American Trad Style Blog | Ivy League Style Blog

The Late 70s Prep Checklist

by oxford cloth button down on November 8, 2015 in Clothing and History, Style with 17 Comments

Whenever fall rolls around it never fails that I fall into a late 70s/early 80s state of mind. Maybe it’s the cooler moodier weather or the colors changing from bright blues and greens to burnt oranges, browns, and yellows. Whatever the case may be I’ll find myself listening to Neil Young’s Harvest, Tonight’s the Night, and Dylan & the Bands The Basement Tapes. I get a longing to wear 5-pocket cords, old school sneakers, wallabees, sweatshirts, flannel shirts, and shetlands. Then without fail I revisit this old post on late 70s prep.

FNB commentator (The Talk Ivy Forum), and my internet pal Stanshall (this man has a mind like a steel trap!) just recently put together an extensive list (,dare I say definitive?) of late 70s Prep items. I think that this list along with a few images from the Heavy Tweed Jacket archive does a great job of illustrating how Prep bridges together Ivy League Style and Trad. Feast on the wealth of knowledge dropped by Stanshall below.

The Definitive Late 70s Prep Checklist

L. L. Bean, Orvis, Eddie Bauer, Lands’ End, Gokeys, & Talbot’s

Down vests
Norwegian sweaters
L. L. Bean chamois shirts
Gray marled ragg sweaters
Sperry Top-Siders
Blucher mocs
Camp mocs
Levi’s straight cords
Khaki chinos, washed-out
Wide-wale cords, washed heavily, on the short side
Brooks Brothers ocbdsBrooks Brothers fun shirts in multicolored stripes

Bean mountain anoraks60/40 parkas in various colors
Tretorn Nylites

Jack Purcells
Sperry canvas deck sneakers
Adidas Country, Stan Smith, Rod Laver
Boast or Lacoste longtail polo shirts, occasionally Fred Perry which was carried at the Co-Op
Nike white canvas tennis sneakers with toe bumper
Timberland boots

Shetland crewneck sweaters including Shaggy Dogs and extra points for patchwork Shaggy Dog in various shades of blue
Bean brown canvas duffel bags
Ray-Ban aviators
Vuarnet skiing sunglasses (Lynx models)
Sweatshirts: crew; hoodie pullover; zip hoodies
Early fleece jackets, pre-Patagonia, e.g. Chuck Roast from New Hampshire
Brooks lambswool or cashmere v-neck sweaters
Custom printed t-shirts commemorating regatta, tournament, ski weekend, drinking championship, etc.
Bean ranger oxford
T-shirts and sweats from other schools you’ve played or visited or have a girlfriend at
Brooksflannel viyella shirts in tattersalls
Bean Woodsman’s pants of heavy gray wool with faint large red overcheck
Bean boots and Maine Hunting Shoes, lace-ups, pull-on loungers, and buckled models too
NY Yankees caps
Foot-Joy squash shoes in white mesh with gray suede and tan rubber soles, low-cut or extra-preppy high-top
Squash racquets
Volvos and Saabs
Clarks Wallabees
Rugby shirts from the soccer locker or serious sporting goods shop not the mall

Icelandic sweater from Antartex Shop

Bean corduroy weekend jacket (G9-style)
Bean sheepskin driver’s seat cover for the car
Bean “Peruvian”-type knit ski hat
Bean field watch, regular strap it came with
One blue blazer left over from high school, never to be worn, lives at bottom of pile of clothes in dorm closet and cannot be unrumpled
One tweed sport coat, either hand-me-down, thrift or from a proper shop
Couple of rumpled repp ties
Ragg socks only on coldest days
Good-quality old-school hiking boots
Straw hat from islands worn with tan first week after spring break
Walk shorts in September, April and May

As you can see not every preppy piece on the list made it into the trad canon. This is similar to how prep kept some of the ivy league staples such 3/2 roll jackets, penny loafers, and chinos, but left out items like buckle back pants and added their own touches like Rod Lavers. There are definitely items on the list that I find cooler than others, but that is pretty standard. I am particular. Then there are items like wallabees and my trusty green down vest that I owe to the late 70s Preps. I am sure that many of you can find a few items of your own named on the list.

