“My housemates styled me for a date”: The ‘Sebstitute fashion’ challenge

Meet Seb Marshall, third year music student at University of Manchester. Marshall is a very nice guy who enjoys singing ‘Barber Shop’, using his garlic crusher, and has a solid friendship with knitted jumpers. When asked what his signature go-to style is, he gave an uncomplicated answer. “Um I quite like t-shirts. And trousers. Yeah.” The question: could a new look make for a new Seb?

In a battle of the sexes, Seb agreed to be styled by Pierre Flasse and Rebecca Thomas, to see who could create the best ‘Sebstitute’, and whether a new look could unleash Seb’s inner style demon.

First look by Rebecca. Called ‘Mr Debonair’, the look consists of a Zara turtleneck under a tweed Topman blazer, coupled with an ASOS dagger chain, and the trousers and shoes are the model’s own. The look channels brands The Kooples and All Saints, and meets with Father Ted—but the look could improve if, overtime, Seb grew his hair to shoulder-length and gave it a ruffle.

Rebecca: “I was going for the suave look of a yuppie graduate, who has recently enrolled on a wine-tasting course, and is really proud of his telephone voice. I really think this brings out the sophisticate in Seb.” The makeover got mixed reviews, with Seb’s girlfriend Amber suggesting that she would give it one out of three on the Amb-o-meter scale. Seb’s response, “Yeah, I don’t hate it. I could wear it around the Northern Quarter or Spinningfields. It might encourage me to adopt a miniature dog.”

Second look, courtesy of Pierre. Consisting of a multicoloured Adidas sweater, sourced through Ebay, Topshop leggings, and an ‘Angel’ snapback. Pierre: “I imagined Seb as a rude boy 90s hip hop star.”

This look turned out to be the most divergent from Seb’s taste, his response: “I’m horrified”—a reaction duplicated by the Amb-o-meter. Channelling a grime version of Moschino, this would be a serious statement if Seb were to pair it with a bucket hat. Sadly, this look was too incongruous to his taste and had no success in summoning his inner mad dog fashionista.

A crowd survey deemed Seb’s first look as a win by a very close call. The general lesson learned was that, while it might be worth trying to persuade your housemate into some new wavey garms to impress a date, they will probably end up looking awkward and a bit sad. Don’t.