Pre-distressed ivy clothes sounds like an oxymoron. At best you may envision kids in the heyday distressing their own OCBDs by taking sandpaper to their collars in an attempt to achieve the well-worn look (Princeton Boys). You may say something like, my OCBDs will be worn out before I know it why on earth would I do that!?!? That’s exactly what I used to say at least until I had a revelation.
I can count at least 3 well known items in the trad/ivy cannon that fall into the pre-distressed category. These pieces have now been with us so long that they don’t even register as being pre-distressed. I am talking about dirty bucks, brushed shetland sweaters, and 3/2 roll jackets.
I am going to oversimplify for effect, but you’ll get the point. Dirty bucks are meant to look like old dirty white bucks. Brushed shetlands are meant to look(& feel) like shetlands that have been worn for years. 3/2 roll jackets are meant to look like 3-button jackets that have developed a roll over the years of hard use or made to imitate the trend of college kids ironing their old 3-buttons to looks like 2-buttons. Either way it is pre-distressed (see link below).
There’s a little more to the story, but that’s the gist of it. I think there are a few takeaways here. One, we trads and ivyist wear pre-distressed clothes. Two, some fads become trends and some trends become classics. Three, broken in clothing is more desirable and comfortable than new clothes. It’s not just about looking worn. It is also about feeling broken in.
Recommended Reading
I did a deep dive on the origins of 3/2 roll jackets way back when on my blog. There is a lot of great information in that post. Especially in the comment section. Here is a link: The Plausible History of the 3/2 Roll
Nice post Jarred. I must say I’m not a fan of the brushed Shetlands. I bought one from Bosie and immediately regretted it. The soft fuzzy handle adds a nice touch, but it just dresses down the knitwear to the point where it’s only leisurely, greatly reducing it’s versatility.. Not my favorite Trad/Ivy trend.
I’m not really sure about bucks. Jarred what is the limit for a pair of suede Derbies to be considered bucks? Red rubber soles count, but how dark can the uppers leather be before they’re a different type of shoes?
Also do you prefer bucks or sneakers with chinos and tweed jackets?
Thanks
Tie clip, thanks for kicking off the conversation. I disagree that brushed shetlands are for leisure only. I have worn brushed shetlands to the office regularly and never felt out of place. That’s a good question exactly makes them bucks. I would say that bucks are suede as it’s short for buckskin. Red rubber soles are what we see 99% of the time, but I have seen vintage pairs advertised as bucks with black rubber soles. So I think we have the shape, they are suede, and they have rubber soles.
As for my shoe preference, I would choose penny loafers, but if I had to pick between bucks and sneakers it would be dirty bucks. I liked dirty bucks a lot at one point in college and wore them often. They look great with jeans!
Hi Jerrod, no worries. After some consideration I can see how a navy, charcoal or mid grey brushed Shetland as pictured above could be worn to the office and look the part. A tie certainly helps! My brushed Shetland was moss green so it’s not really something that would work in many office settings except maybe the country.
Interesting to hear that they make bucks with black soles. I think I’d be open to wearing something like that if the contrast wasn’t too high against the uppers.
Penny were the 3rd option waiting to be mentioned… Goes without saying that they’re probably the best option for any Ivy/Trad kit.
I’m actually a bit surprised you put the bucks over the sneakers Jerrod, considering how common sneakers are in a post covid world I’d have thought you would be more keen on them…
I’m not so sure about the dirty bucks with jeans, maybe I need to move to America to figure that one out!
Thank you for the article (and all the work you do on the blog.) What is the style and make of the brown tweed jacket you are wearing in the photo? It looks quite different — less bulky — than the J. press summer tweed featured in another piece.
Thanks, Richard. It is a vintage tweed Madisonaire model by Varsity Town. It’s the same style as the Press summer tweed (3/2 roll sack jacket), but the Press jacket is constructed as part jacket part and sport coat while the other is a true sport coat.