teen takes typical high-school style to new heights. By Kelley Hoffman
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"There is a bleakness in Texas that seems to breed larger than life personalities," explains Jane Aldrige, a Trophy Club Texas teenager who pens the personal style blog, Sea of Shoes. "Oh and today, baby-sitting duty. Might as well dress up…American Apparel dress and Margiela boots…," she writes in a typical snippet. Like other personal style blogs, the high school student chronicles her daily outfits, wish-lists, and inspirations, but few match her unique sophistication. It's the combination of actually owning designer pieces and styling them in a way only a fearless teen can do that truly brings magic to her look.
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The golden-tressed style star started her blog Sea of Shoes to share her passion for shoes that no one else around her seemed to get. "I think shoes have a covetableness that clothes don't have: Clothes are sometimes vague in what they express, but shoes always make a powerful statement about how you feel about yourself your appreciation of unique design," she says. While favoring Belgium and Japanese designers (Dries Van Noten is her favorite for footwear), she's also currently getting inspiration from the TV show Dynasty, no-wave and noise music, and The Book of Fantasy.
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Much of her knowledge of fashion has been influenced by her mother, Judy. "At some point my mom went up in the attic and dragged down a box of vintage Yohji Yamamoto, Ghost, Comme des Garçons, and Dries van Noten. The box was labeled 'For Jane' and was filled with the clothes she wore in the eighties while living in Tokyo," she says. "I was elated, to say the least." Some comparisons have been made between Jane, Judy, and their dream-fantasy wardrobe to Gossip Girl's Lilly and Serena van der Woodsen. "Serena and Lily never have as much fun as my mom and I do together—and we have far less drama," she says.
Jane is currently looking at colleges in New York and dreams of being a fashion editor or shoe buyer. In the meantime, there's still the high school uniform issue. "I have relentlessly tried to add my own flavor to my boring school uniform but I get shut down by the man every time!" she says. "My school has a new policy for heel height this year—they can't be more than one and a half inches tall. This could be my Waterloo."
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How the Texas teen takes typical high-school style to new heights.

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