Ivy League is a style of men's dress, popular during the late 1950s in the Northeastern United States, and said to have originated on college campuses, particularly those of the Ivy League. It was the predecessor to the preppy style of dress. [1]
Ivy League is a style of men's dress, popular during the late 1950s in the Northeastern United States, and said to have originated on college campuses, particularly those of the Ivy League. It was the predecessor to the preppy style of dress. [1]
The Ivy League style of dress evolved on the campuses of elite universities from the 1920s through the 1940s, and became mainstream in the 1950s. It was a casualization of traditional formal menswear and characteristically adapted the sporting attire of the British and American upper classes (most students at these universities being, or aspiring to be, upper class) as everyday wear. Clothing articles originally designed for golf, polo, sailing, rugby football, hunting, croquet, cricket, and tennis would be worn outside of the context of those activities. Such wardrobe staples as the sport coat, blazer, oxford shirt, and sweater vest all originated in the early 20th century as sportswear but became everyday attire through the Ivy subculture.
In terms of tailored clothing, the "sack" suit jacket (and similarly styled blazers and sport coats) was characteristic of the look. It featured a "3-to-2" or "three roll two" single-breasted front closure (3 buttons with the top button sewed on the underside of the roll of the lapel, leaving only two usable buttons), no front darts, and a single "hooked" vent (or "slit") at the back. The cut of the jacket was boxier, less structured, and less form-fitting than traditional business suits, and therefore appeared more relaxed. The trousers for suits cut in this style typically had a lower (but not low by modern standards) rise, were held up by a belt rather than suspenders, and were often not pleated or cuffed. Brooks Brothers and J. Press were major purveyors of Ivy League suits. In 1957 and 1958, about 70% of all suits sold were in the "Ivy League" style. [2] [3] [4]
Notable early contributors to the look included Prince of Wales, who often combined American fashions with traditional British country clothing such as brogue boots, Argyle socks and jumpers (sweaters), tweed cloth sportcoats, Irish walking hats and plus fours in houndstooth, herringbone, or the Prince of Wales check popularized by Edward VII.[ citation needed ]. Many young college men adopted the Ivy League look due to this association with the upper classes at leisure. [5]
Besides sportswear, some Ivy Style elements arose as a result of World War II. Double-breasted jackets, pleats, and trouser cuffs all fell out of style during the war period due to fabric rationing and shortages. Military surplus khaki cotton chino trousers became associated with Ivy Style in the late 1940's when returning veterans began attending college with their G.I. Bill benefits. Typical hairstyles included the crew cut, Harvard clip, and regular haircut, which were perhaps also influenced by military service. [6] Hats began to fall out of style during this period.
Additionally, Ivy Style was largely characterized by casual style affectations. For example, Ivy leaguers would frequently wear button-down collar oxford cloth shirts (which were originally developed as sportswear for polo and tennis players) with suits and sport coats, rather than more formal dress shirts with starched collars and double cuffs. Likewise, they would wear penny loafers or brogues rather than oxford shoes. Other casual affectations might include wearing gray flannel or khaki chino pants with a sport jacket in situations where others might wear a suit, or wearing knitted silk or animal print ties with business suits.
From the late 1950s until the mid 1960s, Ivy League clothing was considered desirable mainstream apparel for American middle class adults. In Britain during the mid and late 60s, the Mod subculture combined the latest Italian fashions with the attire worn by the heroes in contemporary American films such as Steve McQueen, James Dean or Paul Newman. [7] Particularly popular were the grey flannel, Tonic, or houndstooth suits, polo shirts, chino pants, Argyle socks, sweater vests, cardigan sweaters, basketweave loafers, Madras plaid, and narrow brimmed Irish walking hats and Trilbys. [8]
The style remained fashionable in the United States until it was supplanted (at least, for young men) at the tail end of the decade by the wide lapels, flared slacks, and brighter colors of the peacock revolution, as well as the casual clothing of the hippie counterculture during the late 1960s and early 1970s. [5]
 | This section possibly contains original research .(March 2018) |
Today the line between Ivy and preppy style is somewhat blurred but preppy style tends to be more colorful, especially in spring and summer, and incorporates more casual chic attire. It was first popularized in the early 1980s as a return to Ivy League styles after a decade of more modern trends, but today, preppy differs from historic Ivy League. Preppy fashion is influenced by traditional collegiate trends, rather than reproducing them exactly, and various clothing items can be considered preppy based on how they are worn or accented. During the 1990s and 2000s, Polo Ralph Lauren, J. Crew, and Vineyard Vines were large marketers of preppy clothing, modernized to accommodate new trends inspired by indie pop and urban fashion. Controversially,[ according to whom? ] in a recently revised form, a version of this style is sometimes promoted and marketed as "American Trad" or simply "Trad," although there are marked differences between the two styles. Trad is narrower in scope than the intermediate preppy style. [9]
By the 2010s, many American preps opted to dress in a more classic, tailored style closer to the original Ivy League look. [10] In the early to mid-2020s, it returned as the "Old Money Aesthetic."
