Student Style Spotlight: Courtney Schaiberger

Story by Olivia Kotowski

When it comes to fashion, Central Michigan Unviersity junior Courtney Schaiberger has big dreams to revolutionize the industry for plus-size women.

Being a plus-size woman as well as a lover of fashion, Schaiberger has faced and overcame struggles in the style world. But that has only driven her, and since she’s only fallen more in love with clothes and developing her own personal style.

Originally from West Branch, MI,  Schaiberger said she has always been into fashion. “I really got into it my freshman year of high school, when I started buying things on my own.”

Schaiberger even makes her own clothing. One of her proudest creations is when she hand sewed a pair of jeans into a jean skirt and later bedazzled it with flames for tailgate season.

Her next project is a big oversized men’s jacket she just got from the thrift store–she plans on painting on the back of it. She really has a thing for funky jackets.

Schaiberger describes her style as “kind of all over the place,” but she’s really been into 60s and 70s style lately. “Vintage is my go-to,” Schaiberger said. “I used to be very into the 40s and 50s too, but I didn’t think I could pull that style off in every day life.”

Since then, her mindset has definitely changed for the better. Schaiberger is even pursuing the start of a plus-size fashion blog, drawing inspiration from Instagram influencers. She notes a particular blogger than recreates high fashion models’ looks, but for plus-size women.

“Usually, I’ll see looks like that and think ‘I can’t pull that off,'” Schaiberger said. “But seeing that she can pull it off gives me confidence.”