This article is featured in the 2024 Commencement & Reunions special issue.
As warm weather creeps across Hanover, Dartmouth students bid farewell to their parkas and snow boots, ushering in a new wardrobe of maxi skirts and Adidas Sambas.
Connor Federico-Grome ’27 has observed a shift in trends on campus in recent months. He said the warm weather has inspired students to accessorize with brighter clothing and footwear, such as colorful Adidas Samba sneakers — which he believes will remain a consistent trend on campus in the coming years.
“I see so many people wearing Adidas Sambas — Blundstones are to winter as Sambas are to spring,” Federico-Grome said. “Sambas are popular, but they’re just going to get more popular. They are very cute, and they are very versatile.”
Federico-Grome said Sambas appear in a variety of color schemes, such as yellow and blue, pink and orange and yellow and salmon.
“I’ve never seen anybody with the same colorway,” he said. “Whether [they order] online through Depop or Poshmark or [order] them directly from Adidas or finding them at a vintage store, all of those avenues of purchase make it so there’s a very wide variety of them being worn on campus.”
Even as students opt for more colorful shoes, Nia Dodge ’27 noted that students have begun to wear more “muted natural colors” this spring as well.
“If you’ve got some color in an accent, it’s a little more muted,” she said.
Aside from colors, there are styles that have been making their way onto campus.
Tanaz Muhamed ’26, who works at the Ivy Edit boutique in Hanover, and Federico-Grome both said they believe campus is currently influenced by the boho aesthetic, which stems from a 1970s hippie look characterized by loose clothing, flared bottoms and free-flowing maxi skirts. Muhamed added that “boho style” brands, such as Free People, have been particularly popular at the Ivy Edit.
Elsa Taylor-Lillquist ’27, a member of the LGBTQ+ community, said she believes certain styles are making a comeback in queer spaces on campus.
“I would say there’s a lot of Y2K, 90s kind of vibes and bohemian [clothing], especially putting unique pieces together,” Taylor-Lillquist said.
When creating innovative outfits, Muhamed hopes to see more “fusion pieces” that blend items from multiple cultures — a trend she has recently noticed on social media.
“A lot of [what] I see on TikTok right now are Indian creators … trying to create fusion pieces — combining cultural clothing with more Western elements,” Muhamed said. “I have casual long skirts that are from India, and I like to pair them with a baby doll top or a crop top.”
Muhamed has also observed the popularity of the maxi skirt and cowboy boots combination on campus.
“I can totally see cowboy boots and long skirts becoming something that becomes a more permanent part or a staple in people’s wardrobes moving forward,” Muhamed said. “I think that it’s a unique look, and you can be creative with it.”
Julie Russell ’27 has also noticed an increase in the Y2K trend on campus, noting that the “clean girl aesthetic” — characterized by minimalism and a neutral color palette — is losing its prominence.
“It’s Y2K because it’s big accessories but little clothes — big accessories when it comes to bags, shoes, hats, belts [and] bandanas,” Russell said. “It’s very like, ‘I got it at the thrift store, someone’s mom owned it before you.’”
In addition, student-made jewelry is becoming popular as well. Dodge has noticed students wearing a lot of big, chunky, vintage-looking jewelry that they crafted themselves. Russell, who has also observed this trend, added that “big pendant necklaces are in right now.”
“I’ve seen a lot of wired jewelry that looks like it’s coming from the jewelry [studio],” Dodge said.
On top of handmade items, Dodge has noticed a rise in pieces belonging to family members.
“I’ll ask someone where they got their jewelry from and they say, ‘Oh, it’s from my grandma,’ which I think is really cool,” Dodge said.
Dodge and Taylor-Lillquist both said they believe buckles will become a popular accessory on clothing. Dodge explained that she has found “drapey belts” and “bigger belt buckles” online — displaying how trends make their way from student’s screens to the Green. She added that most of her fashion inspiration comes from social media sources such as Pinterest, Instagram and TikTok and hopes that more “eccentric accessories” and “vintage patterns on pants and skirts — such as paisley” make their way onto campus.
Muhamed also said she hopes to see more patterned clothing on campus.
“Right now most of the skirts that people are wearing are just white [worn] with a colorful top,” Muhamed said. “But maybe people will start playing with color [or] playing with patterns [and] prints a little bit.”
Federico-Grome predicts that the “preppy aesthetic,” characterized by plaid and argyle prints, statement collars and Mary Jane shoes, which has been present during the fall and winter seasons, will make its way back to campus this summer.
“I definitely feel a resurgence of the short-sleeved cropped sweater vest as a stand-alone piece, the wide-leg pants that might take the form of chinos — looking more like dress pants than something a little more casual like jeans,” Federico-Grome said.
