Sears

I think the difference in New England and Southern styles are as simple as the climates.  It's hot down here.  Seersucker and madras are more comfortable for longer periods, thus, more common.  Tweed is more useful and common in the colder North.  Hot and cold weather clothing have become associated with the respective regions, but each have some of both.

There may also be some difference attributable to the slightly greater prevalence of resort wear in the South. The coastal South, at least.  (e.g. embroidered clothing, brighter colors, etc.)  But Martha's Vineyard, et al may shoot that theory to hell.

The pleat and dart theory is an outgrowth of the narrowness "Trad" phenomenon, in my mind.  (and the Squire influence, in particular) If you surveyed a larger population, I doubt you'd find much difference.

Flounder

Good thread, and it demonstrates in a way, how eclectic that Ivy has become in the US. It is possible for those that are interested in the style to pick and choose from Mr Shuman's list to come up with a style that works for them, regardless of where they live.

To show how the styles have blended over the years, the term "white shoe law firm" comes from the concept that white bucks first appeared on the Ivy campuses post WWII. However, they spread throughout the campus scene nationwide so rapidly, that they were a secular style, rather than Ivy League specific.

Even though white bucks started as an East coast item, they do seem to be more Southern, today, as Shuman indicates on his list. In a thread on that subject, it seems that there are still a few of us in the East that like them, and Capt Preppy indicated that they were a West coast item for him.

Tom2222 indicated that seersucker suits were a summer standby for him in an East coast law practice, today.

In this small East coast college town, there was a guy that was one of the pillars of the community who died recently. He wore a lot of GTH trousers. He was always referred to as "Ed, the guy with the funny pants". Probably wouldn't have been noticed in the South.

And so it seems to be one large cafeteria, with something for everyone, depending on one's taste.

NYTimes article on the bowtie comeback (& southern influence) - Mar '08



http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/13/fashion/13CODES.html?_r=1&oref=slogin


Randy Hanauer, the owner of bowties.com, based in Fort Mill, S.C., said his business has spiked in the last two years. “All the growth is coming from young people,” he said. “I’d say guys from senior year in high school to about 25. It goes along with all the seersucker and madras they’ve gotten into. This generation likes to dress up and look nice, unlike the generation prior to them.” (Hello, 40-somethings?)

...

Indeed, if you take your fashion cues from obscure Belgian designers, you may be chagrined to learn that the bow tie’s comeback originated on Southern college campuses. But then, a city man will want to wear his bow tie with clothes that have a sharper edge than seersucker. It looks sharp with jeans, a white shirt and a solid sport coat, say; or wear a formal black bow tie as an accent, instead of a more colorful and wholesome one. The idea is to avoid a costume-ish look — Southern gentry, Ivy League professor, classical architect, 1960s geek — while hinting at some romantically out-of-it, bespectacled antihero.

a bump for the great ads in post #20

Interesting reading and good points made there. Particularly parallels made with attitudes connected to a traditional British look connected to 'the land'. Which I guess would be flat cap, red trousered types over here.

Some of it I just couldn't do. Patch madras. Any form of GTH.

Seersucker jackets I admire, but I can only imagine they come from a time and place where going without wasn't an option. The full suit would be too much over here wouldn't it? I'd like to think it's still done in some Southern States? I'm interested in clothing material's technical ability as well as just looks, so a seersucker shirt I'd wear during our short madras season. No problem.

White bucks seem to scare a lot of people. I don't own any but would do. Dirty bucks aren't so far removed from lighter desert boots, and are an awful lot sleeker and more subtle than some of the massive white blob monstrosities most men put on their feet. Maybe like white jeans it's a wearing with confidence issue. The first couple of days is the hurdle. After that you're all good.

Brighter colours and pastels I'm all for anyway. Sometimes Ivy tastes can come across as a little dour to me.

So. Could I see myself this summer wearing a seersucker jacket over a polo? With selvedge jeans and white bucks? Yep.

I wore white bucks - though not for long.  I was into an absolutely full-on American kick in 2008-9.  I even dirtied the laces.  I soon went back to Dexter dirty bucks with the red brick sole - wore them until they wore out.  Wouldn't mind another pair.
Seersucker - at much the same time.  A jacket got me a compliment from a lady under unusual circumstances - we were both trying stuff on in the same changing room at 'Celia's' in Nottingham (vintage, now defunct).  Very nice she looked, too, in her bra and knickers. 
I never managed to find a suit, but I believe at least one practising UK Ivyhead wears one - Peter Knock?
Shirt and shorts, too.
TRS once had an excellent seersucker jacket - pink or red, can't quite remember which - worn with dark green polo shirt, dark denim and desert boots.

AUS, do you remember a place on the top floor of a building opposite the Council House?  They used to put a sandwich board outside - you'd never have known it was there otherwise - and you then had to trudge up endless flights of stairs.  I used to buy Pringle jumpers.  'Backlash' - stairs again, with that big mirror at the top.  Pretty good for tweed jackets and raincoats.  Both gone now.  There were quite a few on Mansfield Road and one at the top as you turned toward The Forest.  You had to dig deep, though.  I miss 'Daphne's' most of all.  I never bought clothes there but began my collection of glass etc. by talking to Jud, the owner.  Some said he was surly but he was a rather deadpan gay who would make you coffee and biscuits if he liked you.

For some of us at least, Ivy League is rooted in the imagination.  Ivy As A Mood, as TRS put it.  For me, almost without knowing it, there was a continuum.  But, it has to be remembered, for me as a kid growing up in a dismal back street, my Dad actually visiting NYC in 1978, well, he might just as well have booked a trip on the space shuttle.  He was certainly the first person I knew who flew the Atlantic.  The stuff he brought back, even the chocolate bars, was a source of amazement.  Now I see those chocolate bars on English market stalls.  Even eating a hamburger was like an act of homage: buying into something better, more enticing, more exotic.  But, for most of us, it was simply a USA of make-believe: Marilyn in 'The Seven Year Itch', James Dean walking in the rain.  Even our cigarettes were American.

I spend quite a lot of time in Florida and have noticed a Southern take on preppy/trad.

Most notably it’s the brands and patterns on ladies clothing.

Southern Tides is popular as is Vineyard Vines. They’re a lot like a Southern take on Murray’s Toggery.

Whilst it’s less to do with lobster motifs and more to do with palm trees.

Smathers and Branson needlepoint belts with college references look popular too.

Lily Pulitzer is often seen on women and girls. They did a nice seersucker mini skirt my daughter bought a few years ago.

Rather than penny loafers you see a lot of guys in driving shoes. Most of the big brands offer them including Ralph, Cole Haan, Florsheim, etc

You still see professional types in trad suits but they are a very small minority.

As Florida has a wealth of factory outlet villages getting clothing can be relatively cheap if you’re willing to hunt around. I’ve used two Brooks outlets in Orlando and come back with a few goodies.