We sat in the rocking chairs on the Casque and Gauntlet porch waiting for Amita Kulkarni '10. We heard her before we saw her. Huffing up the stairs with her Blackberry in one hand, books in the other and her DKNY glasses dangling off the end of her nose, she mumbled something about her thesis and we laughed. When we got to her room we proceeded to raid her closet. The black satin blouse with the white detailing, the yellow dress she wore to formal, the denim shirt she wore on relaxing days and the teal romper lay strewn across the couch waiting to be matched with strappy heels or her Tory Burch flats. As we looked at the pieces that represented her past year in fabric, we couldn't help but get a little sentimental about her impending graduation.
Without Kulkarni, this column would not exist as it does today. She took a risk on us in the Fall term when we fervently pitched the idea of a fashion column that would highlight "stylish Dartmouth students" a phrase considered by some to be an oxymoron. Kulkarni has a different opinion on Dartmouth fashion.
"I'll never understand [it]," she said. "People don't give Dartmouth students enough credit when it comes to fashion. Not enough students pay attention to how an outfit makes them feel."
That's the appeal, she said dressing well makes you feel good.
Kulkarni attributes this outlook to her mother who has worked in the fashion industry for as long as she can remember. From her mother she learned what goes into "the vision of selling clothes" recognizing the clear dynamic between the two of them: Kulkarni as consumer and her mother as marketer. At the core, her mother taught her to have confidence in what she wears the same mantra we've been repeating ad nauseam this year. Kulkarni finds the happy medium between fashion and comfort in realizing that the two don't have to be mutually exclusive.
Much like almost every other '10 on campus, Kulkarni feels bittersweet about leaving. She walked into Hanover a stylish, eager freshman with a passion for writing. Beginning her career as a news journalist, she never pictured herself as the editor of The Mirror.
"It happened very organically," she said. "I applied for news, but I realized my personality fit better with The Mirror."Because of her time spent as an editor she feels confident saying that she's realized the importance of trying new things. Kulkarni said she wishes Dartmouth students would take more risks."My friends always call me out when I put on a cute outfit to go to the library they're like, Why do you look cute in the library?' and I'm like, Because I wanted to feel better about being in the library all day,'" Kulkarni said.Seeing people look cute brightens Kulkarni's day and she hopes when she looks nice other people feel the same way, she said.
"If it makes you feel good, why not," she said.
She attributes that questioning to a very judgmental culture and she admits that in some ways it's become ingrained in her mind as well. When she sees a girl walking across campus in heels her first thought is "What is she doing walking around Hanover in heels," but added that then she wonders "Why do we have the Dartmouth norms?"
Kulkarni said she is looking forward to some changes after Dartmouth.
"Maybe I'll come back for my 20th reunion and everyone will be stylish," she said, laughing. (But if we have anything to say about it, that dream will come true sooner than you think.)
To Kulkarni, thank you so much for your inspiration and your friendship. As for the rest of you, this is the last Dartmouth Mirror Manual of Style for the term, but we'll be back with a bang in September the '14s don't know what they're in for. Go wild with your summer shopping because in the Fall we'll be on the lookout. You never know, you could be next. If you see fashionable people on campus that you think deserve to be applauded, blitz DMStyle. We'd love your help keeping Dartmouth fashionable.
