Fit Check
Fit Check is a podcast about personal style and the stories behind them. Hear from fellow students, musicians, visual artists, sneaker heads, shopaholics, and fashion entrepreneurs about the influences that affect their aesthetic choices.
Hosts: Griffin McDonald, Grace Patton, Sydney Daigle
Producer/Editor: Joshua Tekle
You can join the conversation by emailing us at fitcheckpod@gmail.com or hitting us up on Instagram @fitcheckpod.
Music: "Lucy" by pilotkid || Art: @fishcoupe
New Season coming Fall 2022
Subscribe: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts
Episodes:
Ep.23: Lauryn Jiles - Fashion, the Written Word
Lauryn Jiles, freelance writer, and fellow Gamecock hops on the pod to talk about her personal style and all the trends TikTok brainwashes us to follow. She talks her favorite magazines growing up, L-Word, Teen Vogue, and Harpers Bazzaar, and her mission to work for them one day. From high school yearbook to Essence Magazine, Lauryn has paved a way for herself in the fashion media hustle as a freelancer for many publications.
LESSON OF THE POD: Wash your Goodwill thrift haul or you will smell like mothballs.
Ep.22: Adam Allen - Boring Cloth
The architect of your favorite simple fashion brand, Boring Cloth, and the sultan of doodles, Adam Allen hops on the pod to break down his past fits throughout his life before discovering the simple colorways he rocks on the daily. The man doesn’t stray away from dressing in Boring Cloth these days unless it’s Chuck T’s and Beer Tees. He’s about to celebrate the 3 year anniversary of his brand this week and what better way to do that than to drop some new merch and a new episode.
LESSON OF THE POD: Vintage animal sweaters are a lost relic..
Ep.21: James Hill - Calypso on the Runway
Stylist James Hill, also known as Calypso, hops on the pod to recap the Nacht der Mode “Night of Fashion” featuring designers Stoi (@stoisdesigncompany) and Diko (@antonandmaxine) at Femme X Columbia. James was the runway stylist for both designers at the show and broke down his journey from wardrobe styling for school plays to runway styling at his first fashion show. The Fit Check family took their first Fit Check Field Trip to see the show over the weekend and had a hell of a time. Griffin, Grace, and James also break down the challenges small designers and stylists face for carrying the fashion industry on their backs.
LESSON OF THE POD: Silver jewelry over all-black is an underappreciated look.
Ep.20: Steve Tirado - Latrans
The Latrans Father is here. Steven Tirado blesses the show with the things he’s learned and experienced since the creation of his skater & streetwear brand Latrans. He hops on the pod to talk about his own personal style and how it relates to the Latrans aesthetic. How to survive a cross-country road trip from Miami to LA. How to stumble into flow from the brands you love. How to rock a jersey you know is too big for you. These are the life lessons you didn’t know you need, and Father Tirado breaks it down for us. So tune those ears.
LESSON OF THE POD: Saucony’s are the new dad shoes.
Ep. 19: Caroline Wick - We Don’t Do It for the Likes
Fellow Gamecock and multi-brand ambassador, Caroline Wick hops on the pod to talk about how she stumbled into social media content marketing through the pictures she posts of herself on Instagram and Tik Tok. Griffin and Grace dive into Caroline's love of streetwear and the influence that brands like CHNGE, TALENTLESS, and Adika had on her style. Caroline is a junior marketing and supply chain operations major with a minor in fashion merchandising and she hails from Charlotte, North Carolina.
LESSON OF THE POD: You can buy clothes on Amazon...quality is not guaranteed.
Ep. 18: Jeramiah Macaspac - Archived Fashion
Fellow Gamecock and thrift advocate Jeramiah Macaspac is a sophomore fashion merchandising major from Charleston, South Carolina. He’s also one of the founding fathers of Gamecock Style Club. Jeramiah chops it up with us about his personal style journey and how his hustle started. From selling clothes to teachers out of his duffle bag, to camping out at storefronts for 12 hours to cop some Yeezy 700 salts for 87 cents. The boys talk about how to level up and shop with proxies and about finding archived designer garments — stuff we can’t afford.
LESSON OF THE POD: If you have a big head, you can get hats re-fitted to your head.
