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#1 2024-01-24 12:27:53
- Half Mast
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- Posts: 191
The place of the V-Neck Jumper in the Ivy pantheon
I think it's widely accepted that the crewneck Shetland jumper is a key element of the Ivy League look. But what about the v-neck?
Many of the Ivy League boom years photos I've seen show college students sporting v-necks but it's the crewneck has been elevated to an almost cult-like status. I came across this interesting little snippet from an "Ivy Style" article (https://www.ivy-style.com/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-ivy-league-look.html) which may well shed some light on why this is; "It should come as no surprise that the preference for the crewneck can also be traced to style setting at Princeton, where a freshman orientation guide, for reasons unexplained, admonished the younglings not to wear V-neck sweaters. Much later, in his 1983 book “Class", Paul Fussell would wryly explain why the crewneck is upper middle and the V-neck merely middle".
So, what do FNBers think about the v-neck? I quite like 'em despite the "Man at C&A" connotations.
#2 2024-01-24 13:02:46
- An Unseen Scene
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- From: Nottingham, UK
- Posts: 1272
Re: The place of the V-Neck Jumper in the Ivy pantheon
V-necks are vital, once those students left uni they were not wearing crew necks at work.
At 54, I'm not really defined by what students wore in their early twenties.
I do not mean that to sound curt but commentators described Ivy style as youthful college wear,so it has to evolve with you through life.
Last edited by An Unseen Scene (2024-01-24 14:56:02)
#3 2024-01-24 15:41:03
- FlatSixC
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Re: The place of the V-Neck Jumper in the Ivy pantheon
V-neck pullovers were part of school uniform and that’s what I associate them with … the antithesis of coolness. The sort of item your mum bought for you and decidedly unhip. I’ve never worn one since.
#4 2024-01-25 02:05:32
- Kingston1an
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- Posts: 4187
Re: The place of the V-Neck Jumper in the Ivy pantheon
V necks are fine if they are generously cut. High v necks are pointless.
I don't see a strong school uniform connection. Striped ties are more of a schoolboy thing but Ivy types wear them.
"Florid, smug, middle-aged golf club bore in this country I'd say. Propping up the 19th hole in deepest Surrey bemoaning the perils of immigration."
#5 2024-01-25 02:34:51
- Half Mast
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- Posts: 191
Re: The place of the V-Neck Jumper in the Ivy pantheon
Seems a shame we've lost access to the wealth of yearbook photos posted on FNB.
However, I came across this link in one of the posts to the 1969 yearbook of Davidson College, N.C.
Still predominantly (and perhaps surprisingly for the year?) Ivy in style and lots of v-necks on show 
https://archive.org/details/quipscranks1969davi/page/17/mode/1up?view=theater
#6 2024-01-25 05:48:25
- FlatSixC
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- Posts: 332
Re: The place of the V-Neck Jumper in the Ivy pantheon
Kingston1an- ‘ I don't see a strong school uniform connection. Striped ties are more of a schoolboy thing but Ivy types wear them.’
Quite true; I suppose the school association with V-necks is just an underlying reason for my attitude to them. They’re just not for me.
A crew neck is a more clean look to my eye. Worn with a collared shirt underneath and jeans or chinos, it is a mod/Ivy look staple. It’s what I wore in my teens without really being conscious of mod looks, I hadn’t even heard of the Ivy look then!
I imagine that V-necks came about so that the wearer could still display a collar and tie underneath while having the warmth of a sweater. Tie wearing is almost non existent now.
#7 2024-01-25 05:54:49
- FlatSixC
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- Posts: 332
Re: The place of the V-Neck Jumper in the Ivy pantheon
Half Mast - thanks for posting that link. I shall spend a soothing half hour later flicking through those images and reminding myself why I like Ivy clobber.
#8 2024-01-25 06:44:33
- RobbieB
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Re: The place of the V-Neck Jumper in the Ivy pantheon
FlatSixC- That's exactly what I did. Cheers HalfMast
'I am a closet optimist' Leonard Cohen.
#9 2024-01-25 06:51:57
- Half Mast
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- Posts: 191
Re: The place of the V-Neck Jumper in the Ivy pantheon
Here's the University of the South's yearbook from 1968 (link purloined from another old FNB thread), https://archive.org/details/capgown196800univ/page/n5/mode/2up
#10 2024-01-25 10:50:39
- Yuca
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Re: The place of the V-Neck Jumper in the Ivy pantheon
I own one v neck Shetland (Landsend NOS from the made in Scotland days) and one sea island cotton v neck. Both are as good as or better than a crewneck. When done right they have that classic flavour we love. They definitely turn up in old campus photos.
some sort of banal legitimacy
#11 2024-01-25 13:52:35
- colin
- Bright Light
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Re: The place of the V-Neck Jumper in the Ivy pantheon
Love seeing these old yearbooks. Thanks for sharing.
A few things stick out for me: in the mid 60s, trousers really were aggressively short, especially for white Levi's and chinos. The ivy look really was/is quite mundane...it feels very everyday and that's part of its charm. And finally, these are the guys' clothes we're still picking up second hand when we buy vintage suits and sack jackets!
#12 2024-01-25 14:00:22
- AlveySinger
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Re: The place of the V-Neck Jumper in the Ivy pantheon
About 20 years ago I would always have a navy cashmere V neck in my wardrobe. Brooks or N Peal.They were versatile travelling companions.Ideal for cool evenings abroad.
I liked to wear them with dark jeans and a navy gingham shirt. Never under a suit or sports jacket. I associate that with a British aesthetic. See Micheal Hesaltine storming out of a cabinet meeting over Westland
The problems started when the V became increasingly higher. Each year you would see the amount of shirt on show reduce. The final straw was when you would only see shirts collars peak over the V
I really dislike the higher V and moved over to cashmere crewneck cables and then back to shetlands.
Last edited by AlveySinger (2024-01-25 14:02:13)
#13 2024-01-26 13:20:23
- Yuca
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Re: The place of the V-Neck Jumper in the Ivy pantheon
'in the mid 60s, trousers really were aggressively short, especially for white Levi's and chinos.'
Yes. Quite tapered too. It was the tail end of the ivy era and things started to get extreme, I assume to add some interest to a style that would otherwise have been the same as what the generation almost a decade earlier had been wearing. Personally I think the 50s ivy styles were better, but the 60s guys are certainly worth a look too.
some sort of banal legitimacy