Back to Campus

Within the past year, the nation's college campuses, hitherto among the bastions of sartorial conservatism, have been taken over by an explosive assortment of revolutionary attire and accessories. Nehrus, tunics, shaped suits, wide ties, medallions and non-traditional garb are being worn from Berkeley to Boston. This is not to say that the natural-shoulder button-down look has dropped out of school; the Ivy image is still strong, but there are upbeat new fashion courses a student can take and still be a candidate for the best-dressed list.

Widespread as this trend is, collegians in various sections of the country staunchly maintain their distinctive fashion identities, culling the best of contemporary creations and combining them with classic campus stand-bys. In order to delineate the differences--and similarities--in regional tastes, we made our annual pilgrimage to colleges in the Northeast, the South, the Midwest, the Southwest and the West Coast, this time to interview students on their apparel preferences, as well as to photograph them. Using these interviews--plus our own research files--we've compiled a colorful composite of undergrad and postgrad finery for the coming academic year.

The Northeast: Ivy Leaguers have loosened their rep-striped ties and are smartly styling up their wardrobes with wearables that are eminently with it. Tony Biddle, a junior at Cornell, comments, "A small minority of students here started wearing European-influenced clothes about two years ago and now the look has really caught on. Some guys go way out, but most prefer to wear clothing that makes good fashion sense rather than to buy something that's just a fad."

Suits: For the winter months ahead, you'll want at least one heavier-weight three-piece style, preferably in a dark shade, to be worn with spread-collar shirts in such colors as royal blue, brown or orange. Two-button suits in window-pane plaids, a look we especially like, are a fashionable alternative to the traditional three-button models. As your clothing collection and budget dictate, also check out the eight-button double-breasted styles that feature wider lapels and more suppression at the waist.

Sports jackets: Smart matriculants are blazing new fashion trails in both single-and double-breasted blazers with cotton or flat-knit wool turtlenecks in place of buttondown shirts. Easteners who go for more avant-looking garb are decking themselves out in Nehru jackets and love beads or medallions, usually worn to rock concerts or T. G. I. F. parties off campus.

Slacks: For classroom wear, classic corduroy and dependable denim walk away with top honors. While a few students are sticking to conservative shades, most are brightening their fashion image with slacks in more vivid hues--including forest green and royal blue. For less informal occasions, plaid lightweight worsted styles that coordinate--rather than contrast--with a patterned sports jacket are preferred. While you make your selections, keep in mind that the skintight ultralow-slung look is fading in favor of slightly looser types designed to touch the shoe rather than stop an inch or two above it.

Shirts: The increasing acceptance of the shaped suit over natural-shoulder offerings has inspired Eastern under-grads to update their oxford button-down shirt wardrobes with rich-colored tab and medium-spread collar styles featuring both barrel and French cuffs. Choose those with tapered tailoring, thus avoiding the sloppy, spare-tire look that wide-cut shirts often have.

Sweaters: Turtles and mock turtles in big-stitch weaves score the most fashion points with Ivy Leaguers. For roistering in style at the local Hofbräu, combine a cotton turtleneck with a tweed sports jacket or a solid-color blazer, worsted slacks and penny loafers or boots. Other top-drawer pullovers include lamb's-wool V-necks and button-shoulder crews.

Outerwear: Old man winter comes East with a vengeance, so be prepared for cold snaps in coats that are hefty as well as handsome. For dark Monday-morning trudges to eight-A.M. classes, you might try an acrylic pile zip-front jacket with stand-up collar and leather-piped pockets or a natural-color sheepskin coat with curly wool lining. For an evening on the town, consider a double-breasted belted outercoat with a removable shoulder cape that can be worn as the elements and the occasion dictate. Dick Tracy-style trench coats are a classic cover-up often worn throughout mid-fall.

Shoes: Round out your basic footwear wardrobe with a pair of monk-strap boots or Gucci-style loafers that have a metal bit across the instep.

The South: The men of Dixie are noted for their traditional taste in clothes, but today's fresh fashion winds have warmed the campus landscape with a multitude of multihued new threads that are being accepted with surprising alacrity.

Suits: Southerners are playing it close to the vest with three-piece models in deeper shades. Single-breasted three-button jackets are still the accepted fashion norm, but two-button shaped styles with deep center vents and angled hacking pockets are rapidly gaining ground. Double-breasteds, too, are increasing in popularity; wear them with a dark-toned, medium-spread-collar shirt and a wide club-patterned tie.

Sports jackets: Boss tweeds in single-breasted three-button styles are king on most Cottonland campuses; look for bold Shetland plaids, plus solid-color herringbones and hopsacks. A double-breasted navy-blue blazer or single-breasted honey-colored model also makes a wise investment and invariably brings a maximum return in compliments as well as wear-ability.