Popular items include loafers, boat shoes or moccasins, sweaters (cable knit Aran sweaters, Cricket pullovers, cardigans, etc.), Oxford shirts, wingtips, stripy polo shirts, khaki or pastel colored Vineyard Vines, Nantucket Reds, white or bright pastel color socks, colored jeans, baseball jackets, khaki cargo shorts, and tapered chinos. Blazers, especially those made from seersucker, had made a comeback as informal or smart casual wear by the mid 2010s, and the traditional two button style was updated with throwback styling inspired by The Great Gatsby. [11] [12]
During the 1950s, the wealthy and clean cut Squares, Rahs and Socs (Soc being short for social) with their Ivy League clothes were the rivals to the working class Greaser subculture. [13] The conflict between the two groups features in Grease , The Outsiders , [14] Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull , and Cry-Baby . [15] In a scene in The Godfather , set in 1946, Michael Corleone is derided as an unlikely assassin because he is a "college boy" who wears an "Ivy League suit." The style was parodied in Clark Gesner's song The Ivy League Look from the 1957-58 Princeton Triangle Club musical "After A Fashion". [16] [17]
The so-called Ivy League style in summer-weight wash-and-wear fabrics will be much more important in the boy's and young men's suit market next spring.... The three-button Ivy League suite style is expected to account for 66% of boys suits compared with 44% in the 1957. For students, the dominance of this popular model will rise from 69% to 75%, according to the survey.
The Ivy-league look was the hallmark of sportswear throughout the latter years of the decade. Every skirt, pair of shorts or slacks boasted a cloth tab and back buckle, while button-down collars, penny loafers and Bermuda shorts were favored by both sexes. The early fifties square-shouldered, double-breasted men's suit with draped trousers bowed to the Brooks Brothers "natural shoulder" single-breasted 'Ivy League' style worn off campus as well as on.
Ivy League: A popular look for men in the fifties that originated on such campuses as Harvard, Priceton [sic] and Yale; a forerunner to the preppie look; a style characterized by button down collar shirts and pants with a small buckle in the back.
Preppy is an American subculture associated with the alumni of college-preparatory schools in the Northeastern United States. The term, which is an abbreviation of "preparatory", is used to denote a person seen as characteristic of a student or alumnus of these schools. Characteristics of preppy individuals include a particular subcultural speech, vocabulary, dress, mannerisms and etiquette reflective of an upper class and old money upbringing.
A waistcoat or vest is a sleeveless upper-body garment. It is usually worn over a dress shirt and necktie and below a coat as a part of most men's formal wear. It is also sported as the third piece in the traditional three-piece male suit. Any given waistcoat can be simple or ornate, or for leisure or luxury. Historically, the waistcoat can be worn either in the place of, or underneath, a larger coat, dependent upon the weather, wearer, and setting.
A suit, lounge suit, or business suit is a set of clothes comprising a suit jacket and trousers of identical textiles generally worn with a collared dress shirt, necktie, and dress shoes. A skirt suit is similar, but with a matching skirt instead of trousers. It is currently considered semi-formal wear or business wear in contemporary Western dress codes, however when the suit was originally developed it was considered an informal or more casual option compared to the prevailing clothing standards of aristocrats and businessmen. The lounge suit originated in 19th-century Britain as sportswear and British country clothing, which is why it was seen as more casual than citywear at that time, with the roots of the suit coming from early modern Western Europe formal court or military clothes. After replacing the black frock coat in the early 20th century as regular daywear, a sober one-coloured suit became known as a lounge suit.
Business casual is an ambiguously defined Western dress code that is generally considered casual wear but with smart components of a proper lounge suit from traditional informal wear, adopted for white-collar workplaces. This interpretation typically including dress shirt and trousers, but worn with an odd-coloured blazer or a sports coat instead. Neck ties are optional in this category.
