Princeton in Style: The 2005 Spring Fashion Issue

Princeton may never be the next fashion Mecca. Long before entering FitzRandolph Gate, we knew that ivory towers don't have walk-in-closets filled with Yves Saint Laurent Rives Gauche pumps or Marc Jacobs frocks. Few academic institutions, except maybe design schools such as the Fashion Institute of Technology, successfully fuse scholarly life and high-end fashion. It's impractical and simply out of place, especially on a campus where students buy Princeton logo gear in bulk from the U-Store. Extra-large sweatpants? Yes, please. Sky-high Miu Miu stilettos? Raincheck. Who has time to amass perfectly coordinated outfits when there are differential equations to solve and precepts to attend?

But even the most fashion-backward can at least try. With New York City (read: Soho) in our backyard, online shopping at our fingertips and Nassau Street boutiques a hop, skip and a jump away, striking a balance between fashion and comfort has never been easier. For the apathetic or fashion-impaired, don't despair — sweatshirts and flip-flops remain the standard dress code. But the fashion industry's offerings this season — billowy skirts, Goddess-inspired cuts and dramatic prints — are, admittedly, hard to resist. From crisp white to electrifying turquoise and back to pale pinks, this season's dominant color palette lends itself to dynamic combinations.

The trends themselves sample from some of the most far-flung destinations on earth — anywhere from the isles of Greece to the bazaars of East Asia.

In this issue of Street, we do our own fair share of traveling: across Nassau to pick through this seasons' top items, to dorm rooms for some in-house counsel with up-and-coming student designers, to New York for a sampling of the city's best boutiques and even to Europe to talk with the designers themselves. Wrap yourself in your favorite sweatshirt, sit back and enjoy. Spring fashion is just around the corner.