Middlebury’s Met Gala: Winter Carnival Fashion
By Lily Jensen ‘28
1951
If you saw a student dressed in a bedazzled, elaborate, neon ski suit walking across McCullough lawn mid-winter, you’d probably find it pretty strange. Maybe you’d do a double-take, raise an eyebrow, or whisper to a friend. Even at a school of ski enthusiasts like Middlebury, wearing something so “out there” is not remotely close to the typical Middlebury uniform that we all know and love. Like at any institution, the reality we coexist in is deeply informed by spoken and unspoken social rules and restrictions. Subconsciously, this influences the choices we make when we get dressed each morning. Whether you want to look like everyone else or stand out in a specific way, you will undoubtedly be influenced by the way your peers dress, the physical traits of our environment, such as the weather, and the activities we participate in. But what if there were a day without any of these restrictions? A day that presents a whole new set of rules and allows us to break all of the ones we are familiar with. Winter Carnival is a ski race, but first and foremost, it is the only day where everything weird and wacky is not only accepted, but encouraged.
As long as it isn’t a typical school outfit, you can pretty much wear whatever you want to Carnival. However, there are specific themes that can be traced throughout the whole mass of students. When asked to describe the theme of Winter Carnival in a few adjectives, students came up with a variety: neon, ski, funky, silly, vibrant, 80s, flare, bright, eye-catching, disco, bright colors, and more. Generally, bright ski-themed outfits are the most common, but they aren’t the only way to go, as these descriptors leave space for all kinds of creative riffs and interpretations. Skye Sobel ‘28 wore a hockey jersey from the movie Miracle, and said, “People started quoting the movie to us, so that was really fun.” Ella McGuire ‘28 also didn’t wear a vintage ski outfit: “I looked at people's outfits from past years, and I didn’t have ski clothes …And we're in Vermont, so hockey.” In a lot of ways, Winter Carnival can be whatever you want it to be. Abby Ward ‘25 said her process was “just putting together random colors in my head.” Winter Carnival’s malleability and randomness make it seem easy to dress for, but that is not always the case. “I'm always really impressed that people find a way to look so cool. Even though it's always five degrees outside… it would be really easy if it were like Coachella and it was 80 degrees out. But it's not, it's like a difficult fashion experience 'cause you have to be warm or the whole day's gonna suck,” Ward comments. It can be difficult to go all out during Vermont winter, but the ski sport theme allows for the potential for warmer outfits. Yet still, many students struggle with the balance of cute vs. comfortable at Carnival.
There are a variety of ways to procure the perfect balance—a unique outfit for Carnival that will blow everyone away. A lot of people find success at vintage or second-hand stores, but assembling the outfit can span months or even years for some students. For example, Hannah Elefante ‘25 found a pair of vintage color-blocked kids' Patagonia ski pants two years ago while she was abroad and saved them. Shaan Kanai ‘25 got his jacket as a “‘hand-me-down’ from a cousin of mine. He graduated from Middlebury and had a yard sale of all his stuff.” Winter Carnival has a tradition of connecting with the past and carrying forward tradition through clothing. “I also have this cowboy hat. On the first weekend of freshman year, we were just walking around, and some seniors came up to us and they handed us this cowboy hat,” Alex Milley ‘25 said about the hat he wore to Carnival this year. He added, “We're gonna have to pass it on. We're gonna have to find a worthy successor to the hat.” Every Carnival outfit has some sort of story, which I think says a lot about the culture around the event. “One of the most important parts of a good Carnival outfit is wearing clothing that has history with yourself or your classmates,” Milley said. Clothing is a vessel for life and history, particularly the clothing of Winter Carnival.
1959
Like clothing, Winter Carnival also has a rich history of its own. And while fashion is a big element of the event, so are the actual activities. Winter Carnival is a ski race that doesn’t just happen at Middlebury College, but at many other NESCAC schools as well. A Winter Carnival in mid-late February is hosted almost every year, which was initiated by the Middlebury Mountain Club in 1920. It is believed to be one of the first ever student-run carnivals in the nation. The event continued to change and was soon adopted by Middlebury College, becoming a three-day intercollegiate Alpine and Nordic ski race with other winter programming throughout the weekend, like building ice or snow sculptures and the classic Winter Carnival Ball with King and Queen candidates, pictured here in these iconic Fair Isle sweaters (left). Winter Carnival is notably never in January, rather, it celebrates winter when winter feels like it’s hanging around a little too long. Even though Winter Carnival has changed and evolved, a lot of its essence and traditions remain the same.
While it is valuable to think about Winter Carnival as a collective fashion event. It remains very individualistic. Even when everyone is more or less dressed in the same vibe, different people’s personal styles pop out in different ways. Unlike first years, it seems the seniors have a good grasp of what Winter Carnival is all about and how to assemble the right outfit.
Lukka Wolff ‘25.5 (left) wore the same jacket that he wore to Winter Carnival his freshman year for a “full circle moment.” He describes the vibe he was going for as “eighties skier, a lot of bright colors, specifically green.” His friend thrifted this iconic coat for him seven years ago, and it has stood the test of time, becoming the go-to quintessential carnival outfit for Wolff. Despite deciding to go with the same jacket that he wore freshman year, Wolff did level up his ensemble in some ways. “To top it off, I wore a fur cap that was actually my dad's, who used to live in Russia, I guess in the USSR, in the eighties…I was snooping around in his closet and saw this sick-looking fur hat, and I thought that totally has to be mine.” His fur hat wasn’t just vintage-inspired, it was legitimately from the '80s. Even though a fur hat might not fit into the ski theme, it is still glamorous, warm, and full of flair.
