Labels: The University Shops & Co-ops

During the heyday of ivy league style you would be able to find a menswear store or “university” shop in every college town. The university shop provided all the staples that young college men of the time would need such as blazers, grey flannel trousers, shetland sweaters, and loafers. Often these staples could be found in the college bookstore such as the famous Harvard Co-op. Some of these stores offered their own signature line alongside of clothes made specifically for their shop by major brands of the day and even Brooks Brothers had a quote unquote, university shop.

The majority of these establishments no longer exist while others are shells of their former selves. This post is a tribute to the once great university store and the college co-ops. Other than the fading and fond memories of the people who shopped and managed these stores the labels may be all that we have to remember them by.

Brooks Brothers University Shop

Brooks Brothers University Shop Clothing Label

Harvard Cooperative Society

Harvard Cooperative Society Tag

Haspel The Coop Label

Harvard Cooperative Society Tie Label

The Yale Co-op

Sheffield Shop Yale Co-operative

Yale Co-op tie Label

The Princeton University Store

Princeton University Store Clothing Label

Georgetown University Shop

Georgetown University Shop Clothing Label

Norman Hilton Georgetown University Shop Label

Oakloom Clothes Georgetown University Shop Label

Troy Guild Georgetown University Shop Label

Williams College Co-op

Deansgate William Co-op clothing label

oxford cloth button down
Jerrod Swanton is a simple man interested in simple, classic, and traditional style.

9 Comments on "Labels: The University Shops & Co-ops"

  1. fGs says:

    Those labels are neat! Thanks for sharing.

  2. Acton Baby says:

    Again, nice post !
    I love the idea that these are now archived in cyberspace.

  3. Drew Poling says:

    Great post. Brought back some wonderful memories of working at the GU Shop while I was a student at Georgetown in the mid-80s. Rumor has it a new great university shop will be returning to Georgetown early next year…

  4. oxford cloth button down says:

    Thanks for all of the comments!

    @Drew Poling – I have heard that rumor as well 😉 . One can only hope that stores such as these will re-emerge.

  5. Lucas says:

    I have just purchased an overcoat from a thrift store that seems like it has never been worn. It has a tag from the amalgamated clothing workers of America and a Princeton patch very similar to the one in this post. I would very much like to track down the heritage of this coat if possible.

  6. stanshall says:

    excellent stuff from some ultra-classic places, OCBD!

  7. James says:

    Washington & Lee has one of these old school collegiate shops, called Alvin-Dennis.

    https://alvindennis.com/

    Look at this post on Facebook https://alvindennis.com/collections/w-l?page=1

  8. TJ says:

    Eljo’s is still around in Charlottesville, Virginia for UVa as well.

    https://shop.eljos.com/

    https://www.ivy-style.com/southern-exposure-a-visit-to-eljos.html

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