Style philosophy: Bee Siegel

On self expression, Rick Owens, and wearing what you want to wear

Today we hear from Bee Siegel, a local 12 year old with creative vision beyond their years. It’s special to witness true originality, to be inspired by someone’s unbridled self expression. Bee is one of those people. I first met them at Jake and Jones Menswear and Objects, which they frequent with their dad, Dmitri. Last month, we chatted about fashion, art, personal style, and what it’s like being a young fashion enthusiast in Santa Barbara.

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Personal style philosophy

I got this shirt from Favorites on State Street / The skirt with the pockets in front is Rick Owens. I got it on Grailed. / My mom gave these boots to me, they were hers and don’t fit her anymore. They’re originally supposed to be [pulled up], but I didn’t like the way they looked, so I scrunched them down like this.

I just like what I like. My style is very androgynous, not femme or masc. That's the main thing. In fashion, there are infinite possibilities, literally infinite ways to wear something. I just put something on and then see what it needs.

I’m really into proportions and fit. You can have cool pieces, but if you don't like the way they fit you then it’s not gonna work. For color, I like Rick [Owens] colors – the black Rick, mustard Rick, amethyst Rick. Sometimes I’ll do a white t-shirt. I wear most colors, but I go for darker shades. It’s just basic color theory, going for similar undertones, but black works with everything. I’ll do graphics occasionally, too. 

There are certain accessories you can wear everyday, but you have to understand basic color theory. Like if you're gonna wear all warm tones, you're gonna wanna do gold jewelry or a mix between gold and silver. It kind of just depends.

I do wish I would see more self expression, and fewer trends. I don’t like the whole culture around trends. It’s so fleeting. Either you spend $30 on low quality items that are gonna wear out and have no value, or you spend a lot of money on something and the trend passes and you never wear it again. It shouldn't be like that. I’m big on quality. Where clothes are made is a big part of that. Like, all Rick [Owens] stuff is made in Italy and that's some of the highest quality. I know the brands I like, so even if I'm buying online, I'm not gonna buy something I don't know well. 

Fashion, film, and art inspo

I see fashion and art as ways to be creative. I like to draw surrealism or characters in outfits. I can’t see myself [designing clothes], but I can see myself being a stylist. I'd really love to be a visual artist, but it's a competitive field so we’ll see. Salvador Dalí is an inspiration for me. Same with David Bowie and Mark Mothersbaugh — they’re like a creative force.

A small selection of Bee's artwork

I’ve been playing drums for about four years. And I’ve been playing piano for like nine years. As far as films, I like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Buffalo 66, Being John Malkovich, Whiplash, stuff like that. I either want a movie to be really dark or really light. Light hearted or really depressing — or both!

Shirt: vintage Hershey’s t-shirt I thrifted / Top: Rick Owens / Pants: Rick Owens / Sunglasses: cheap dollar store find - I like the look of them up here most of the time. / Shoes: Balenciaga

With fashion, I like any kind of avant-garde fashion or weird fits — like the Maison Margiela ice necklace and archival fashion. My favorite designers are Rick Owens, Margiela, Balenciaga, but I think Balenciaga has fallen off since I first got into them. I think the last good collection they did was the one where they did the leather shoebox bag and the giant shoes.

Rick Owens top: It has a million different holes, so you can wear it as a sweater, a dress…My favorite way to wear it is how it is here. I got it from eBay for 1/10th the price.

I usually don’t watch fashion shows live, but I watch them after the fact. I’ll take photos of a look if I really like an outfit. Rick [Owens] did one for Paris Fashion Week this year and it was really good, the best one he's done since like Fall/Winter 2022. The one before his most recent show was PORTERVILLE, which had some depressing and dystopian things about Porterville (his hometown) and he did that at his house there. I like that he does whatever he wants.

Self expression in Santa Barbara 

I’m 12. At school, no one else is showing up wearing Rick [Owens]. I’m definitely the only one there [with my hair color]. Some kids have done hair chalk or tips, but not bleached and dyed hair.

On the street, there’s usually a lot of staring, but I don't care. Sometimes people come up to me saying, ‘I like your outfit.’ Getting noticed on the street is just part of it. At the same time, sometimes if I do an obscure reference to something, I don’t know if anyone is gonna get it. Like for Halloween last year, I was Clementine from Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. No one got it. They thought I was just wearing an orange sweatshirt.

Bee as David Bowie, a few Halloweens ago

I like Santa Barbara. I was born in Ojai and that's where I’ve lived all my life until now, but there's so much more to do here. I like to eat at Secret Bao [my go-to order: KFC bao, pork belly bao, and matcha horchata], go to Jake and Jones, walk on State Street. I like the rose garden, but I don’t really do the beach or the outdoors. I might be forced to by my parents or by my school, but you’ll never see me there on my own accord. I’m not into the sun. I’m more of a gloomy kind of guy.

I also like to go to Crossroads Trading. I will go through every rack if they have good stuff, but it's like a vibe — if you feel like it's not gonna be a good selection, then you don't go in. You gotta think about what you see and then you decide if you're gonna look through everything or if it's not worth it that day.

Rick Owens knit nun cap: This year, I’m gonna be Michèle Lamy for Halloween. I’m gonna tuck all of my hair into it, because she wears these a lot. I’m gonna wear a ton of rings and dye my fingers black with black henna.

I like to shop second hand. It's a lower price point and I don't really care if someone else has worn it. Grailed, eBay, The RealReal — those are my big three. In town, it's mostly Jake and Jones, and thrift stores or consignment stores. Or yard sales or estate sales or flea markets. I also love Art Essentials and Art From Scrap.

I love Warbler Records, too. I’m into music, especially CDs right now. Currently, I’m really into susquatch — a Japanese math rock band from the early 2000s — Elliott Smith, System of a Down…I have a discman for CDs, I got it at a flea market for like $15. CDs are gonna be the new vinyls, they're coming back and they’re even more accessible since you can carry them around easier.

Style advice

I got the necklace on sale at the Vivienne Westwood store in LA / The shirt under the brown shirt is by Marc Jacobs, in collaboration with Gumby. I like ‘90s references. I got it secondhand for $40 / Rick Owens skirt over Rick Owens pants (inspired by Allan Svensson), from Grailed / Balenciaga shoes

Wear what you wanna wear. Do what you think looks good. If you wear what you wanna wear, it looks more natural. It doesn’t look like you’re trying really hard to follow the trends. In my eyes, you have to be doing something cool, not just copy and paste of someone else’s look. Just do what you think looks good on you, and that will look good [to everyone else].

A note from Bee’s dad, Dmitri

Dmitri: Bee elevated the [style] game for our family. When Bee was 4 years old, they said, “I wanna be a dresser man and tell people what to wear, and dress people.” Even how they would accessorize their own diaper was amazing! They had this whole rubber band thing where they'd wear rubber bands as accessories on different joints.

Bee: I remember the rubber bands because they'd cut off my circulation.

Dmitri: Yeah! Fashion and styling is not something we’ve ever really pushed on Bee. It’s been their thing from the start. They just want the world to look a certain way, I think.

As told to Cami, September 2024