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The Dartmouth
March 28, 2024 | Latest Issue
The Dartmouth

Fall Style Watch

Mac Zech '18 has a individual style inspired by thrift shops.
Mac Zech '18 has a individual style inspired by thrift shops.

On a grimy fall morning, my hood pulled up and combat boots strapped on tight, I maneuvered through the sea of grey and black. Maybe it was due to the exhausting drainage of week nine or the fact that the foggy atmosphere was drizzling raindrops — and of course, some were participating in a demonstration that called for their dark clothing — but the entire student body seemed to have come down with a faint, sleepy syndrome. The campus no longer emulated the peak foliage from just a few weeks back; rather, college students scurried from door to door in neutral tones like ghosts.

This wasn’t the fall season we had been expecting. Sure, there had been a few sunny remnants of the earlier months, but for the past few weeks, autumn’s warm peak had transformed into an amalgamation of black rain boots, comfy Patagonia jackets and earthy flannels. Some students go with the flow, arriving to classes in the most comfortable #yolo outfits, while others strive to become the pop of color and warmth as the autumn leaves slowly dwindle down to white winter snow.

Paul Kim ’17

Describe your style.

PK: Most of these are utilitarian, like these shoes are waterproof, rain jacket waterproof and the hat … works pretty ineffectively at keeping my head warm. I’m doing it because we’re sitting outside, but I mainly just do it because this is something I brought from home and it’s something my parents gave me to like three Christmas’s ago...[My parents] thought [it] most represented my personality, but I don’t really understand that because it’s like a demonic cow and the horns are red, which is something I don’t understand.

Favorite item for fall season.

PK: As soon as it got cold enough, I put this [hat] on!

Brooke Goldner ’19

Describe your fall style.

BG: Today’s the first day of the term I haven’t been wearing athletic clothes. I have acting three days a week so I have to wear something comfortable, so I just wear variations of athletic stuff, but today I put some effort into that.

Style inspiration?

BG: I love big scarves that double as blankets so I build the outfit around that.

Go-to fall item.

BG: Black combat boots, I literally wear them every day.

Sam Van Wetter ’16

Describe your fall style.

SVW: It’s gonna be hard to sum up, but I wear things that I like… I like thrift shopping in West [Lebanon] and buying the really big hunting clothes and things that some like 300-pound man probably wore last in the woods... I also like finding clothes like on the street and in my house, like literally on the street in a gutter. So I wear that kind of stuff, and I think it’s really important that we get rid of the term “flair” because it says that things are costumes and I don’t believe that it’s just something you wear and it’s never a joke. And people always ask me what are you dressed up for, and I’m like nothing I’m dressed up for myself. And I really like layering and being warm enough [because] that’s the way to have the best time when you’re wearing lots of clothes.

Favorite fall item.

SVW: It’s a gift from my friend Thora, and it’s a blanket with a hole cut out in the middle and you can wear it as a poncho, and you just like slap it on over everything. This is a circle scarf that I cut a hole in, and you wear it like a scarf or like a poncho. I really like my overalls right now…

I also really like my man bun — it’s been a journey. I’ve been shaving the sides since probably sophomore winter and that’s when I started growing out and I’ve been growing my rattail since sophomore spring.

Danielle Waite ’17 and Edom Wessenyeleh ’17

Describe your style.

DW: I like a comfortable kind of down to earth style — not trying — just like natural.

EW: I have two different modes at school — always in running leggings and sneakers to be comfortable in class and on the go, but my ideal fall style would be any sort of jeans or leggings, boots, a lot of earthy colors, greens, dark reds and browns.

What does your style show about you?

EW: Just like laid back and relaxed, things that are loose to throw on, nothing too rigid that I can’t do everyday movements in...color is big for me, greys, blues, greens.

Favorite item.

DW: One piece of jewelry — I could wear the bummiest and most comfortable clothing, but if I have the right watch or necklace it just makes the whole outfit.

Joyce Lee ’19

Describe your fall style.

JL: Well I’m from California, so I’ve been kind of trying to adjust to the weather here which is very different and mainly it’s all about big coats. I think I’m lucky [because] big coats are kind of back.

Go-to item.

JL: [The] coat [that I am wearing]. I wear [it] all the time.

Are you ready for winter fashion?

JL: This is the extent of my coats. I ordered a thicker coat, but after that I will no longer be fashionable.

Is there anything from home that really inspires your fashion?

JL: The weird thing is, when I was in California, I wore clothes that were not that great for the climate. I wore sweaters and … I [ended up dressing] more like a professor. So like it’s not where I’m from, but I watch a lot of movies and you end up just unconsciously taking stuff in. When you end up watching a lot of movies that are period films or historical films and you just want to emulate their style.

Mac Zech ’18

Describe your fall style.

MZ: I have individual pieces of clothing that I think look dope, but then I actually don’t have any real sense of what looks good together, so … I just throw it together just thinking individually “Oh, that looks cool” and it ends being like “Oh, I just walked out of a thrift shop.” I have actually zero fashion sense — it’s like I dress myself in the dark from a clown’s wardrobe. I need to tone it down.

What does your style say about you?

MZ: I’d say it’s less like I’m trying to emit a certain style. I went to a private school so I guess I’m a product of that, and I’d wear this kind of stuff and actually this would be how I get away with not having to just wear khakis all the time. And that maybe comes off different.

Go-to fall item.

MZ: Nothing big, just flannels.

Lee and Van Wetter are members of The Dartmouth Staff.