More Examples of late 70s prep influences outfits

Ranger Moc Talk

by oxford cloth button down on August 30, 2024 in Footwear with 2 Comments

Yes last week I was telling you to get out there and enjoy the last days of summer. Now here I am this week talking about fall. This is a good thing. It shows that I have confidence that we can walk and chew gum at the same time. Speaking of walking when I think of fall I think of ranger mocs.

When I say ranger mocs what I mean are the chukka version of blucher mocs. While blucher mocs are camp mocs cooler weather cousins, ranger mocs are blucher mocs big brother. They are a little bigger, taller, and tougher than blucher mocs. When you need to walk through some wet leaves without getting them in your shoes these guys come in handy. Plus they keep your ankles a touch warmer as the temps dip and they just work well with fall fabrics like corduroy and flannel. Perfect for running around town or casual Friday at the office or honestly probably any day at the office these days.

Ranger mocs used to be easy to find. All you had to do was go to LL Bean, but then they stopped making them. They did resurface last year, but they already look to be on their way out again (see here). Like many of our trad staples ranger mocs are getting harder and harder to find, but I did manage to turn up a few pair.

Hands down the best looking pair that I saw is the Easymoc Camp Chukka. I spotted these last year and have been thinking about them ever since. The shape is great and they have the correct sole. The sole has been the hardest part to find lately. A lugged sole may be more practical, but for better or worse we often find ourselves in the form over function camp here at the OCBD Blog. Priced at $295 these are a pretty big step up in price from the Bean mocs. They are also made in the USA so the price isn’t surprising.

The Eastland Seneca Camp Chukka is another good contender. I am not in love with the shape of the uppers, but it’s still a nice classic design for a great price. You don’t hear a lot about Eastland these days. I tried a pair of their camp mocs out 5 plus years ago and while they ultimately didn’t work out, I would try them again.

That’s a good start for now. I will be talking more fall over the few weeks. Now get out there and enjoy the weather, but don’t forget to plan ahead so that you don’t get left behind.

The Kids Are Alright

by oxford cloth button down on August 15, 2024 in Clothing and History, Style with 4 Comments

This week I wanted to highlight one of my favorite Instagram pages, The Scene In Between. This page checks a lot of boxes for me. It has cool music, cool clothes, and it’s heavy on vibes. It focuses on early and obscure band pics with an emphasis on unknown1960’s garage bands. I almost said that it’s not clothing related, but it’s almost impossible to separate music from fashion and this my kind of music fashion.

Below are a sampling of pics to give you a taste of what Sam Knee is cooking over there. If these glimpses into rock’s past don’t wet your whistle I don’t know what will. I love seeing the ivy look bleed into psychedelic scene, the clean cut all-American boys of the 1950’s morphing into punk rockers right before our very eyes, or even more simply just kids having fun with their friends making music.

Even those post is about clothes it’s not all about clothes. Sometimes it’s nice not to think about clothes. Sometimes, I feel like I gotta get away. And I know if I don’t, I’ll go out of my mind. Better leave it behind with the kids, they’re alright. The kids are alright.

Surf Board Trad

by oxford cloth button down on August 9, 2024 in Uncategorized with 3 Comments

Packing light is not my forte. While I like to think of myself as a minimalist of sorts I also like to be prepared for anything which requires options. My wife on the other hand is a living legend when it comes to packing. We were headed to Myrtle Beach with the fam for a few days and this trip I really tried to cut back.

In order for this to work for me I needed almost all of my clothes to be interchangeable. Now this is where trad typically excels. I mean khakis, OCBDs, shetlands, polos, etc. are ideal for this, but things like swimsuits and madras can add a degree of difficulty due to their colors and patterns. Polo shirts will almost always work with swim trunks and even though this is a look I do a lot I wanted something different for this trip. I wanted some classic 1960’s Americana beach party surf fun or as I titled this post, surf board trad.

My inspiration was this picture of Peter Kaplan. I’ve always loved this picture and while he is not on the beach (he does have a skateboard) it captures the west coast ivy vibes that I was after perfectly. It was decided. This was my look. Time to pack.