Slacks: The majority of Southern gentlemen attend class casually attired in denim, poplin or wide-wale corduroy; later, for beer blasts or study dates, they switch to a dressier worsted or stay-press twill. Big bold plaids, as well as miniature checks, are often worn with a pullover or a blazer. While you're shopping, check out both bold striped and comfortable cotton suede styles that feature a slightly flared bell-bottom.

Shirts: While the ubiquitous button-down still heads the collegiate fashion list, pointed-collar shirts are now being worn for more formal occasions. Tom Harvey, a junior at the University of North Carolina, notes: "The guys here have taken strongly to rich, solid-color shirts with French cuffs. Chocolate, apricot, pink, purple and French-blue models are combined with light-colored wide ties in bright golds and reds. The softer hues of the ties help emphasize the shirt tones and look especially great with a shaped suit."

Sweaters: For early fall, have on hand a random sampling of V-necks, crews and cardigans in Shetland, alpaca and synthetic blends. Later, when the temperature drops, pick up a few bulky-knit wool turtlenecks trimmed with a contrasting color band around the neck.

Outerwear: For on-campus casualness, consider either a poplin wind-breaker with zip-in lining, a glen-plaid wool hip-length coat or a rugged sheepskin-and-corduroy style. When the occasion calls for a suit or sports jacket and tie, top it off with a single-breasted camel's-hair outercoat or a herringbone model with slight suppression at the waist.

Shoes: Both penny and tassle-style loafers are worn to class. You'll also want to have on hand several pairs of lace-up wing tips and wing-tip tassles for dressier doings. Depending on your wardrobe needs, also consider a pair of monk-strap boots that buckle across the instep.

The Midwest: If you're a newcomer to this area, be forewarned that balmy autumn days are followed by a long, tough winter. We'd advise you, therefore, to do your shopping early and stock up on winter-weight wearables that are as colorful as they are functional.

Suits: Double-breasted pin stripes are running a close second to single-breasted styles worn with a vest that either co-ordinates or conservatively contrasts with the shade of the suit. If you already have a closetful of solid-color styles, supplement your selection with a subtly patterned glen plaid or houndstooth check picked from the many medium-weight fabrics now on the market.

Sports jackets: Blazers in navy, honey and bottle green have the campus scene well buttoned up. However, you'll want to build on this solid foundation and obtain a Shetland bold-plaid jacket and a plaid-with-overplaid three-button model. Six-button double-breasted sports jackets are also being donned by Midwesterners, so give strong consideration to this classic revival. From Nebraska to Northwestern, Nehru and tunic jackets are being worn by a liberated minority of students--usually to off-campus parties on weekends.

Slacks: Corduroy, denim, twill and poplin styles are all top-drawer choices. As inclement weather increases, you'll want to ward off the chill with solid-color wool worsteds and heavyweight tweeds. Plaid and pin-stripe slacks, too, play an important fashion role on all Midwestern campuses. Pick a pattern that can be worn with both sweater and sports-jacket selections.

Shirts: Tattersall checks, pin stripes and rich-tone solid shades earn the highest fashion marks. Buttondown collars are still de rigueur for classroom wear, but many Midwesterners now don medium- or longer-pointed styles when the occasion calls for a suit and a tie.

Sweaters: Ken Gillum, a senior at Miami University of Ohio, comments: "Undergrads here are wearing turtlenecks rather than buttondowns with blazers. Dark-colored mock turtles also are often worn with a subtle-patterned sports jacket. The trend to turtlenecks is very strong at Miami and I see it gaining even more acceptance during the coming academic year." In addition to turtlenecks, Midwestern scholars also favor such stylish stand-bys as V-neck Shetlands, popcorn-stitch cardigans and Orlon crews. Colors span the spectrum, ranging from vibrant yellows and reds to subdued shades of blue and brown.

Outerwear: Mid-America's frozen plains and windy cities call for outer garb that does a yeoman's job in keeping out the cold. One such type is a new leather knee-length double-breasted overcoat with deep side vents. We predict that it will take the Central States by storm, pun intended. Other styles to consider include navy wool snap-front jackets with a stand-up collar and hooded pullovers with front tunnel pockets. Natural-colored raincoats with zip-in linings are often worn to class on drizzly days during the early fall. For evening engagements, single-breasted camel's hair topcoats or double-breasted belted navy-blue gabardine models are preferred.

Shoes: Favored footwear includes polished chukkas, wing-tip brogues, penny loafers and the ever-popular sneakers. After the first snowfall, boots in a variety of shapes and sizes are worn with both patterned slacks and dungarees.

