303 Style Profile – Tessa Ropert on Confidence and Her Style Evolution

303 Style Profile is an ongoing series highlighting unique locals and their incredible style and stories. Go here to see past profiles.

From Boulder to Paris, Tessa Ropert has managed to evolve her style with the everchanging settings that she is surrounded by. From gaining inspiration from her sister to becoming a Depop student ambassador at the University of Colorado Boulder, Ropert continues to use fashion as an outlet of self-expression and confidence on social platforms and in her everyday life.

Ropert has also found a way to use fashion as a “mask for good” claiming that fashion has allowed her to feel confident when other parts of her physical appearance may have caused her to feel self-conscious. Ropert demonstrates confidence through fashion by utilizing her style to “mask” other parts of her life that may cause her to doubt herself, resulting in finding inner confidence that she didn’t know she always had.

303 Magazine: How did you get involved in fashion and what inspired your love for it?

Tessa Ropert: My sister was initially the person who inspired me to begin caring about fashion. She always looked cooler than me, which I evidently hated, so I began stealing her clothes and mimicking her style. Once I began caring about fashion is when I truly understood how much it meant to me. I had discovered the confidence that it could bring me and the feeling was honestly addicting. I have now, of course, evolved my fashion sense away from my sister’s and we now have entirely different styles, but I will always deeply respect and admire her sense of fashion.

303: We understand you are a Depop Ambassador. Tell us more about that. What does that mean and what does that look like for you in terms of your involvement in fashion?

TR: Depop is a sustainable, online thrifting app that I have been using for years. Depop reached out to me to be one of three Depop student ambassadors at CU Boulder and I jumped at the opportunity. Essentially, being a Depop ambassador means constantly posting pictures on your Instagram feed and story wearing Depop clothes and hosting various events on campus promoting the app. A big part of our job is driving downloads and those who love fashion will not regret downloading the Depop app.
 

303: How would you describe your style? Who are your style inspirations?

TR: It is difficult for me to describe my style because it varies so much. My style is highly influenced by where I am. When I’m in Boulder, my style is more on the casual side and I definitely channel a sort of “skater girl” vibe. I like to call my style here “snowboarder chic.” When I’m in New York, my style is more high fashion-esque, in L.A. I channel the early 2000s, Paris is darker colors and sleeker silhouettes.

Regardless of my constantly changing style, I can think of one defining feature that I try to incorporate in my outfits everywhere I am, and that is color. I used to dress in all black all the time and now I find that so boring for myself personally. I have grown to love a colorful outfit and think color adds so much more interest, excitement and texture to an outfit.

I would say my current biggest inspiration is Bella Hadid. She is always pushing boundaries of fashion and introducing new trends. I also love Devon Carlson, Elias Riadi and so many more social media fashion influencers.

303: How do you express yourself through fashion? How does fashion tend to make you feel when you use it as a platform for self-expression?

TR: Fashion allows me to express myself in so many ways. It can represent my mood that day or, on the contrary, it can act as a mask. I have struggled with acne for the majority of my teen life and sometimes I feel so self-conscious about it that I don’t want to leave my room. In those situations, fashion has given me the confidence I needed to go outside and feel good about myself. Wearing an outfit that I love makes me feel unstoppable and it’s an incredible thing to experience.
303: What is a fashion must-have for you? What do you think is necessary for everyone to have in their wardrobe?

TR: A big fashion must-have for me is a fun pant. Pants are great because if you find a really cool pair, you can kind of be lazy with the rest of the outfit and style them with a simple shirt and still have an interesting outfit. So, I would say that everyone should have a least one pair of fun/extra/quirky pants in their wardrobe.

303: Do you see yourself having a career in fashion?  Where do you see yourself in the future regarding fashion and the industry?

TR: Fashion for me is more of a personal thing and I have never really seen myself pursuing a career in it. However, if I do, by chance, end up working in fashion, it would definitely be in an effort to make the industry much more sustainable than it is right now. The fashion industry is a huge contributor to current environmental issues and I believe that the massive clothing brands need to reevaluate their methods of production. Working with brands to be more environmentally cautious is something I could definitely see myself doing if I end up having a career in the fashion industry.

All photography by Lauren Magin.