Ep. 17: Mya Graham - Stumbling Into Styling
Fellow Gamecock Mya Graham is a junior fashion merchandising major and the director of community outreach for Columbia Fashion Board. Mya hops on the pod to talk on how she got comfortable styling other people who don’t really know their style. It requires a lot of listening to others and learning how to encourage people to take risks. With her own style, Mya is trying to experiment with more solids and stock her closet up with more loungewear and coats. She’s a strong advocate for pulling inspiration from anything to influence her personal style...that means taking different jobs, watching movies, and prowling through social media. The crew also touches on some notable fits worn at the Met Gala.
Ep. 16: Gray Thomas - Soda City Thrifts
Fellow Gamecock Gray Thomas is an advertising major and the founder of Soda City Thrifts, your new favorite thrift account. Gray hops on the pod to talk about how a $93 shopping tour through all the Goodwills in the area turned into a thriving side hustle. Don’t expect to find any old school Redskin’s gear from his shop…he keeps them all to himself. From pop-up shops at his front porch to table spreads on Greene Street, Gray tries to be everywhere when he can.
LESSON OF THE POD: It’s the Washington Football Team now...
Ep. 15: Sydney Daigle - And Justice For All
Fit Check keeps growing! Introducing Sydney Daigle. She’s a fashion merchandising major with a minor in environmental studies and the Programming Director for the Fashion Board at USC. Sydney hops on the pod to talk about her past double life as a tween...catholic school uniforms during the week and Justice outfits on the weekends. Now she rocks the O.G. of all thrifts, apparel from her parent’s younger days.
LESSON OF THE POD: Mix & matching metals in your hand jewelry can be done tastefully.
Ep. 14: Grace Patton - Communion in Bikinis
Introducing Grace Patton, the newest addition to the Fit Check family. She’s a visual communications student with a minor in fashion. Grace hops on the pod to talk about her transition from growing up as a tomboy wearing Catholic school uniforms to repurposing Halloween dresses with old man sweaters. Nokwol boots are her boots of choice.
LESSON OF THE POD: In some churches, you can wear sweatpants and flops.
Ep. 13: Lauren Graves - Style Doppelganger
Fit Check now has multiple hosts rotating in-and-out for Season 2!! Griffin teams up with Joshua to kick off the new season as they have Lauren Graves come on the show. She’s a junior at College of Charleston, videographer, amateur drummer, and expert photographer of “style doppelgängers.” Lauren hops on the pod to talk about her consistently weird (but cool) personal style involving purple hair, thrifted dog shirts, septum piercings and platform boots. She also has a knack for finding strangers wearing the same clothes.
LESSON OF THE POD: Good calves come with good genes.
Ep. 12: Shash Comandur - Finding Taste Through Digital Art
The artist behind the Fit Check Cover Art, Shash Comandur, hops on the pod to talk about his art style and inspirations. As a self-taught artist, Shash, fills Griffin in on the artists he learned to copy before developing his own taste and aesthetic. From making Team Fortress 2 character models as a kid to designing abstract art while vibing to Mariposa by Felly, Shash hopes to keep pulling from the culture around him for inspiration.
LESSON OF THE POD: Coat your cheap rings with clear nail polish so they last longer.
Ep. 11: Sarah Hudock-Jeffrey - The More Pockets, the Better
Sarah joins Griffin on the pod to share some insight about her wardrobe and how it shifts between feminine and masculine on the regular. She also couldn’t help but break down why we get those blisters on the back of our heels. With summer just around the corner, Griffin and Sarah both take a jab at guessing some trends coming our way. Sarah sees chunky hair clips and the low rise pants from the early 2000s in our future and Griffin sees 5-inch inseams as the go-to shorts for the summer. They both agree on the liberating feeling of dressing for themselves instead of for others. The lesson of the day...guys should wear crop tops and girls should wear cargo pants.
Ep. 10: Zoe Francesca - A Song for Every Style
Culture Jam host, Zoe Francesca, hops on to discuss how her music taste influenced her personal style. Studded belts and fingerless gloves were the perfect way to emulate one of her idols growing up, Avril Lavigne. From Classic Rock and Pop Punk to Alternative RnB and Hip-Hop, music has been a big influence on the culture, and it shows in what we wear. Griffin and Zoe touch on a few artist’s that stood out to them.
