Whitley Takes Japan: Styling Whitley for Season 7 of A Different World

Sadie Meeks
Jan 9, 2024
2 min read

The precise quip phrase, "Off to a different world", was the last bittersweet line spoken by Whitley Gilbert-Wayne to close off the valedictory season six of "A Different World". Those words I wish would have come much later. If this world were mine, perhaps those words would've been uttered when Dwayne and Whitley were sending their first child off to college. More realistically, when Lena and Charmaine's class walked across the commencement stage.

Whitley spoiled us with gobs of wittism and whitley-isms throughout the show. Because of the southern belle, "relax, relate and release" is still a mantra of today. When I'm in relaxation mode all I want to do is binge watch my comfort show. The evolving relationship between Dwayne and Whitley, from budding friendship to a fluctuating romance echoes experiences that many of us who have fallen in love in college can resonate with. The familiarity in the show is uncanny. There is no other show that has characters that I found profoundly relatable. Being a fellow HBCU alumn I feel that "A Different World" captured that unique experience and kinship to a T. Being able to release all stress and laughter, especially when Ron Johnson and Whitley Gilbert are on the screen, at times giving much needed comedic relief, is what I always look forward to.

For someone who loves fashion, the show serves as an archival time capsule filled with an overflow of reference points and style inspiration. I long for a coffee table book chronicling all of the looks in the show. Even more needed is a zeroing in on Whitley's style. Whitley was a beacon of sophistication and understated luxury, and had timeless outfit formulas that still speaks volumes today. She had an aspirational wardrobe and aura that transcends generations.

I styled 8 looks that exude Whitley's poised and vibrant spirit and style for a hypothetical season 7 of "A Different World", set in Japan.