In New York City, street style is an ever-present — almost unavoidable — part of its culture, deeply influencing someone like Jay Perez, who grew up navigating its countless blocks and avenues. Known these days mostly by his online moniker, JBadvss, Perez recalls his neighborhood corner being the epicenter for his early interactions with fashion.
Raised in Dyckman, the famed Upper Manhattan neighborhood, the new-age style purveyor leaned on figures like his older brothers and community OGs to shape his early understanding of what “getting fly” really meant — and what it looked like in practice.
“I’m the youngest of my brothers, so I was looking up at them and the dudes they were hanging out with when I was a kid,” Perez says. “They always looked super neat and clean. It was an energy more than anything.”
While Perez resonated with the spirit of how they put their looks together, his personal aesthetic drastically differed from that of his stylistic role models. For him, fashion is about taking risks, pushing boundaries, and making people reconsider previously held notions — all while still feeling like the “freshest out.”
Through the years, Perez and his friends pioneered a lane of their own. Drawing inspiration from the maximal West Coast flavors of the early 2010s — known in certain internet circles as the “Swag Era” — the collective began experimenting with shape and proportion, even going so far as to challenge conventional ideas about gendered clothing.
“I love pretty boy stuff,” he shares candidly. “I like kilts, skirts, painting my nails. If I could have worn a wig like Prince, I would. I just love a little extra-ness. When I get dressed, I want to try something different. I don't care if people don't put on some shit in a certain way, as long as I think it's cool, I’m going to rock it.”
This unabashed trailblazing ethos guided Perez toward looks and brands that matched his vision of what fashion can be, with UGG as a mainstay throughout that evolution. Built on the idea that comfort can unlock confidence, UGG is one of contemporary fashion’s most pervasive disruptors, using its classic silhouettes to help redefine the landscape. But for someone like Perez, it’s just another part of getting dressed.
“People didn’t understand that everything is unisex,” he argues. “That’s why UGG has always gone hand in hand with my style. It’s just about showing people that anybody can wear anything, and freak it in their own way.”
Never letting stray comments or opinions shake his personal agency, Perez has since established himself as a daring force willing to shake things up while putting looks together in ways most might not have considered. With a substantial online following for his avant-garde, expressive tastes, Perez carries the mantle of forebears like UGG, subverting expectations in his own way.
Laced in the brand’s Birch Boot II, Perez offers a tangible look at how his approach overlaps with the UGG brand’s heritage, embracing instinct over safety and conformity. Dressed in a look that feels bold yet collected and comfortable, Perez shows a clear understanding of how to bend style to his will — subtly abstracting familiar visual motifs through his own stylistic lens. This playful framework disregards outside constraints and offers Perez the liberty to do as he pleases while assembling an outfit.
“I’m a little delusional with everything,” he shares with a smile. “I know I can pull anything off, and I’m always visualizing what my outfits will look like. Sometimes I see myself as a video game character in my own head.”
Taking things to the next level, Perez and UGG continue to serve as distinct examples of what happens when you hang up convention and let your imagination take the lead, proving that personal style is at its best when there is room to explore, evolve, and simply lean into what feels right — even if it looks wrong to some, for now.
Head to ugg.com to discover the feeling.