Ep. 09: New York Fashion Week & Clothes We Can’t Afford
Richard Lake and Dylan Porter are two friends from Mississippi State who tap in with Griffin to break down their personal styles. They each give their take on sustainability in fashion and what it looks like on a college budget. The trio discuss their favorite collections from New York Fashion Week, which include Bottega Veneta, Saint Laurent, Off-White, and many more. Also Rowing Blazers, Aime Leon Dore and Stussy have some fresh Spring/Summer 2021 collections out and the boys are here for it. LINKS TO SLIDESHOWS BELOW!!
Bottega Veneta Collection
Ep. 08: Sydney Baltyn - Grammy Fits 2021
Relaxed casual fits are a go-to for this sophomore journalism student. Sydney shares how her personality and style go hand-in-hand. She also joins Griffin to chat about the latest outfits worn on the Grammy red carpet, including the “Big Witch Energy” Phoebe Brigers gives in her skeleton dress and the 70s prom vibes Silk Sonic emits in their flare suit pants. HAIM, Tame Impala, Kaytranada, the list goes on.
Ep. 07: Matthew Jones - Turning Garment to Gallery
Matthew Jones is the creator and designer of the clothing brand [ VETTED ]. With the help of mentors, a sewing machine, and lots of extra time due to a cancelled internship, Matthew turns his passion project into wearable art found at pop-up shops and fashions shows. He comes on the podcast to talk about the conception of his brand and the tapestry woven custom pieces he sews together in his home studio. Matthew also blows Griffin’s mind with a custom piece made specifically for this episode. You can check out his latest collections at https://vmevetted.com
Ep. 06: Parker Blackburn - Sixties Mod Fashion & Urban Cowboys
Parker Blackburn drops in to share some insight on her journey to becoming Style Director for Garnet & Black. From experimenting with grunge to pulling from sixties mod colors, Parker always enjoyed the power of presenting herself in different ways. Griffin gets Parker’s take on sources of inspiration from nature and Tik Tok. They both dive into the wild runway shows of Schiaparelli, Iris van Herpen, Chanel, and Celine.
Ep. 05: Garrison Gist - Pop Art and the Fits to Match
From paint covered Yeezys to paint covered basketball courts, everything is a canvas that could use some color according to Garrison Gist. Also known as Paint Can Papi, Garrison taps in with us from Charlotte to talk about his transition from Gamecock fullback to self-taught artist and muralist. There’s a relationship between his colorful art and his personal style and Griffin gets to the bottom of it.
Ep. 04: Caleb Burke - Ceteri (the others.)
This week, Caleb Burke, founder of Ceteri, comes on the show to share how he brought his streetwear brand to life. Caleb dives into the designs of some of his favorite launches and the influences that helped inspire him. Griffin and Caleb also discuss their mutual appreciation for Chinatown Market, Cactus Plant Flea Market and J Balvin. Be on the lookout for his next drop at shopceteri.xyz
Ep. 03: Jessi Hamilton - Blazers aren’t just for Boys
Ryerson Student and Toronto stylist, Jessi Hamilton, spoke on the moment she finally felt comfortable enough to rock the oversized fits and bold colors that define her style today. She also filled us in about gender norms in fashion and the people who have been breaking those rules since the 80s. Follow her @jessihamilton_ on Instagram. Learn more about Fashion Takes Action, the Canadian non-profit she is affiliated with, at fashiontakesaction.com
Ep. 02: Joshua Tekle - Pricey Tees and Accidental Fits
Griffin and Joshua, discuss how they both got into fashion, where they got their sense of style from, and how their sense of style has changed over the years. Joshua touches on some of his accidental fits that got him more interested in personal style, and Griffin points his finger at the one celebrity who turned him away from fashion…but only momentarily.
Ep. 01: Colleen Morrison - Personal Style for the Environment
Griffin chats with longtime friend, Colleen Morrison, about her first steps as an Environmentalist and where she is now on that journey. They discuss the harmful effects of fast fashion trends, brands who are reducing their carbon footprint, and ways we all can get into sustainable fashion.
