Welcome to The Ivy League Look

This blog presents a historical view through articles, photographs, reminiscences, and advertisements, of an American style of men's fashion of the mid-20th century known as "The Ivy League Look" or "The Ivy Look."

This blog will not present modern-day iterations of this "look"; it will be shown in its original context as an American style worn during this specific era. Author commentary will be kept to a minimum.

This is not a commercial site and links to commercial sites will not be posted.

July 11, 2009

How Phyllis Was Won


The authorities of MIT discouraged privacy for mixed-sex couples. MIT didn't know where to put its female students; some were housed across the river, at 120 Bay State Road, and then the university opened up a section of Blexley Hall. Phyllis's room in either dormitory was out of bounds, but there were chintz-covered sofas at 120 Bay Street Road, and corners of the big reception room where the lights - stately floor lamps with pleated shades and three-way bulbs - could be dimmed to coziness. Students would lounge and lie in the semi-dark with their brush-cuts and perms; the boys then wore white bucks and narrow rep ties, the Ivy look not yet yielded to the blue-jeaned geek look, and the girls wore single-strand pearls and pastel sweaters whose wool seemed to melt in the hand.

Source:

Villages, John Updike, 2004

1 comment:

Richard M said...

Like the "blue-jeaned geek look".