For Ashley Kinser, Utah native and creator behind the colorful accessory brand Glitter Gutter Glamour, art is a major facet of all things in life, including her personal style. Inspired by peculiarity, Ashley spends most her time in-studio painting or creating jewelry designs for GX3, requiring a level of functionality to accompany her expressive and original taste in clothing. “I need my fashion to work for me. I’m interested in [clothes] that transition throughout your whole day,” she says.
Every month, SLUG Style features a distinct and unique member of the community and asks them why they do what they do. Exploring more than just clothing, SLUG Style is an attempt to feature the people who give Salt Lake City flavor through personality and panache.
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On nights in, Ashley will throw on a comfortable, thrifted sweater to join her equally artistic roommates while they craft and drink champagne and relax with their household of dogs.
On nights out to Gallery Stroll or SLUG events, Ashley tends to wear black pants or skirts with a feminine top and sweater. She always wears lipstick and admits, “Lately I’ve been obsessed with gluing gems on my forehead!”
No matter what Ashley is doing, she can always be found in a pair of boots. “I am obsessed with boots, I LOVE a good pair of boots,” she says. Her growing collection ranges from vinyl creepers to beat-up combat boots to her three pairs of equally unique Doc Martens.
Traveling is another key inspiration for Ashley’s personal style and the symbolism behind her jewelry. “Cultural symbolism plays heavily into me and what I do, especially with GX3,” she says. She loves the opportunity that traveling gives her to get out of her creative bubble and to come up with new ideas. “I don’t know where inspiration comes from, but sometimes a new idea just comes to me,” she says.
With the need to share this idea with women around Salt Lake, Ashley started her accessory line. “I wanted to have a way to help empower young females through using symbols and allowing them to have something on their body that lifted them up, or made them feel fly, or attracted others to them,” she says. “Whatever you’re experiencing, you should do it powerfully and be yourself. The designs try to convey that in an image.”
Ashley’s ability to draw inspiration to and from her wardrobe sums up her mentality behind fashion, that you should wear what makes you feel beautiful. “It’s good to find your own voice through your clothing and let it come out,” she says. A collection of colored and patterned socks is one way Ashley’s style speaks true to itself. “Fashion is to make yourself feel good,” says Ashley. “It’s supposed to be a way to amp yourself up and present yourself to the world.”
This doesn’t prevent Ashley’s style from being anything but eclectic. “I’m a weird art girl in every sense of the phrase,” admits Ashley. “I love shocking outfits as much as functional ones.” Ashley mixes unexpected patterns such as acid wash, floral prints, camouflage and geometric shapes, and plays around with interesting silhouettes to achieve the unique aesthetic she creates with her wardrobe.
One of these ideas has been fashioning unique color palettes. Ashley frequently wears, creates and paints in palettes she finds “slightly awkward, but still go together in a cute and interesting way,” she says. One of her favorite color combinations right now is maroon and grey.
Much of Ashley’s edge has been nurtured by her love of thrifting, street art and the punk style she has growing up. “Part of being a punk was about taking your clothes apart and finding a fly way to put them back together,” says Ashley. “I would love if everyone went to the thrift store and altered pieces and gave them a new life. It’s freeing because it requires me to find my own way to find what I want to wear.”
For Ashley Kinser, Utah native and creator behind the colorful accessory brand Glitter Gutter Glamour, art is a major facet of all things in life, including her personal style. Inspired by peculiarity, Ashley spends most her time in-studio painting or creating jewelry designs for GX3, requiring a level of functionality to accompany her expressive and original taste in clothing. “I need my fashion to work for me. I’m interested in [clothes] that transition throughout your whole day,” she says.
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