The student body was looking good on Monday. Maybe it was the glow from the remnants of a great weekend. Maybe it was excitement for the next round of midterms. Or maybe it was the weather. After several weeks of questioning why this term is called “spring term” when there was still snow on the ground and nightly temperatures often below freezing, spring has officially sprung, and on Monday, the sun was out, the sky was blue and the Green looked kind of green in some places.
These last few weeks of the spring are really when student style is at its peak — well at least before finals period hits and the “I spent all night in the stacks with my Chemistry textbook and a box of Goldfish” look dominates. The students I talked to dressed in a range of styles, from modern prints to vintage for girls and from pastels to eighties inspired outfits for guys. All of them were excited about what the warm weather meant for their style.
Hui Cheng ’16
Describe your style.HC: I feel like because I’m very short I always have to look for things that fit my proportions rather than like what is necessarily trendy, so it’s kind of a struggle often.
What does your style say about you?HC: I’m trying to bridge the gap between being a young college student, but also in a year going to be entering the real world and being a professional. When I go shopping I’m trying to pick out pieces that can transition into part of a work outfit but can also be worn with other things.
What inspires you?HC: I like a lot of blogs. There’s a petite blog I really like called “Extra Petite.” It’s this really short person who is really stylish and features all these pieces that work really well with being a short person but also wanting to wear like cute clothing. Also being in the different cities that I’ve lived in — London, New York — a lot of young people in London were very trendy.
Emily Leede ’15
Describe your style.EL: I like to pair indie and preppy looks together, so indie-prep.
What does your style say about you?EL: I like the feminine edgy look, so I’m okay with being a girl but also strong.
Favorite Look?EL: Dresses and skirts — anything with flowy fabrics.
Mariel Wallace ’16
Describe your style.MW: Neat, kind of preppy, classic with a lot of blues and bright colors.
What does your style say about you?
MW: That I care. I like to present a good impression. I like bright colors.
Favorite Outfit?MW: I have a really fun maxi dress, it’s a blue print. I like that its flowy.
Jessie Colin ’18
Describe your style.JC: I just like to put on whatever. I have friends that describe my style as morph between different styles — one day I’ll be rocker, one day I’ll be hippie, one day I’ll be whatever. So I like to think I don’t have a set definition of style.
What does your style say about you?JC: It says I like to be an individual and wear weird clothes and be fun and expressive.
What inspires you?JC: Different personas that people have, trying on different aspects of style that you see around you.
Ruben Gallardo ’18
Describe your style.RG: Trendy. I would say I look at different types of styles and pick what I like best from each of them.
What does your style say about you?RG: It says that I care about how I look. It shows that I put some effort in.
What inspires you?RG: Probably my friend. I have a friend who is very fashiony, and he is really into designer names and he kind of goes above and beyond. I look at him, and I admire his sense of style.
Favorite item?RG: Mustard-color pants. I like the fit. I like how they look and that I can match them with a bunch of things.
George Wilson ’16
Describe your style.GW: It really depends on my mood. Most of my style tends towards chic. I wear heels a lot. I wear like simple jewelry.
What does your style say about you?GW: I’m not afraid to wear what I want to wear, I think I dress a bit differently from the majority of the Dartmouth population because I’m not from here, but I wear it anyway.
What inspires you?GW: Tropical prints, I love tropical prints and tropical style a lot. The hipster chic that you see in New York with the very chunky boots, It inspires me, I can’t really pull it off but I like to add little elements of that especially in the winter — it’s so hard to be stylish in winter.
Favorite Season?GW: Summer because there are so many different styles of summer clothes and you can layer. You can wear different kinds of shoes.
Vivek Venkataraman, Ph.D. student in ecology and evolutionary biology
Describe your style.VV: I don’t like categories in general.
What does your style say about you?VV: I was teaching. It reflects professionalism, rather bland basically, neutral. This isn’t what I would wear on a daily basis. I would wear jeans and a white T-shirt or a flannel shirt.
What inspires you?VV: I work with hunter-gatherers in Malaysia and Africa. I just got back from the field, and so I’m imitating one of my field assistant’s haircuts with my mohawk.
Jongmin Char ’15
Describe your style.JC: Classic, I like to choose pieces that will not go out of fashion easily.
What does your style say about you?JC: I think it says I’m organized, I like basic pieces that can be accessorized.
What inspires you?JC: Europe inspires me. I studied abroad in France and in London, and I think I picked up a lot of style cues from there.
Favorite item of clothing?JC: I like my sundresses. I really like this right now because it’s such a ray of sunshine.
Tyson Angeles, College staff member
Describe your style.TA: Very random and outgoing, colors really influence me.
What does your style say about you?TA: It says that I’m an old soul — I take things from the ’20s and the ’80s. Today was kind of more modern, usually I look at Jimi Hendrix a lot.
What inspires you?TA: For sure Jimi Hendrix 100 percent. I don’t feel like genders clothes should matter. I wear women’s clothes too, not dresses or anything but you know like coats and stuff. I like to alter my clothes too so Jimi Hendrix is also a big inspiration.
Favorite clothing?TA: Australian cowboy hat. I made this hemp band around the top of it and probably my belt-scarf thing that I wear.
Francis Slaughter ’16
Describe your style.FS: J. Crew, but more fun.
What does your style say about you?FS: I kind of just got a lot of it from coming to Dartmouth. Also being a little preppy in high school but not being the mold of J. Crew or anything like that, just getting the pieces that I liked and putting them on. I think it’s very chill, others would say it’s not that chill — but its pretty chill for me.
Katie Peake ’15
How do you make the Novack style your own?KP: This is so funny cause I’m not very stylish. At Novack you can’t wear shorts, so I tend to go with skirts as a good option when it gets hot out. I’ll often wear a dress or a skirt and put the shirt on over. Sometimes I’ll do nice earrings to give it some color, make it more fun.
These interviews have been edited and condensed.
