Back To School With Willie Gillis & Southern Tide

It’s September, and many of you readers are no doubt hitting the books just like Willie Gillis here, a fictional character created by Norman Rockwell in the 1940s.

And because style and intelligence complement each other so well, we’ve got an extra-special giveaway to make sure you look sharp when you show up for an early exam after pulling an all-night cram session.

Southern Tide has generously donated $500 worth of back-to-school clothes for one lucky college student. You’ll get some great chinos, a polo shirt, sweater, plus other stuff.

The contest begins tomorrow, so spread the word around campus. You’ll leave a comment to enter the contest, and need a valid school e-mail address, or some other means of proving your student status, to win.

Full details tomorrow.

34 Comments on "Back To School With Willie Gillis & Southern Tide"

  1. Awesome. I’d love some more stuff to add to my campus style.

  2. Being an undergrad finally pays off in the Trad community!

  3. Aw yeah, every poor college student needs more threads.

  4. I am not familiar with Rockwell’s Willie Gillis character, very cool.

  5. Your contest makes me wish I was back in college!

  6. Gentleman Mac | September 17, 2012 at 1:51 pm |

    What about for us profs who have to put up with the ill-dressed masses in class?

  7. A German helmet and a German dagger as dorm room decorations might cause some comments at some universities and colleges.

  8. As is obvious from the picture, Willie Gillis was a Master Sergeant, honorably disharged from the US Army. He has chosen to decorate his dorm room with some memorabilia, including a couple of war trophies.

    Some other WWII vets became outlaw bikers, and wore not only their captured Stahlhelms but also, as a sign of rebellion, items adorned with swastikas. Imagine the comment such displays would cause now!

  9. Is this open to grad students as well?

  10. Gentleman Mac | September 18, 2012 at 5:11 am |

    @OldSchool Only on Wednesdays! HAHAHAHA. Right now, I would simply settle for not having to see everyone’s stinking toes all the time.

  11. @Gentleman Mac

    I attended a lecture given by a visiting professor from Hawaii.
    Needless to say, he came in flip-flops.
    He noticed that the faculty members in the audience were far better dressed than him and said:
    “If this had been Hawaii, I would have come barefoot”.
    He sat on the edge of the desk and crossed his legs so that we were exposed to his filthy toes for an hour

  12. No details have been revealed, so I’ll leave a comment here just in case.

  13. Willie also appears to be a left handed golfer, like myself. I own several half sets of vintage clubs, including hickory and early steel shafts, and a few canvas “Sunday” bags.

    Why would Rockwell include left handed clubs? Left handed clubs and golfers would be rare in the post WW2 era.

    Also, Willie is smoking his pipe on his right side, as I do, being left handed. Don’t know if Rockwell observed this in left handed men.

  14. awesome contest

  15. Fantastic!

  16. will cromartie | September 19, 2012 at 3:13 am |

    Fingers crossed

  17. This would come in real handy.

  18. This is one of my favorite images. While I wish I had a nook like that to study in, I can’t help but question how comfortable he actually is.

  19. Need to update my wardrobe!

  20. A story/show on the GI Bill had the president of Harvard, guy with typical Boston Brahmin name, testifying against it before passage, saying things like “not everyone is cut out to be a college man”. When interviewed in 1949, he said he couldn’t have been any more wrong, and the vets were the best group of real students he’d ever had.

  21. Matthew Wickham | September 19, 2012 at 8:00 am |

    I could definitely use some quality clothes.

  22. I could use this!

  23. Even better than end-of-summer sales.

  24. It’s damn cold up here. Could use a real sweater.

  25. This seems awesome!!!!

  26. Simon bullock | September 19, 2012 at 8:30 pm |

    Love fall and love collegiate style !

  27. Anthony Flores | September 19, 2012 at 10:32 pm |

    Broke college student here, with a sorry wardrobe. I could definitely use this!

  28. Christian: Will we need to provide verification in our comment? Or could we provide it once we win? I don’t want my comment being disregarded because I didn’t use my student email.

  29. John Robinson | September 21, 2012 at 8:04 pm |

    Willie Gills is a true American character. I long for the days when he was the norm, rather than the exception on college campuses. It’d be great to snag ssme Southern Tide.

  30. I could use this for sure. Trying to up my style while on a budget. School is pretty expensive but definitely worth it.

  31. Larkin Little | September 22, 2012 at 5:24 pm |

    Could really use a new wardrobe!

  32. I know where the best nooks are to show some Southern Tide style on campus.

  33. If it’l give me half the style of Willie Gillis then sign me up!

Comments are closed.