Written By Natalia Cordero

Photography By Mindy Welland

Trinkets Provided By Maura Curran, Ashlyn Sorrells, Ashton Diercks, Madison Guetzkow, Mollie Williams, Kadence Schaecher, Alexis Stutte, Sarah Harbaugh, Madi Brady, Elisa Peters, Natalia Cordero, Mindy Welland, Khristin Guardado, & Kait Patton

It does not take much for Gen Z to feel nostalgic. Growing up in the digital age has made it so easy for Gen Z to look back on old memories. The yearning for times when things were simpler and more comforting is a part of Gen Z culture. It is hard coming to terms with the fact that we are growing up and life is only getting harder. We are constantly searching for the anchor that will ground us during the crazy moments happening around us. Let us take a step back in time, when our only worry was recess and who we were going to sit next to on the school bus. Find your old “I Spy” book from childhood, dust off the top, and open it up. First on the list, I Spy with my little eye… nostalgia.

The iconic “I Spy” saga was created by Jean Marzollo and Walter Wick. Wick photographed and co-wrote with Marzollo. Each page is filled with random objects coupled with a theme such as bugs, the beach or outer space. The photographs are accompanied by little riddles and rhymes written off to the side, indicating which objects need to be found.

I remember from a young age I was fascinated with these books. Of course, the rhymes gave me direction of what to find, but I was more interested in what the other hidden treasures were on each page. Each time I looked over a page, I was able to find something I had not seen before. I was captivated by the dedication and effort put into constructing these scenes. On some of the more realistic looking pages, I wondered if the photograph was taken on a set or was a genuine image of someone’s junk drawer. The curiosity this book generated was what got me to reopen the pages over and over.

As I age, I can feel myself becoming more nostalgic, yearning over things that happened only a year or two ago. The digital age surrounding Gen Z gives us easier access to the past, which is what compels the longing of what once was. Pieces of media we consumed in our childhood — movies, books and television shows — seem so far away. The transformation of digital media and streaming has taken over. We have quite literally grown up in the era of ever changing technology; through this escapism, nostalgia brings us a sense of stability, or even just familiarity.

Since I have been feeling a little nostalgic lately, I thought it would be a good idea to channel that into a Sartorial piece. Sartorial has given me friends and a community. It gives me a creative outlet to express my love for fashion and writing, while building relationships with other creative students on campus. I wanted to incorporate my love for Sartorial and its members while also including everyone’s individual personality. Trinkets can tell A LOT about a person, so what better way to showcase our members than this?

I would like to give a special thanks to all of the members that gave me their trinkets for this shoot and trusted me with them. I wanted to recreate the “I Spy” pages with the trinkets that our members brought me. This take on “I Spy” is my tribute to Sartorial and is an embodiment of the members of the organization. I truly do not know what I would do without Sartorial, and I am grateful for every single experience Sartorial has brought me!

I Spy With My Little Eye: Nostalgia