We have decided, here at The Manual, to discuss this week's theme of gender as it relates to the fashion community at Dartmouth and the larger fashion world. Gender is frequently seen as the fundamental inspiration for fashion lines. When considering design and construction, designers frequently fall back to the male-female gender binary creating tired, uninspired lines that don't push any boundaries or provoke any questions. For these reasons we have become highly intrigued with the concept of androgyny in fashion.
With this in mind, we give you Victoria Daukas '13. Wearing an oversized brown suede jacket stolen from the closet of a family member, she walked over to our table, smiling from the moment she walked in. Her entourage, equally matched in beauty, pointed out Victoria's adherence to appropriate tardiness of the fashionable sort and we took note. Looking at the world through modest brown frames with gold detailing, the first words she shared were, "I'm nervous." Her glasses complimented her bright turquoise bag that rested by her feet.
Victoria said her style has changed quite a bit since she arrived at Dartmouth.
"I've stolen a lot more clothes from my dad," she said. "I'm into men's clothes these days."
Her soft feminine features and perky personality contrast strongly with the masculinity of her borrowed wardrobe. These new pieces she recently acquired fit perfectly with her Dartmouth-inspired style which is, "dictated by comfort." We can definitely understand the lure of our fashionable fathers' armoires. We have found everything from the classic dad sweater, cut too slim to fit his ever growing center, to vintage Lacoste polos, as was also the case for Victoria. These pieces that once acted as references to a younger, thinner past now serve as the foundations from which Victoria's daily ensembles are created.
The ruggedness of Victoria's newfound style was put to test this summer when she worked on a ranch in Wyoming. Her tasks included everything from manual labor to answering phones. As Victoria packed up to head west she made sure to include her favorite pair of cowboy boots and worn-in flannel shirts.
After breaking her boots in on the ranch, she said she loves them even more.
"After Wyoming, it feels like I actually have some merit wearing them," she said.
We're excited to see what's to come from Victoria in these final few weeks of Fall term. We received a secret tip on an item that will soon be making an appearance in her daily wardrobe as the temperature steadily creeps towards the icy death characteristic of early winter in New Hampshire. A hint to satiate the true fashion enthusiasts and to preemptively subdue the loyal members of PETA represented on campus, it is faux (So calm down!)
We thank Victoria for being an inspiration to all for daring to flirt with androgyny. As for the rest of you, we'll be on the lookout. Even though we will be traipsing around the world bringing style where ever we go during our Winter terms off campus, we will remain tapped into the Dartmouth fashion community, so keep looking good. You never know, you could be next. If you see fashionable people on campus that you think deserve to be applauded, blitz DMStyle. We would love your help keeping Dartmouth fashionable.
