Today, we are writing a reflection on this past weekend’s Sproncert. Carleton students left their usual groutfits in favor of festival attire. The spring air was crisp but unseasonably cold, and clouds obscured the sunshine throughout the day. Festival attire usually is arranged in response to a necessity to shed as much heat as possible; heatstroke takes more young souls than hypothermia at music festivals every year. The opportunity to layer within a festival outfit provided a unique opportunity for Carleton students. The day began at roughly 2:00 p.m with student artists warming up the crowd. The event continued until dusk, when a grand fireworks display ushered the headlining artist, Duckwrth, off stage. Grace Bassekle and I interviewed Sproncert attendees about their festival attire and their process of preparing for such a notable social occasion.
Eve Farrell ’22 wore hand-painted bleached black jeans, with a subtly paisley patterned white silken shirt atop. She paired the outfit with an oversized vintage Old Navy corduroy jacket, in a rich chocolaty hue.
Catherine Merchant ’24 wore a green, cropped cut-out top, with a pair of well-worn Levis. Catherine noted that much of her style inspiration comes from colleagues she sees around campus. “I get a lot of inspiration from people I see on campus… I like this campus’ style, there’s a couple people here that go out with their fashion.”
Simran Kadam ’23 and Ella Hein ’23 wore coordinating outfits to Sproncert. In a proper display of Gorpcore attire, they donned camouflage. In considering Sproncert, Ella and Simran were going for a look that “really represented the Midwest. If Sproncert is the Coachella of Northfield, we wanted to dress accordingly. The coordination was actually on accident, but great minds do think alike!”
Ben More ‘24 used an eye-catching pair of earrings to introduce a touch of panache to his Sproncert outfit. DIY aesthetic jewelry, featuring colorful charms, plastics and spirited imagery, has established itself as a dominant trend in 2021 and maintained its popularity in 2022. Marc Jacobs hot new Heaven collection has pioneered this trend in mid-high fashion circles. Led by Ava Nope, one of the industry’s most talked about taste makers, and currently “Director Of Special Projects” with Marc Jacobs, Heaven has released sell out collections since the fall of 2020. Their lookbooks can be a bit of a who’s who game, and delightfully so. Their jewelry is playful, often looking more like an arts and crafts project than a product of a midbrow designer. Ben More purchased his earrings on Amazon and paired them with a monochrome outfit he thought would be complemented by them. Ben’s outfit demonstrated the blurry boundaries of the highly aestheticized DIY trend working its way across runways; often the most distinctive items are easily accessible online from mass vendors. The cloudcast lighting provided a background of muted hues against which Ben’s earrings popped.
Jaxon Alston ’23 wore a black top, anchored exclusively at his right shoulder, with a pair of white jeans. He “wanted to wear something that was festival-esque and something that showed a little more skin than what [he] normally wears.” Jaxon paired the jeans with an elegant black belt, which visually tied his top to his black combat boots. He lightly accessorized the assemblage with an accented chain and a pair of boxy, rectangular sunglasses. He wore a relaxed blue jean jacket, which provided a pop of color and a warm element when the sun set. Jaxon chose his top because he “knew black usually looks good on brown skin” and he loved “the way subversive tank tops look” generally and particularly on him.
Lucy Shapiro ’23 leaned into the spring season’s color palette. She layered up with a pink and orange sherpa fleece jacket with a pair of white jeans. Lucy purchased the jacket just before Winter Term, looking for something that would add a pop of color to the upcoming term’s tundra conditions. Her almost neon orange shades anchored the accented flowers of her fleece, and her white jeans made the saturated colors pop.
Grace Bassekle ’24 had pink hair, brown blazer and pants, red belt and multicolored shirt — she wore every color. Grace walked into Sproncert in professional attire with her brown blazer, but she wore brown jeans and new balance sneakers to add in some streetwear. It’s unusual to see someone wear a blazer at a festival, but Grace managed to pull it off successfully — I can see her running a business.
Hailey Bates ’25 with her beautiful curls sprinkled in shades of blue on a cloudy day — reminding all of us that it is spring. She said yes to gingham with her midi blue dress and added an oversized blue corduroy jacket to tie in her monochrome fit.
