The Look Book

Crystal Boria, Nursing Student

"I like my shoes high. You never find me in sneakers or Tims."

By Amy Larocca
Published May 21, 2005

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(Photo: Jake Chessum)

What are you doing today?
I’m coming from school, and, you know, I woke up feeling happy. I’m tired of wearing my uniform to school. I thought I’d dress really, really cute today.

Where did you get this outfit?
The pink boots I got from the Bronx at a little girly store. I don’t remember the name. I like my shoes high. You never find me in sneakers or Tims. The jeans I bought, like, four years ago at Mony’s: It’s a clothing store in Downtown Brooklyn on, like, Flatbush. They’re made by Guess. My jacket, I bought it about a year ago. It was a little gift to myself, right around Christmas.

Whose style do you admire?
I like the way Beyoncé dresses. She had little shorts on with high pumps and a little belly shirt in one of her videos, and a lot of people said, “That’s so revealing!” I thought it was cute. It’s not revealing to me because I’m not scared. I know I’ve got a nice body, and this is how I dress. A lot of girls be giving me that look, like I stink. But I like shoes!

You must hate having to wear a uniform.
Well, I wouldn’t be able to go to work like this unless my patients requested that I not wear a uniform. Sometimes they don’t want their neighbors to know they have a nurse coming. So if that happens, then they’re just going to have to deal with the way I dress! At my school, they don’t allow you to wear nails, but I do like to get tips. I just go wherever I see Korean ladies.

What are your favorite movies?
There are two: Scarface and Casino. In Scarface, I don’t like how he got to the top, but I know the strive. He started with nothing, and he got everything he wanted. And in Casino, it was like a dream come true, a knight in shining armor who sweeps you off your feet, and one day you’re barely making it, and the next day you’re so rich you don’t know what to do. Both of them are about accomplishing what you want.

So what do you want?
I love America’s Next Top Model, and I wish I could get the opportunity. I feel confident I could do it. I know they ask the girls to do difficult things, but I could do whatever. A girly-girl pose? Fine. And cut a shirt? I’m from Harlem! I cut shirts! I cut jeans! The things they ask the girls to do, I was like, we do that right here in Harlem. Always have.