A blazer is a type of jacket resembling a suit jacket, but cut more casually. A blazer is generally distinguished from a sport coat as a more formal garment and tailored from solid colour fabrics. Blazers often have naval-style metal buttons to reflect their origin as jackets worn by boating club members.
Clothing terminology comprises the names of individual garments and classes of garments, as well as the specialized vocabularies of the trades that have designed, manufactured, marketed and sold clothing over hundreds of years.
A dress shirt, button shirt, button-front, button-front shirt, or button-up shirt is a garment with a collar and a full-length opening at the front, which is fastened using buttons or shirt studs. A button-down or button-down shirt is a dress shirt with a button-down collar – a collar having the ends fastened to the shirt with buttons.
Casual wear is a Western dress code that is relaxed, occasional, spontaneous and suited for everyday use. Casual wear became popular in the Western world following the counterculture of the 1960s. When emphasising casual wear's comfort, it may be referred to as leisurewear or loungewear.
Fashion in the 1990s was defined by a return to minimalist fashion, in contrast to the more elaborate and flashy trends of the 1980s. One notable shift was the mainstream adoption of tattoos, body piercings aside from ear piercing and, to a much lesser extent, other forms of body modification such as branding.
Smart casual is an ambiguously defined Western dress code that is generally considered casual wear but with smart components of a proper lounge suit from traditional informal wear. For men, this interpretation typically includes dress shirt, necktie, trousers, and dress shoes, possibly worn with an odd-coloured blazer or a sports coat.
Fashion of the 1980s was characterized by a rejection of 1970s fashion. Punk fashion began as a reaction against both the hippie movement of the past decades and the materialist values of the current decade. The first half of the decade was relatively tame in comparison to the second half, which was when apparel became very bright and vivid in appearance.
A lapel is a folded flap of cloth on the front of a jacket or coat below the collar. It is most commonly found on formal clothing and suit jackets. Usually it is formed by folding over the front edge of the jacket or coat and sewing it to the collar, an extra piece of fabric around the back of the neck.
The fashion of the 2000's is often described as a global mash up, where trends saw the fusion of vintage styles, global and ethnic clothing, as well as the fashions of numerous music-based subcultures. Hip-hop fashion generally was the most popular among young people of all sexes, followed by the retro inspired indie look later in the decade.
Fashion in the years following World War II is characterized by the resurgence of haute couture after the austerity of the war years. Square shoulders and short skirts were replaced by the soft femininity of Christian Dior's "New Look" silhouette, with its sweeping longer skirts, fitted waist, and rounded shoulders, which in turn gave way to an unfitted, structural look in the later 1950s.
Informal wear or undress, also called business wear, corporate/office wear, tenue de ville or dress clothes, is a Western dress code for clothing defined by a business suit for men, and cocktail dress or pant suit for women. On the scale of formality, it is considered less formal than semi-formal wear but more formal than casual wear. Informal or undress should not be confused with casual wear such as business casual or smart casual; most situations calling for “informal wear” will usually tolerate casual dress to varying extents.
This is a list of existing articles related to fashion and clothing. For individual designers, see List of fashion designers
The 2010s were defined by hipster fashion, athleisure, a revival of austerity-era period pieces and alternative fashions, swag-inspired outfits, 1980s-style neon streetwear, and unisex 1990s-style elements influenced by grunge and skater fashions. The later years of the decade witnessed the growing importance in the western world of social media influencers paid to promote fast fashion brands on Pinterest and Instagram.
Fashion and clothing in the Philippines refers to the way the people of the Philippine society generally dress up at home, at work, travelling and during special occasions.
British country clothing or English country clothing is the traditional attire worn by men and women in rural Britain; it is the choice of clothing when taking part in outdoor sports such as equestrian pursuits, shooting or fishing and during general outdoor activity, such as walking, picnicking, or gardening. It is also worn at events such as horse races, country weddings, beer festivals and country fairs.
The fashions of the 2020s represent a departure from 2010s fashion and feature a nostalgia for older aesthetics. They have been largely inspired by styles of the early-to-mid-2000s, late 1990s, 1980s, 1970s, and 1960s. Early in the decade, several publications noted the shortened trend and nostalgia cycle in 2020s fashion. Fashion was also shaped by the COVID-19 pandemic, which had a major impact on the fashion industry, and led to shifting retail and consumer trends.