J. Press Summer Ivy Collection

By Matthew Longcore

Ivy Style. The very name evokes a collegiate aesthetic. We hear this phrase and we imagine cool, crisp autumn days. Football games and fraternity parties. Or we envision the rites of passage in springtime. Graduation ceremonies and academic regalia. Pomp and circumstance.

As academic, I love all of this. I work at Yale University, teach at the University of Connecticut, and wrote my doctoral dissertation on Collegiate Gothic architecture. The allure of campus life is endlessly appealing. I always feel right at home in a college library or classroom.

While I appreciate the timeless charm of the fall and spring semesters, for me the academic year mostly represents work, and a lot of it. Summer is, by far, my favorite season. Despite the fact that many of us spend our summers nowhere near a collegiate setting, I would argue that summer is the most Ivy season of all.

Summer is a Verb. The Official Preppy Handbook agrees with this sentiment:

“The summer is the high point of the Prep year, the point when Prep blossoms into fullest flower, the point of reference for everything in life. You choose your clothing, car, friends, pets, on the basis of where and how you spend the summer. The sailboat motif because you sail during the summer. You remember strenuous regattas, and long, lazy evenings drinking Mount Gay rum and tonic (with lime) on the porch. This last summer is always the best summer that ever was, or ever could be.” (TOPH, 206-207)

For some people, summer represents tank tops and flip flops. Not so in the Prep and Ivy world. On the contrary, this is the best time of year for dressing well. We have summer soirées, garden or lawn parties, and yacht club gatherings. Wherever we go, we have the opportunity to dress well, and to make the best of those sunny days and balmy evenings.

No one does summer style better than J. Press and the Summer ‘25 collection – appropriately named “Summer Ivy” – is especially appealing.  This collection has all of the classics – madras, seersucker, grosgrain belts, and Oxford cloth button-down shirts. Much of the collection is made in the U.S.A.

Befitting the 100^th anniversary of The Great Gatsby, there are items in this collection that evoke Gatsbyesque elegance – white linen, tan poplin, salmon colored chambray. For the Anglophile, there are club collar shirts and cricket sweaters. J. Press even has a line of British regimental neckties, including the Oxford University Motor Club Tie.

I have already made my list of must-have items from the J. Press Summer ’25 collection. Here it is:

White Crash Linen Sport Coat and Trousers

White is in Season. In honor of the centennial for The Great Gatsby, there many Gatsby-themed events this summer. This is clearly the right choice.

Tan Cotton Poplin Suit

This is the perfect suit for summer. Lightweight, versatile, classic. Ideal for work or leisure.

Red Cotton Chambray Sport Coat

Red, white, and blue are patriotic and also nautical. The burgee of my yacht club features these colors. The navy blazer with Nantucket Reds is a classic look. This salmon colored sport coat allows one to reverse the color scheme. I will make sure to wear it with a white OCBD and my navy necktie with yacht club burgees.

Tan and Brown Houndstooth Sport Coat

This elegant summer weight sport coat is perfect for the office, dinner at a nice restaurant, or a cocktail party. The houndstooth pattern would also look great at a polo match, perhaps even The Harriman Cup.

Club Collar Oxford Shirt

This shirt features a club collar inspired by vintage shirts the early 20^th century. It comes in blue, pink, yellow, and white. Clearly, I will need to get one of each color. F. Scott Fitzgerald would approve.

Ecru and Navy Cotton Cricket Sweater

This is a true classic. The ultimate summer sweater. The Official Preppy Handbook describes this type of sweater as “Smashing with white flannel trousers, it is also the one sweater that looks well with shorts.” (TOPH, 137)

Red and White Cotton Seersucker Sport Coat and Trousers

Nothing says summer like seersucker. I picked up a fantastic blue and white seersucker sport coat for the J. Press Icons Campaign. The red and white version shown here would also look great at a summer event.

Red, Blue, and Yellow Cotton Madras Sport Coat

Madras rivals seersucker as the official fabric of summer. This sport coat in red, blue, and yellow madras reminds me of the cover of The Official Preppy Handbook. Naturally, I must have one.

J. Press was founded on the Yale campus in 1902 and was featured on the list of “The Right Stores” in The Official Preppy Handbook, published in 1980. The handbook’s description of the brand still rings true:

“While custom tailoring is a specialty here, the store features accessories that complete the J. Press look: club ties with every imaginable insignia and blazer buttons adorned with the hallowed crest of your alma mater.” (TOPH, 152)

The Summer Ivy collection is available now at J. Press stores in New York, New Haven, and Washington D.C., and online at the newly redesigned website: jpressonline.com