College/Sports wear made chic

So I’m right now visiting the West Lafayette campus of Purdue. No, I’m not going to back to college but simply visiting my boyfriend’s Alma Mater, so I thought it was a prefect opportunity to revisit those college/university days and do a post on college wear.

Ivy League College wear – History

College wear started off as men’s wear in the 1920′s and the 1930s for Ivy League colleges and was developed by J. Press and Brooks Brothers. The first outfits created were sack suits that were categorized as a blazer with no darts which then progressed to tweed jackets, double-breasted waist coats and penny loafers. The term “penny loafers” actually came about as students used to put pennies into the diamond cutout in their loafers. I found out this interesting fact from the current ongoing exhibition at the Fashion Institute of Technology Museum – “Ivy Style”. I would have very much liked to put up photos of the exhibition but I wasn’t allowed to take photos . For those not who aren’t able to go the exhibit here’s a video that provides a little snap shot of the exhibit.

Creating that Look

The “Ivy league style” look seems rather preppy to some but it really is one of my favourite looks of all time. You can always look casual, dressed-up, proper or hipster depending on how you dress it. However, today I’m not going to talk about how to create that preppy look perfect for that “boyish lesbian” or for the girl who just wants to be dressed in her boyfriend’s clothes.

Rather, I want to concentrate on creating a look with your favorite college hoodie. Since I’m in Purdue at the moment, I thought it would be fitting to create a look with a Purdue hoodie. As it goes without saying, a hoodie is a sporty and casual piece of clothing. Note that the hoodie, in my opinion, is more ‘masculine’ in nature due to its baggy fit. (feel free to disagree! ) I for one, find it hard to make it look more like outer wear than sports wear. In addition, there’s the problem of dressing the outfit in such a way that it doesn’t look like a jocks outfit but something that finds the divide between masculinity and femininity.

Guys, try out this combo: Wear the sweatshirt with a pair of fairly tight, sleek pair of jeans and a pair of high cut sneakers (you can get them anywhere but I picked them from Steve Madden because they are on sale for $69.98) to give it more a feminine kick if you like and it also gives it a more ‘formal’ feel. I would loved to have paired it with some Isabel Marant sneakers or “Isabel Marant” inspired sneakersbut they have heels at the back of the shoe (it’s hidden so you can’t see it) and will be a no no for anyone that’s not into heels. But if you are, they are certainly a great alternative.

Source: G star Jeans