Nobody understands this interaction better than Maia Matsushita '13. With a browser window permanently set on the Anthropologie homepage and a wardrobe comprised of exclusively earth tones, Maia is the physical embodiment of Mother Earth's autumn spirit.
In response to the title we bestowed upon her, she laughed recalling, "one time, [my friend] said I looked like a wood nymph."
"I like earth tones," she said. "I mean, I just think they're really pretty and I don't think I look good in other colors."
The beauty of her style is that it is often highly unplanned. While her ensembles come together and create a coherent and cohesive story, she rarely thinks about her clothing in advance. She said she simply wears what makes her feel happy and in doing so, often succeeds in brightening the days of others who have the pleasure of being graced with her warm and uplifting presence.
Maia attributes her style to her mother.
"Growing up, she never bought clothes other kids were wearing," she said. "I never owned anything from Limited Too because my mom didn't like it."
On campus, Maia spends most of her time singing with the Dartmouth Rockapellas, an all-female a capella group devoted to social justice. She also expresses her creativity in her writing. Maia studies creative writing at Dartmouth after recently discovering her passion for the subject and dreams of someday being published.
While fall may be Maia's favorite season, we have witnessed her enviable style is not exclusive to this one all-too-short season. She doesn't care what other people think which allows her to take risks in her fashion. All fashion risks, however, have the potential of going horribly wrong, but Maia understands that those mistakes are OK.
She told us about an incident she had with one of her favorite patterns.
"I like me some floral prints," she laughed. "One time I wore three floral prints at one time it was a mess."
A hot mess indeed and yet she pulled it off because of her confidence and strong sense of self which is very present in her style.
Keep on doing your thing, sister girl, after all, freedom lies in being bold.
As for the rest of you, 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 would love your help keeping Dartmouth fashionable.
