A law student calls herself the real life 'Elle Woods' from the film Legally Blonde after proving doubters wrong who said she wouldn't get a job without "looking like a lawyer". Bruna Conceicao, 23, wears a pink suit and decided she wanted to be a lawyer after being inspired by her immigration lawyer who helped her move to Orlando, Florida from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 2012.
Instead of donning dull corporate attire, the law student embraces her feminine side and makes sure she comes to class in full make-up and colourful pink suits. She says she feels powerful and at her best when she’s looking and feeling good.
Bruna has struggled however with classmates and mentors telling her she won’t land a job "without looking like a lawyer" but has proven them wrong by landing several successful placements. For this reason Bruna has likened herself to Elle Woods - the protagonist of Amanda Brown's 2001 novel Legally Blonde and the 2001 film of the same name.
Bruna, from Miami, Florida said: "My motto is when I look good, I feel good and when I feel good I do good and when I do good, I make money. I love to dress up and spend time picking out my outfit and doing my make-up and it shouldn’t make me seem any worse at my job.
"I love embracing my true identity. Mentors and classmates have doubted me and said I’m dumb or asked how I got into law school because of how I dress but I’m constantly proving them wrong.
"I still dress professionally because I think that is important but it doesn’t mean my outfit has to be ugly. I love to wear a bit of colour or glitter.
"I'm like a real life Elle Woods. I relate to her because she's stereoyped from what she looks like and what she wears and I relate because there is so much more to her than her image.
"It's my mum, Raefaela, 43, that inspires me the most because she started her own business and went all the norms against her."
After being inspired by her immigration lawyer "making a difference" she started her law degree at University of Miami School of Law in August 2021 and wore a pink suit on her first day. She has now successfully landed herself a placement at a start up law firm this summer.
She hasn't decided exactly what she wants to go into but has been considering going into fashion law, trade law or setting up her own business. She is also actively raising a social profile to help her gain placements.
"People think I can’t be a lawyer and have a presence on social media or can’t dress how I do. But I’m proving that wrong everyday. I just want women to know that they can dress feminine or however they want and it shouldn’t be decided by society.
"You can be anything you want. People need to stop putting women into a box."
