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GREAT EXPONENTS OF THE IVy STyLE<br />
AND PREPPy LOOK INCLUDE LEGENDS<br />
SUCH AS AdlAi StEvEnSon (WHO STUDIED<br />
AT PRINCETON) kAthARinE hEpBuRn<br />
(BRyN MAWR), fRAnklin dElAno<br />
RooSEvElt (HARVARD), gRACE kElly<br />
(STEVENS SCHOOL) AND CARolinE kEnnEdy<br />
(HARVARD). BUT THE SyMBOL PAR<br />
EXCELLENCE OF PREPPy STyLE<br />
AND THE MODEL FOR INSPIRATION<br />
IS fRAnCiS SCott fitzgERAld<br />
(WHO NATURALLy STUDIED<br />
AT PRINCETON) AND A NUMBER<br />
OF ACTORS AND POLITICIANS.<br />
STARTING FROM THE TOP,<br />
john john kEnnEdy, RyAn o’nEAl<br />
AND Ali mCgRAw IN THE FILM LOVE STORy<br />
SET IN hARvARd, Anthony pERkinS.<br />
ON THE FACING PAGE, FROM<br />
THE TOP STARTING FROM THE LEFT,<br />
OTHER PREPPy SyMBOLS jACk lEmmon,<br />
RoBERt REdfoRd, montgomERy Clift<br />
AND jAmES StEwARt.<br />
74<br />
tric and original clothing style in the campuses<br />
of the Ivy League. It also became unconventional<br />
and anti conformist. J. Press represents the quintessence<br />
of this style together with the Brooks<br />
Brothers, both of whom were pioneers of preppy<br />
fashion with shops in almost all of the Ivy League<br />
universities including Harvard, Princeton and<br />
yale. Characteristic in this period were echoes<br />
of British style customs such as a combination of<br />
clothing items from horse riding, sailing, yachting,<br />
hunting, rowing and lacrosse, tennis and rugby in<br />
a creative and, at the same time, profane, synthesis.<br />
Shoes from the stable, hunting and manual<br />
labour, like American L.L. Bean, became items to<br />
show off in living rooms and classrooms like the<br />
recent restyling of the Madewell brand. Pastels<br />
and glaring colours were brought together in Lilly<br />
Pulitzer’s creations while brands such as Lacoste,<br />
Izod and Dooney & Bourke came to the fore in<br />
the ‘80s. Female preppy style was influenced by<br />
designers such as Perry Ellis and Oleg Cassini.<br />
100% Cotton, wool and cashmere<br />
But the Ivy sack suit has very specific characteristics.<br />
The jacket shoulders are natural with very<br />
little padding (in its best examples it is similar to<br />
the ‘destructured’ Neapolitan shoulder shirt) and<br />
a smooth front with none of the seams which<br />
are called ‘pinces’ in Italy and ‘darts’ in English<br />
language countries. This means that the jacket<br />
hangs straight down without any style or line<br />
at the waist and on the back there is a central<br />
slit with a characteristic ‘hooked’ construction.<br />
The jacket is always single breasted with three<br />
buttons though in the past some were double<br />
breasted, and almost always - at least in the best<br />
examples - stretched to two with the first buttonhole<br />
at the top hidden in the lapel. There are<br />
often two small buttons on the sleeves.<br />
Jackets. These require some care. From the typically<br />
navy blue double breasted jacket - best with<br />
gold buttons - to the classic slim fit two buttoned<br />
jacket (sometimes in pastel variants such as mint<br />
green) to winter tweed, dinner jackets (sometimes<br />
even white) and contrasting stripes, preppy<br />
jackets have conquered the Gucci, Mulberry,<br />
Ralph Lauren and Dolce & Gabbana catwalks.><br />
There’s something for all tastes but not for all<br />
budgets. Jackets must be perfectly cut and excellent<br />
quality so keep away from cheaper variants<br />
which risk giving an ‘I would have if I could have’<br />
impression. Buy just one but make sure it’s a good<br />
one. Otherwise it’s better to go vintage.<br />
At first glance you might think that dressing<br />
preppy means dressing expensively but this<br />
is not necessarily true because what makes a<br />
preppy dress style is not its cost but its elegance,<br />
the co-ordinated colours and cuts which must be<br />
75
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