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shorts or long trousers, in this case to make socks
visible which, if they were in diamond patterns,
gave an additional touch of style to the whole
look. The colours, as always, were as varied as
possible- reds, bordeaux, peach, yellow and violet
were allowed, patterns and materials were varied
such as gingham, seersucker and ribbed velvet.
jeans, no thanks
It should be remembered that jeans are an unlikely
item in a preppy wardrobe and are usually
replaced with khaki trousers. Cable knit sweaters.
Either gilet or cardigan, rigorously V-necked, the
important thing is that the wool is cable knit like
a cricket jumper. The cable fashion is universal
and it is thus best to wear a cable knit cardigan
whether you are aiming at the preppy look or
not. Those made by Adidas and Topman are
particularly warm and take account of the cheap
alternatives (very Ivy if you play your cards right)
in zara with buttons covered in leather which are
attractive on T-shirts too. Old Shetlands in pastel
or full colours are good with round necks alone
or under jackets. And the vast range of gilets is
unavoidable too in pastel colours or patterns.
Europe: on vespas and lambrettas
The Ivy Style phenomenon also had a European
flipside with the Mods, known as the Absolute
Beginners, who modelled themselves on the Ivy
League look. Mod was not just a word but a culture,
a lifestyle, a clothes style and fashion sense
free of preconceived ideas following your own
ideas and feelings, a totally English style which
influenced not only 1960s London but still makes
waves in Europe. Its status symbols included
rigorously Italian scooters like Vespas and Lambrettas
- often embellished with imaginative and
bizarre mirrors and lights - Parka jackets with the
Royal Air Force target on them. Musical phenomena
such as The Who, Small Faces and the Beatles
were also Mod. The focus was Carnaby Street.
The Mod phenomenon was given a new boost
at the end of the Seventies when the film Quadrophenia
came out (1979 from the album from
The Who which came out in 1973) and the success
of other groups like Jam, Madness, Special,
the legendary Blues Brothers and Oasis gave fresh
impetus to this mass movement. Another trend
deriving from Ivy is the London Sloane Ranger
look - because it was centred around the Sloane
Square neighbourhood in Chelsea - considered
an amalgam of chic sophisticates from the aristocracy
and upper middle class, a popular fashion
and clothing movement which Lady Diana Spencer
was part of before her marriage.
IN THE COURSE OF ITS LONG
HISTORy, IVy STyLE WAS,
AT THE BEginning,
A NICHE PHENOMENON,
CONCENTRATED ABOVE ALL
IN THE CITIES OF THE NORTH-WEST
COAST OF THE UNITED STATES.
IT SAW TWO PERIODS OF MASS
POPULARITy, HOWEVER, WHEN
IT MOVED OUTSIDE ITS CHARMED
CIRCLE, THE FIRST AROUND 1920,
AND A SECOND WHICH HAS
GONE DOWN IN HISTORy AS
THE IVy FASHION CyCLE BETWEEN
1954 AND 1967. IN THESE yEARS
THE IVy LEAGUE BECAME THE STyLE
AND EMBLEM OF A WHOLE NATION
AND A GENERATION WHICH
IDENTIFIED WITH THE NEW
AMERICAN DREAM, WHILE
THE SACK SUIT BECAME
A MUST IN MANy GREAT
FASHION HOUSES.
AND IT ARRIVED IN EUROPE
TOO WITH PHENOMENA SUCH
AS THE MODS.
ON THE FACING PAGE,
lAdy diAnA SPENCER BEFORE
SHE MARRIED, AN EXPONENT
OF THE LONDON SLOANE
RANGER pREppy MOVEMENT.
MODS ON VESPAS, ROWERS
AT THE CAMPUS AND hACkEtt
MODELS. HERE ON THE LEFT,
AN IVy LEAGUE MASCOT,
CAMPUSES.
TOP, THE CANNES FESTIVAL
POSTER THIS yEAR DEDICATED
TO ANOTHER LEGENDARy PREPPy,
pAul nEwmAn, KISSING
HIS WIFE joAnnE woodwARd.
THIS BLACK AND WHITE IMAGE
ECHOES THE A NEW KIND
OF LOVE POSTER By MELVILLE
SHAVELSON WHICH CAME
OUT EXACTLy 50 yEARS AGO.
WOODWARD AND NEWMAN
WERE MARRIED
FOR 50 yEARS UNTIL
THE ACTOR’S DEATH ON THE 26TH
OF SEPTEMBER 2008.
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