K'mari PeedeAliza Taylor, a business administration junior, defined herself through her unique fashion sense. And through her stylistic freedom, Taylor took N.C. Central University by storm.
Before attending NCCU, she lived with her great grandma, grandfather and white Bijon Frise [dog] Zach. She said growing up without her actual parents made her stronger as an individual.
“My grandparents are old-generation Christian grandparents, so it was like they didn’t always see my point of view. Of course, I celebrated them because in my eyes they were like my parents, but Mother’s Day was often difficult for me,” Taylor said.
“Through all that, life wasn’t super hard and my grandparents are the best. I couldn’t ask for more.”
She loved being active, especially in high school where she played basketball, participated in track, cross country, color guard and cheer.
Taylor began digging into fashion during COVID when she was taking Zoom classes. She started designing her own pieces by turning shirts into dresses and adding embellishments to different items.
“While I was home, I was always looking at clothes. With the clothes I already had I would try to go out and take pictures, and that’s where my love for photography started,” Taylor said.
She used three words to describe the style:
“I say creative because accessorizing is what makes my outfits what they are, different because I don’t see a lot of people dress like me and exposing because sometimes I can have a lot of skin showing,” Taylor said. “When you see me it’s like ‘Woah, wow!’”
Taylor doesn’t dress up as much as she did when she was a freshman. But when she does you can typically find her wearing bright colors, several layers and her personal favorite: lots of accessories.
“My outfit ideas really come from Instagram and Pinterest and seeing girls who dress alternatively, and I mimic it to make it my own,” Taylor said. “I’m really big on accessories because they make your regular outfit pop.”
In 2023, Taylor’s TikTok [@lizathebarbie], went viral after posting a series of her first week of school outfits.
They featured a teal lace jumpsuit, a white two-piece skirt set with black accents and a plain white two-piece sweater skirt set paired with a large brown belt.
Taylor also went viral in a repost by the City Girls in which she participated in a dance challenge using their sound.
Since coming to NCCU, Taylor expressed herself creatively through her on-campus involvement with Curve Appeal. She joined NCCU’s modeling troupe in the 2022 Fall semester and served as their Misses during the 2023-2024 school year.
The troupe fights against sizeism and encourages everyone to love themselves as they are.
They host runway shows where they dance and catwalk and they also host balls. Taylor is one of the dance captains for this academic school year.
She continues to work with the entrepreneurship club and spends her free time listening to music, eating and hanging out with her friends. She also has a tooth-gemming business, JewledbyAliza.
“I have been in the entrepreneurship club since last year and it has really helped me get more clientele and tips on my business,” Taylor said. “My favorite thing is the pop-up shops that help you promote your business and offer community service opportunities.”
Taylor acknowledged that attending NCCU “influenced my fashion because it helped me gain more confidence and it introduced me to new things.”
