Goodbye And Good Riddance
After that epic winter, I hope I never see tweed again. If you haven’t brushed your old jackets and put them away yet, this weekend might be the time. Just don’t forget to get outside. — CC
Historic Texts
Typical University Of Virginia Students, 1962
Following our April Fool’s Day diversion, we return to the topic of UVA with this wonderful find by assistant editor Christopher Sharp. Pictured are caricatures by Carlton Abbott entitled “Typical UVA Students,” which appeared in a 1962 issue of University of Virginia Magazine. Pictured above is The Ghoul, whose description reads: Amusements: Bicycling, Chess, Newcomb …
April Fool’s Day: Collegiate Pulp Novels
The joke is these are no joke. Note descent from campus lover to campus affair to campus doll to campus tramp. I wonder if the consumer of these had ever been to college. — CC
Roll Of A Lifetime: Esquire On Buttondowns, 1983
A reader recently left a comment saying that collar roll is a fetish of the Internet age and that didn’t exist in the analog decades. Assistant editor Chris Sharp tapped his photographic memory, rummaged through his archives, and immediately produced an article from the April, 1983 issue of Esquire in which John Berendt opined on …
What, Me Worry? Yale During The Great Depression
The 1930s was the time of the Great Depression, yet simultaneously it was also the golden age of Hollywood glamor and of masculine elegance. It was also the time when the Ivy League Look flourished, though within closed corridors, the aristocratic golden age versus the postwar, democratic silver age. This article from the Yale Alumni …
George Frazier’s The Art Of Wearing Clothes, 1960
Yesterday on our Facebook group a young lad wondered where he could read the famous essay by George Frazier mentioned in our previous post. While it’s certainly googleable, we figured why not present it here. There is a section on New Haven and the natural-shoulder look, plus plenty of fine general observations on dressing. Also, …
Secret Society: NSA Recruiting Ads At Brown, 1968
Associate editor Christopher Sharp follows up on our last post, a slideshow on the Brown engineering department, with these late ’60s recruitment ads from Brown’s college newspaper. * * * While perusing the archives of a Brown University student newspaper, I found myself venturing where most traditionalists dare not tread: the late ’60s. My intent …
Tartan Day And Men In Plaid, 1950
In case you hadn’t heard, tomorrow is Tartan Day. To celebrate, we’re sharing a LIFE Magazine article from 1950 (scroll down to page 123) that showcased Yale students in plaid vests and Andover preps in plaid caps. The article opens with this: When the British caught wind of the fact that American men were developing …
Dedman, Don’t Wear Plaid: Julien D.’s Satirical Look At Yale
Last week Ivy-Style.com presented Julien Dedman’s 1954 Playboy article on Brooks Brothers. In this post, Rebecca C. Tuite, whose book on Seven Sisters style is forthcoming, examines the author’s parody of life at Yale. * * * “Yale men everywhere join in one brotherhood at eventide to remember the golden days of yesteryear and the …
Spin Cycle: How Bleeding Madras Washed Vice Into Virtue
Gentleman’s Gazette just published a great story on the history of madras. There’s much on the origins of the fabric in India, but even more interesting is Sven Raphael Schneider’s recap of the bleeding madras damage control at midcentury, when irate consumers were quickly educated that authentic madras was “guaranteed to bleed.” According to Schneider, …
Help A Prep With His Homework
Over the past few years, the Ivy Trendwatch has helped bring scholarly attention to the clothing and social customs of college men during the heyday of the Ivy League Look. “Take Ivy” shined an outsider’s lens on college life in the mid-’60s with a specific eye for what men were wearing. Then came the MFIT …