Title: Flair

Informant info: Myself (Garrett Martin), Date: 5/28/16, Location: Hanover, NH, Dartmouth Student, Male, Class of 2018, Went on Canoeing trip.

Type of lore: Material (clothing)

Language: English

Country of Origin: U.S.

Social / Cultural Context: The very beginning of first-year trips, in front of Robinson Hall.  Also many many other times during dartmouth experience including winter carnival and various other social events.

Associated file: There is an image and an article all about flair http://thedartmouth.com/2008/11/21/flair-in-a-box/

Transcript: Obviously this isn’t really specific to trips, it’s just a Dartmouth thing in general, but it was at the beginning of trips in front of Robo where I was first introduced to flair.Flair is just any piece of really crazy, flamboyant or ridiculous clothing that people where for special events. A lot of it is actually passed down from upperclassmen to underclassmen, or collected from thrift stores or wherever you might find something weird. Like some people will wear rainbow colored leggings and tutus or brightly colored onesies or crazy socks, basically the goal is for everything to clash and look as gaudy as possible.

So when I showed up in front of Robo and saw all these people dressed in this wild stuff with dyed hair it was quite the sight, but now it’s become an image that, to me, is quintessentially “Dartmouth”.

Informant/Collector’s comments:  I think the purpose of flair in this case it to set a tone for the trips experience.  It is meant to signal that this ought to be a carefree, fun, accepting and  novel experience that ultimately introduces you the unique culture of the college.

Tags/Keywords:  Flair, Trips, Material Folklore, Clothing