The more things change...Laundry bags, sweat shirts, school jackets, picking your nose, the short ROTC guy who's certifiable, cheap umbrellas. Where are they now? The Senate. Congress. Insurance agency owners. There is something unique about this little volume that class yearbooks miss and that's the POV of the book's authors and editors. A wonderfully fresh perspective fills this book and makes walking across campus with your laundry bag a lot more romantic than it ever should be.
I think that's a big part of the magic with Take Ivy. Taking dreary and turning it into romance via images. What they're wearing is just icing on the cake. I swear, I see the plain vamp moc known as the Yuma (just introduced around this time) in more than one photograph. Or, maybe it's just the romantic in me.
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23 comments:
I love you.
Thanks as always for taking the time to show us all these images. I agree they make walking across campus a pretty enhanced memory. Sort of like an old Esquire I read once featuring Princeton. It had the same sort of photos.
I think I'll look at these again over a glass of Calvados....or two.
ML
mlanesepic.blogspot.com
It is very nice of you to take the time to scan all of the images you are showing us. I really do appreciate it because otherwise I would never get the chance to see this book. Thanks!
"Hello Darkness, my old friend."
You're doing a public service here,
not only in presenting these images but in cooling some of the hype about thsi admittedly great book.
It really is too bad the way people present themselves today. If you asked the guys in shorts on the day these photos were taken, they'd tell you these were thier bum clothes. Two generations later and thier grandkids will dress like that for a funeral or a wedding.
Much as I like this stuff, I have to say that I have to say the the super short pants and sicks with shorts combos may be a bit much.
Thanks so much for posting these pages/images!
Any idea on the make/model of those terrific black loafers (worn with white socks and madras shorts...)
The guy in the first photo in the shorts and long sleeve shirt, and the guy in the dark shirt, madras shots and white socks are definitely wearing "Yumas." I have an uncle who wore those for years and years way into the 90s (along with a crewcut).
You're right about the POV of the authors and photographer. They were able to capture the "everyday" of collegiate life in a way that self-conscious yearbooks usually aren't able to do. The simplicity of this book is its genius.
Giuseppe, funny you mention dressing for an occasion and the eccentricities of youth today. The middle caption on page 66 describing the photo on page 67 reads: "Sunday. Though Ivy Leaguers normally wear suits, sport coats and blazers, they still want to dress up on Sunday." How do college students dress on Sunday these days?
Amazing! These pictures are pure ivy mana. I look forward to the last post!
- Andrew
heavy tweed jacket,
is there any way that you could identify the pictures by ivy league university? some of them are obvious, but others aren't so much. which ones are from columbia, harvard, or penn, for example?
I cannot believe that Gilligan was Ivy League! /wink/
"How do college students dress on Sunday these days?"
I go to a Top 20 U.S. News ranked private college. Not an Ivy but much in the same tradition/league.
It varies. It's not at all uncommon to see a student in chinos and a button-down, but you will rarely ever see students wearing sport coats, let alone suits (although in the fall/late fall I did see a few students sporting tweed or herringbone sport coats), unless they have to give a presentation or are the occasion calls for it (Formals, interviews/career information sessions, etc.)
Although on Saturdays for home football games it is customary for the men to wear ties, and there are those who choose to sport blazers with the ties as well (this is still the case at quite a few southern schools).
A majority of the photos in this post were taken at Dartmouth. The buildings still look exactly the same (the clothing, not so much).
Thank you SOOO much for these very inspiring pictures!
I like that these guys look like men. They are dressed like men. This is the biggest difference (particulars aside) about today's versus yesterday's clothing.
Let me be the nth person to express my thanks for your efforts in obtaining and posting these terrific pictures.
However, what's up with the guy with the black "P" sweater? Is he on his way to cheerleading practice?
That would be a Princeton varsity sweater. More likely he's showing off that he plays football!
Maybe, although probably on the 150 lb. squad.
My point is that, in contrast to the "regular guy-ness" of almost all of the other pics, this particular guy looks like a caricatured effete elitist. (I tend to forget that irony sometimes doesn't translate well in these comment sections.)
I'm also well aware that trad icons like Jimmy Stewart and Jack Lemmon were male cheerleaders... no offense intended, just a little kidding. But this guy's rig is indistinguishable from what George W. wore at Andover.
How do college students dress on Sunday these days?
I myself go to a school listed as one of the "New Ivies" on the East coast and the style is divided by the traditionalists and trendy sort.
In the spring/summer, the men wear plaid shorts, bright colored pants, madras and oxford shirts, polos, etc. all with a boat shoe. In the winter, it's plenty of wool socks, ski jackets, and knit hats. I think one of the oddest things is that we as 18-22-year-olds are so enamored with rummaging through our father's old things - I've noticed a penchant for Ray Bans, wearing loafers without socks, thick plastic glasses, and cardigans. Rarely do you ever see all of these elements put together so cleanly as they appear here - you will find them, but it's certainly diluted with T-shirts or cuffed denim, sweats, etc.
On Sundays, because students tend to get dressed up during the week where I go, people throw on whatever is on the floor or wear a hoodie and a pair of jeans. People party til 3AM, sleep til 1PM and have 'breakfast' (which is served til 3PM), then one has to do homework and clean and do laundry, so there really isn't a Sunday best anymore.
You are doing a great service by posting these. Kudos!
I'd wager that the picture of the guys in the serving line, one wearing a navy blue sweater with 1968 on it, is at Commons at Yale... although that IS a guess.
They guy with the bike and squash racket is in front of Morse or Stiles College, at Yale. (Built 1961, designed by Eero Saarinen).
I love this book!!! I poured over a copy when I was in Japan. Is there any way you can identify the schools where the pictures were taken. A few are obivious but most are not. From the pictures posted, I only see maybe one that could be Columbia - my alma mater.
...and then they all voted for Nixon.
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