I threw on a surf playlist from Spotify and began. Now 99% of all my t-shirts are simple grey pocket-t’s, but I do have two striped t-shirts from Ralph Lauren because I have tried this look before. Because of this I already knew that the striped t-shirts worked well with my yellow Patagonia baggies which I occasionally use as swim trunks. The t-shirts will also work with khaki shorts and pants. The striped shirts and baggies also work with an OCBD in case it gets cool at the beach. I threw in a purple pair of baggies as well to mix it up. The shoes were New Balance 996’s for walking, Sperry Boat shoes for the beach, and flip flops for the pool. I brought two ball caps.

So how did I do? If you want to know the truth I overpacked. Not mentioned above was a J.Press Madras, a J.Press Broadcloth shirt, and a white sweatshirt. None of these items were worn. To be fair I did have some work stuff which I had to anticipate, but if I am being honest with myself I could have cut back. I give myself a C+.

Execution wise I think that I did pretty well. The t-shirts played their role to a tee. The yellow baggies were a great choice. I felt like I was in my Endless Summer bag. My purple baggies were a bit of a miss. They didn’t look quite as good as I thought they would in my head with the green and blue shirt and I didn’t have the chance to to try them with the blue and white shirt. I also brought my default swimsuit which I love and deserves a post of their own. I wore these trunks to the beach with my favorite navy polo that I also wore on the airplane. I give myself a B.

The trip was a success. The fam had fun. I had fun. This was a good packing exercise and I think that I learned a thing or two. Enjoy the bonus pics below!

This Shirt Won’t Die & I Love it

by oxford cloth button down on July 26, 2024 in Style with 18 Comments

Every once and a while you stumble upon a piece of clothing that defies all logic and lasts forever. Not only does it refuse to die, but you end up loving it. You also end up wishing that you had bought more, but you could have never known that. No one could have. I have a handful of items that fit the bill. This post is about one of them.

This polo shirt is not supposed to still be here. It was supposed to have been donated or cut into rags at this point, but it has no plans on giving up the ghost anytime soon. It’s not even especially well made. I mean, I grabbed it from Target (Merona brand) on a whim 10 plus years ago. It’s at least 8 years old because I have included a pic of me wearing it in 2016 (first pic below). It was a nice color of navy. Not too dark (I see this all too often) and not too bright. Not only did it have a Goldilocks color it had a Goldilocks fit too. Just the perfect amount to baggy. I don’t recall the price, but I know it was cheap.

I love this polo. I wear it all of the time. I wear it out to lunch, to the pool/beach, for golf, and even on the occasional bike ride which is what I was doing in the yellow baggies pic below. In short, I abuse it. It doesn’t care. It is starting to show a little wear, but it still has some life left in it. There is no moral to this story. It’s just about getting lucky, how some clothing items beat the odds, and appreciating that when it happens. You ever had this happen? I’d love to hear about it.

Summertime & The Living is Ease

by oxford cloth button down on July 19, 2024 in Style with 2 Comments

I recently snagged this Brooksease blazer off of eBay for $50. Even though quality wise Brooksease is probably about the equivalent of Brooksgate without all of the heyday fanfare, I think it was a pretty good deal. This post isn’t really about the blazer though.

Even though this post isn’t specifically about the blazer I will tell you about it. Brooksease was an entry level line. The internet chatter starts about them around 2004 and I know they were still around a little after 2010, but I don’t have a firm grasp on their production dates. While they are mentioned to have less inferior fabrics than the 1818 line with the inclusion of synthetics and stretch. I am not sure if this holds true for them all. Many of them do have a canvassed lapel and to their credit were made in the USA by Southwick.

My Brooksease blazer is classically trad. It has the prized 3/2 roll closure, it’s a dart-less sack cut, and while it doesn’t have a hook vent it does have a center vent. It also has swelled edges which I think are an underrated feature and it has my preferred pocket setup which is a welted breast pocket with lower patch and flap which are accented by nicely opened quarters. The fabric is 100% Lora Piana wool which by touch I am guessing is the 100% Lora Piana pure stretch wool and it was indeed made in the USA by Southwick.

The only problem with my blazer is that it’s about 1 inch too long. While that is certainly better than 1 inch too short especially in today’s post-menswear climate there is a time when this would have driven me crazy. I would have obsessed over it and it most likely would have prevented me from wearing it. Now I’m not saying that my menswear OCD complex has cleared up completely, but currently the length isn’t bothering me one bit. In fact, I think it looks pretty good. It’s summertime and living is easy.