Old School Panda

For the sake of keeping the genuine nature of our interview with Fernando Ruiz, the following is our interview with him. Please enjoy our chit-chat as well as my constant need to divert the conversation to The Pandas. **The following dialogue may be missing some of what Gabee and I were saying because it's incredibly hard to hear what we're saying through the recording. Nonetheless, ENJOY!

Noemi: Tell us about your pandas.
Fernando: My pandas. Um, I saw these at the store, and I was like, "That's so cool--"
Gabee: --You want to be a part of that band.
Fernando: I do! I do want to be a part of that panda band. That would be so awesome. Except without the fedora that I can't pull off. I - I thought [the shirt] was fun. It's interesting. You don't see these going around.
Noemi: Are you commemorating [the pandas]?
Fernando: Am I commemorating the pandas?
Noemi: A little shout out to people to bring awareness to them?
Fernando: No...think about pandas.
Gabee: Beastie boy pandas...
Fernando: Beastie Boy Pandas. I like pandas. It's sad that they're going away.

[Conversation about a Jurassic Park-like but with pandas, and a little talk about Gabee's puppy who chews on a panda bear.]


Noemi: Tell us where you got your Converse, shirt, jeans.
Fernando: Well, the shirt, I got it at Ross. I love Ross. Maybe ten bucks. The jeans -- I think I got them at JC Penny, and I don't remember how much they cost. Oh! They were on sale - they were on sale! they were 20 bucks, I remember. And my Converse, I got them on sale at a Famous Footwear for like $24.
Noemi: When you wear that Panda shirt, do you like to coordinate the colors?
Fernando: I guess I kind of did purposely coordinate. Sometimes I wear it with white shoes.
Noemi: Like pandas.
Fernando: I don't have black shoes. I need to get myself some black shoes.
Noemi: Some Oxfords.
Fernando: Some Oxfords?
Noemi: Like pandas. They're black and white. What about your bracelet? Is that like a friendship bracelet that you wear all the time?
Fernando: I don't know if it's a friendship bracelet. I got it at Urban Outfitters.
Noemi: Oh...[thinking about how expensive UO is]. How much was it?
Fernando: Like 8 bucks.
Gabee: [LAUGHS]

[Gabee and I begin to talk about something -- probably in relation to UO -- but it makes Fernando laugh.]

Fernando: I usually wear bracelets. And I had a friendship one, but after a long time, it wore out and it broke. And I needed one. My hand felt really naked. I think I've been wearing bracelets since I was, I don't know, 12.
Noemi: What kind of story were trying tell through your outfit?
Fernando: I don't know..I want people to --
Noemi: Remember the pandas?
Fernando: Remember the pandas! People, please remember the pandas! Don't forget these pandas.
Gabee: [LAUGHS] [Says something really funny]
Fernando: I don't know. I just want people to -- I dress myself casually. I dress myself comfortably, and want to be unique. I have these plaid shoes; it's weird -- who wears plaid shoes? I do. I want to dress so when people see me they say, "Oh, yeah, that's Fernando." It's just me.
Noemi: What about your hair?
Fernando: My family has this joke that I've never changed my hairstyle since I was little kid. When I was little my mom used to part my hair down the side and so, it's always been to my left. When I was in eighth grade, I did spike my hair. It wasn't pretty.
Noemi: What about your glasses?
Fernando: My glasses --
Noemi: Clark Kent?
Fernando: They're prescription. They're turtoise,
Noemi: Oh, I call it leopard-color.

Noemi: What are your favorite places to shop?
Fernando: I really like Ross. Second-hand stores.
Noemi: What advice would you give to others?
Fernando: You have to wash the clothes from the second-hand. And never buy underwear from a second-hand store! Keep it simple. I keep it simple. I guess it depends on what you're doing. Try to have with it. Don't wear with stripes with stripes.
Gabee: Don't wear stripes with plaid.
Fernando: Try and stay clean. Keep it a clean look.
Noemi: What do you mean by 'clean'?
Fernando: Likes holes on the jeans.
Noemi: Because they rub you the wrong way?
Gabee and Fernando look dumbfounded.
Noemi: It's a pun gone horribly wrong.

Noemi: What would your outfit be singing?
Fernando: Charlie Brown by Coldplay
Noemi and Gabee in unison: Why that song?
Fernando: Because it's my favorite song.
Noemi: What's your favorite line? Does it remind you of pandas?
Fernando: It reminds me of pandas. It says, "We'll run a riot/ We'll be glowing in the dark." You want to stand out.

Gabee: Three words that describe your style.
Fernando: Comfortable.
Noemi: Pandacious.
Fernando: I only have one panda shirt, people! Simple. Comfortable. Fun.

Fernando's last advice: If you're not 100% sure that you want something. Don't get it.