Just reading that institutions like Harvard were mentioned as possible targets for Muslim terrorists after 9/11. The question is, I guess, is 'Ivy League' simply a style for us? Or is there a complex value system behind it? You don't have to be a WASP to appreciate what the Ivy League universities stand for.
Or do you?
for us it's simply a style , a look that offers a slight insight into the lives of those who attended the universities at a certain point in time ...maybe .
i had the chance to go to MIT when i was younger but never never went , it's not ivy league but it'll do lolol
And what are we associating ourselves with when we adopt this style?
When I wear it how much of it is the world of Harvard and how much is the best parts of the wardrobe of The World According To Garp?
http://barfblog.foodsafety.ksu.edu/vantbthe_world_according_to_garp.jpg
Ivy Style (or trad, prep, et al) is nothing more than a relationship between material possessions and lifestyle. But it certainly does not define the latter for me, as I am neither white, protestant, or an ivy-leaguer. Hell, I'm not even conservative on a political standpoint.
And my original Ivy heros were all Black of course, copied from those old record sleeves. Maybe Bill Evans would have been my first White Ivyist. The next would have been Paul Newman. So not much of Harvard for me at all...
Good style models, bad role models?
I hear ya,
So, we have the hipster turning the style upside down: the ultimate irony? Junkies jiving in J.Press? I still find Lenny Bruce funny, sure, and I love the idea of Marty Feldman riffing on jazz themes (hey, I'm not saying Marty was a hophead; all right?) Even more appealing, however, is Woody Allen as anti-counter-cultural icon, and McQueen - right wing to his fingertips once you get around the hip persona - hazy on blow each morning. Another fucking hippy! A Republican hippy, then? Why not?
Re black-diggin', check out Lenny's liberal meets educated negro at party sketch...
I'm not claiming Weller was insincere - I'm sure he wasn't - and I don't rate Motown because it ain't black enough. But my spade mate had never heard of Arthur Alexander until I turned him onto 'You Better Move On'. And this guy hangs out with mods!
I find I'm more steeped in black conciousness than my black mates.
I played them the funk and had to explain who Huey Newton, Farrakhan and Marcus Garvey were...
And I'm a white, catholic boy.
I think some folk believe to be born black is to be born hip and in the know.
One Trick Pony it depends who you are asking.
For me it is just a style that I chanced upon.
You had to seek it out and re-invent it for yourself. I think you quite enjoy the intellectualising as well.
For the Russell Street(s) it is much of the same but with a strong crusading element to publicize Ivy as widely as possible.
Hello chaps.
I'm the new boy here and this seems as good a post as any to introduce myself and say hello.
For me Ivy was a style I had been considering for a long while. As a mod in the 1980's I was investigating the roots of the mod style and also considering how I wanted to look as I got older. Ivy fitted the bill perfectly: style that didn't really age, that was consistent and didn't change with fashion and that a man could sport whilst growing old gracefully. Ticked all the boxes.
In addition I like the subtle nuances that quite frankly most people just don't get, but those in the know do.
I'm sure all this has been said in some way, shape or form on here before but I wanted to put my two penneth in.
Cheers!
Hello Warwick dear heart. Another Mod looking for a way to grow old gracefully. There's a lot of us about!