AMERICA'S STYLE THAT DRESSED A DUKE

Credit for helping to spread the influence of Ivy League styling internationally goes to the Duke of Windsor in this lavishly illustrated book just out, IVY Style, published to coincide with an Ivy Style exhibition taking place in New York.

As the then Prince of Wales, when visiting the US in the 1920s he saw and liked the less formal clothes being worn at the leading universities. Much to his father’s disapproval, he brought the look back home – and as one of the world’s great style leaders, where he lead others followed. The cult of preppy Ivy League went international.

The book is a celebration of what is probably the greatest style influence to emerge from America, leaving aside the old Wild West.  Any dedicated follower of fashion would be delighted to find a copy of IVY Style in his Christmas stocking. Indeed, any male interested in the esoterics and history of men’s clothing will find it a great read, covering cultural background as well as developments associated with the Ivy League look.

Emerging in the 1920s and 30s, the look was concentrated upon the Ivy League universities. The name covered some eight of the top schools, including Princeton, Harvard and Yale, and initially referred to their sporting fixtures. But it soon embraced the neat, buttoned-up clothes and relaxed, colourful sporty styles that the students at these institutions adopted, and was particularly identified with the menswear house of Brooks Brothers, major suppliers to this market.

Leaving aside the Duke of Windsor, John F Kennedy was one of Ivy League's leading exponents and judged ' the ultimate preppy president'. His death in 1963 marked the beginning of the look's decline in the late '60s.

At top, display from the New York exhibition, showing Thom Browne's modern take on Ivy League. Above, tweed jackets by W. Bill in the 1960s/70s. Left, a madras jacket circa 1970, by Chipp. Bottom, a 1919 orange blazer for Princeton.

Ivy League's heyday came in the mid- 1900s, says the book's compiler, Patricia Mears, and for this period, contributor Bruce Boyer notes that 'nearly every college student had oxford button-down shirts and cotton twill khaki trousers'.

His list of a college student's wardrobe at this time encompasses the Ivy League image:

'Six shirts, three white and three blue, and two or three pairs of khakis would do the job. In cooler weather, a Shetland crewneck sweater in any color was added. A pair of brown penny loafer and white tennis sneakers (possibly a pair of white or tan bucksin oxfords) constituted the acceptable range of footwear...

'For outerwear a cotton gabardine balmacaan raincoat (always tan)... Everyone had tweed sports jacket (Harris or Shetland) and/or a navy single-breasted blazer for semi-dress, and a gray flannel suit for dress. Summer semi-formality was assured with a seersucker or tan poplin suit, some had madras sports jackets; for the more formal occasions a dark gray or navy tropical worsted suit. A half dozen ties (regimentals, foulards or dots), and the necessary complement of underwear, socks, pajamas and handkerchiefs filled out the basics.'

He goes into some details on the cloth and minutia that made up the look; then moves on to the part that jazz played in influencing and popularising it. But that's another story.

The Ivy League influence continues today,as seen in the collections of such style leaders as Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger and Thom Browne. And its embrace on the international fashion scene, from New York to Tokyo, is charted in the book, and though the faint text may at times be hard to read, it is well worth persevering.

Published by Yale University Press, available from them at www.yalebooks.co.uk or through good book shops, at £30.