Else Nye ‘25 (center) went with a classic bright colored ski suit for her Winter Carnival outfit. She comments that while the outfit was, of course, cute, the main reason why she wore it was because it was “warm and easy.” She explains that while it seems like she made a big statement because of its one-piece nature, it wasn't a ton of effort in reality. “I remembered freezing in past years and struggling to stay outside. I feel like with Winter Carnival, you have to prioritize being cozy over being cute and creative sometimes,” said Nye. Amidst all of the fun and funky takes, it is easy to get lost in the aesthetics of everything and forget that a great Winter Carnival look actually has to be somewhat warm and practical. A skit suit seems to be the best of both worlds for a lot of students.
Alex Milley ‘25 (right) had a Winter Carnival jacket unlike anybody else. He initially got this cheap white coat while studying abroad in high school, but never wore it much. “There's little text somewhere on the bottom. It says, ‘This canvas hasn't been painted on yet.’ And I thought maybe I should paint on this jacket,” Milley said. “And so I started walking around at parties with Sharpies in my pockets and I'd be like, you wanna sign my jacket?” he explained. Milley’s jacket is covered in the memories, doodles, and goofy signatures of so many members of the Middlebury community. When we challenge ourselves to get funky with fashion, which for Milley seems to be almost every weekend, our closets can come together in new and unexpected ways.
To grasp Winter Carnival fashion to the fullest extent, it is important to consider the ways that it has evolved over time. With the tradition starting over 100 years ago, a lot has changed, yet a lot has stayed the same. Since Winter Carnival fashion is now often vintage-inspired, it is even more imperative to explore what Winter Carnival looked and felt like in the actual past.
1990
Color is a huge part of Winter Carnival in 2025, as it likely was in the 1950s-1980s, but the vast majority of old Winter Carnival photos are black and white. However, notably, there is one photo from 1990 that captures a Winter Carnival-related gathering with live music (fig 5). Even from this small snapshot (left), it is clear that the bright reds and greens were common during the 80s and 90s—the decades today’s Carnival outfits are inspired by. While there is definitely an array of bright colors, neon seems like a new introduction. While very popular with the Jazzercise ladies, it may not have been as popular with the college-aged crowd in the 80s.
One massive element of Winter Carnival is ski gear, simply for fun and for the sake of being on theme. Specifically, goggles are an easy but essential staple that represents both cute and sporty ski style. The top photo (below) is from the 1960s and is a good close-up to see how ski goggles might be different and take new shapes from back then.
The bottom photo appears to be a quintessential Winter Carnival in the 70s, from the goofy expression to his striped hat and goggles. Ski goggles are timeless symbols of the true Winter Carnival spirit.
Another clear through line is the pure joy and quirkiness of the day, which is often baked into the outfits. Take this student who wore plaid, florals, and stripes together in 1983, for example (fig. 8). Winter Carnival is meant to be carefree, uniting the school around an exciting race. The second photo (fig. 9) represents a different type of goofiness, less related to fashion, more about just embracing the moment with friends, which can be seen everywhere at Winter Carnival in 2025 (fig. 10). This photo from 1974 really feels like the essence of Winter Carnival in a lot of beautiful ways. With all of the students piled in their puffers, it feels very accurate and similar to our notions of Winter Carnival. While I’m sure there have been changes made to the down winter coat in the past 50 years, it still feels so familiar, generations later. The playfulness of this photo is also very aligned with the occasion. Carnivals, more generally, are all about play: from rides to treats to games. There is an inner child that students find when they are allowed to be weird, wild, and free.
Despite this core similarity, there are many differences between this year’s Winter Carnival and the Winter Carnivals of the past. With the popularization of vintage 70s-90s attire worn for present-day Carnivals comes a tendency to perpetuate an idealized and romanticized version of the past. Therefore, it is important to acknowledge the imperfections of past Carnivals. For example, the election of a Winter Carnival Ball King and Queen was once a big part of the tradition, but it now feels outdated and exclusive. This photo of the “royalty” from 1962 is very posed and somewhat superficial, but still endearing.
Furthermore, in 2025, goofy costumes and outlandish activities are permitted at the Snow Bowl, but not encouraged on the main campus. This was not the case in previous decades. For example, this immaculate canoe sledding in 1988 and this rag-tag group of girls from the 1960s with their groovy ski accessories would not be spotted around campus today. So much has changed about Winter Carnival, yet it seems like the reasons why we love it so much remain timeless despite it all. In each decade, there are new people on campus, a new president in office, and a new class to take. But amidst this, Winter Carnival remains the highly anticipated and beloved cornerstone of the Middlebury College experience.
It’s been compared to Christmas, the Super Bowl, the Met Gala, and Coachella; it leaves no small mark on the Middlebury student body. “The thing I really like about Carnival is that there's no such thing as too much,” Elefante said. Winter Carnival is a day to break free from aesthetic norms. “It's so fun for everyone to dress up and wear the silliest thing they can possibly find…you don't get a whole lot of chances to do that as an adult,” Milley explains.
At Middlebury, we can often get stuck in our habits, styles, and ways of perceiving one another. Winter Carnival exists in a liminal space where the typical expectations disappear and new ones appear; it is a moment for both collective coming together and individual expression. We can all bring a little more of the Winter Carnival spirit into our everyday lives, making space to experiment with fashion that is fun, funky, bright, and unexpected. Clothes have personal stories and sometimes previous lives. Winter Carnival has always been an event where clothes take on a new meaning, and thus create new stories and memories.
All black and white photos are courtesy of Middlebury College Special Collections