Henley Royal Regatta was established on March 26, 1839. The international rowing event is held annually on the River Thames in the town of Henley-on-Thames, England. The regatta lasts for six days, beginning on a Tuesday and ending on a Sunday in the first weekend of July. Henley regularly attracts some of the finest crews from all over the world, including English public schools (Eton, Harrow) and Oxbridge universities (Oxford, Cambridge) and American boarding schools (St. Paul’s, Groton) and Ivy League universities (Harvard, Yale, Princeton).
The most prestigious event at the regatta is the Grand Challenge Cup for men’s eights, which has been awarded since the regatta was first staged. The regatta is organized by a body of Stewards, who are largely former rowers themselves. Pierre de Coubertin, the visionary and founder of the Modern Olympic Games, modeled elements of the organization of the International Olympic Committee on the Henley Stewards. The regatta has strict dress codes and is regarded as one of the highlights of the English social season.
The 2025 Henley Royal Regatta took place from July 1 to July 6. Rowing for the New York Athletic Club, Olympians Madeleine Wanamaker and Claire Collins won the Hambledon Paris Challenge Cup. Harvard’s lightweight men continued their two year unbeaten streak with a win over Oxford Brookes in the Temple Challenge Cup, and the Rutgers women set an event course record in willing the Island Challenge Cup.
As always, Henley Royal Regatta was filled with sartorial splendor. Here are some images from the event.
Thanks for the images and the crew standings. It is nice to see a segment of civilization still exists and persists.
Hmmm okay… but zero Ivy here. Padded shoulders, spread collars, double breasted blazers, and the decidedly ostentatious (vulgar) costume-ish vibe. Where’s the Brooksy softness, simplicity, and subtlety? Ivy is as much a revolt against Anglophilia-inspired excesses as anything. Looks like a Ralph Lauren ad gone very wrong.
And just think, the dress code was relaxed this year because of the heat.
I’ll second the previous two observations.
Kind mid-July regards,
Heinz-Ulrich
Great tradition. The colors are way too loud for my taste, but it is a particular “look” and it works well within the context. Thank you for this post!
Hmmm — from an American Ivy perspective, this vibe can be either winked at or mocked for what it obviously is: costume. Tending toward Slosne-ish cosplay. Feels like a certain era of Hilfiger ads gone quite wrong. My local rowing club recently commissioned blazers — zero striping, very tasteful. Antique brass buttons, using the old Pedersen & Becker serge. Excellent.
Yes, a bit loud, but it’s occasionally appropriate. I see that even the upper class has to suffer with cloth puddles and peg leg trousers. I doubt they care much about such things.
I can’t blame the boy. After all, this time next year, he will have outgrown them anyway. But attention to detail is not a vice. Just roll ‘em twice and safety-pin ‘em. Too easy.
That young man’s chinos, maybe linen with suede tassel loafers. It is a look I’ve noticed around here lately. I like it. Monochromatic and maybe more comfortable than the typical leather loafers of the style.
Ive seen it with a soft pink and white check, or baby blue and white check button down and navy blazer. Really cool, easy, unassuming. The new preppy…Preppy made great again. I’ve seen the same look on a prep schooler and grand-dad.
Hmmm — from an American Ivy perspective, this vibe can be either winked at or mocked for what it obviously is: costume. Tending toward Slosne-ish cosplay. Feels like a certain era of Hilfiger ads gone quite wrong. My local rowing club recently commissioned blazers — zero striping, very tasteful. Antique brass buttons, using the old Pedersen & Becker serge. Excellent.
Look at old yearbooks from St. Paul’s School or Princeton, like the famous American athlete Hobey Baker, SPS’10 and P’14. There is nothing more “Ivy” than this. Rowing blazers are a century old tradition of dress. Not “cosplay” and certainly not the “antithesis of Ivy.”
I’ll take a bit of stand, if mild and cordial, on what’s become a matter of some (if only a modicum) of precedent ’round these parts — that there was indeed a Heyday vis a vis Ivy, informed/undergirded by post-war campus-inspired modesty (even underdressing). In the context of modern-day styling, at least flamboyant — and maybe even gaudy. Stated bluntly: No one was wearing this stuff at UVA in 1962. The one (and perhaps only) exception was rather bold checked odd jackets.
Good enough, but Ivy is not static, and does not live permanently in 1962. There are elements of the style that date from the 1920s, the 1950s, the 1980s, and so on. If we get too narrow and dogmatic in our conception of the style, there will be very few people left to appreciate it in all its varieties.
Indeed. Moreover, I will point to this tradition the next time someone up there taunts my fellow southerners for our, um, generous use of color. All the way with pink and lavender!
* Sloane-ish
I am with S.E. While this may be amusing, I find it the antithesis of Ivy.
I hasten to add that the recently commissioned blazers (by local rowing club) will be tailored of 18/19 oz. serge (Harrisons’ superb rendering of the legendary Pedersen & Becker Universal). The blazers will feature steep hook vent, lapped seams, patch pockets, and detachable throat latch. Thusly: there’s a way to appease the more tasteful manifestations of American(ized) Anglophilia without veering into what amounts to Merchant Ivory-inspired kitsch.
Well if you think these are gaudy you should visit Princeton during the “P” Rade! You are given a class beer jacket for the first 25 years then you’re able to wear the class blazer. Wild and varied but all orange and black! Love it.
Craig, yes indeed! Another classic example of Ivy League style being unafraid of color and pattern. Let’s get this style out of the dull doldrums.