The Southwest: Fashion lawmakers unto themselves, Southwestern students are quick to try clothing innovations--the more offbeat the better. On many campuses, Eastern togs and Western wear are mixed and matched, depending on the individual's whim. John Espedal, a senior at the University of Arizona, makes this point: "Here, many students prefer to wear lean cowboy clothes, such as shirts and slacks that are very tight fitting but still comfortable."

Suits: Vested interest is shown in three-piece, three-button models with slight suppression at the waist. Dark solids are preferred, but wise Southwesterners also acquire at least one glen plaid or houndstooth to be worn with a solid-color or bold-striped wide tie.

Sports jackets: The basic blazer in (concluded on page 257) Back to Campus (continued from page 164) both single- and double-breasted cuts is at home on the range from Arizona State to Texas Tech. Bold-plaid Shetlands, herringbones and tweeds, too, are fashion musts. However, the man about campus may wish to update his image with a half-belted cotton corduroy Norfolk jacket to be worn with plaid wool or flannel-finished cotton slacks and a bulky turtleneck.

Slacks: Southwesterners are apt to wear skintight wheat or faded-blue Levis to class one day and wide-wale corduroy bell-bottoms the next. For on-campus casualness, imitation leather and cotton suede are favored; flannels, worsteds and tweeds are switched to for dates.

Shirts: The buttondown with barrel cuffs is still the winning look, but more and more Southwesterners are defecting to the modified-spread collar, with French cuffs. Knit solid-color sport shirts are often worn with jeans or a sports jacket and plaid slacks.

Sweaters: V-necks, crews and cardigans are worn both to class and on casual dates. We predict that wool turtlenecks with metal shoulder-button closures will be readily adopted by Southwestern students.

Outerwear: The cold facts are that even far-Southwestern campuses have an occasional frosty day or two. Cut the chill with a leatherlike polyester-coated zip-front jacket or a sheepskin-and-corduroy snap-front style. At least one overcoat, such as a single-breasted camel's hair, should see you through the winter properly dressed. Depending on the climatic conditions of your campus, you may want to have on hand several pile-lined poplin golf jackets and a corduroy stadium coat.

Shoes: Deep in the heart of Texas at Baylor and SMU, boots are often worn with Levis. Other styles to consider include wing-tip tassles, bluchers, penny loafers and a pair or two of sneakers.

The West Coast: From Reed College to San Diego State, matriculants way out West keep in step with the times while marching to the stylish beat of a different drummer. Beads, medallions, bells, floral-print bell-bottoms, meditation shirts, Nehru jackets and other pickings fresh from a flower child's garden of fashions are often interchanged with less costumey garb and worn both to and after class. Ric Lohman, a junior at Cal Tech, says, "Out here, clothes have an eclectic, international look. I sometimes wear a poncho one day and a three-button suit the next--if the occasion calls for it. But my everyday attire is usually a turtleneck or sport shirt and slacks."

Suits: Three- or two-button shaped models with wider lapels have a slight edge over the more conservative Ivy-inspired styles. If you're attending school in sunny Southern California, look for permanent-press fabrics that are colorful and lightweight. Farther north, a tweed wool suit will come in handy when temperatures drop. Double-breasted pin stripes straight from Bonnie and Clyde and flowery five-inch-wide ties are occasionally put on mainly as a put-on.

Sports jackets: The West Coast student body is clothed in both Nehrus and tunics, as well as bold Shetland plaid sports jackets and blazers. Personal style is paramount and undergrads occasionally go to extreme fashion lengths in order to assert their sartorial independence.

Slacks: For classroom wear, lean low-rise corduroys, acetate twills and poplins are the all-campus choices. At some schools, denims cut off at the knees are worn for Saturday touch-football scrimmages as well as for study sessions in the dorm or fraternity house. On dates, houndstooth, windowpane glen-plaid patterned slacks receive a rousing reception.

Shirts: Buttondowns in stripes, deep solids and flower patterns are the most popular styles. For off-campus wassailing, some students cotton to loose-fitting cotton or rayon acetate guru or meditation shirts with balloon sleeves. Others stick to dark-colored models with medium-spread collars that fit high on the neck, are slightly wider and equally handsome.

Sweaters: Turtles and mock turtles worn with sports jackets and patterned slacks or Levis have earned the West Coast fashion nod of approval. On cooler days, warm bulky fisherman's knits are often worn in place of an outer jacket. Later in the year, ski sweaters, often featuring bold stripes and zigzag patterns, come off the slopes and into the classrooms.

Outerwear: Students in northern California, Oregon and Washington will be weathering the rainy season togged out in navy or natural-colored trench coats. Later in the year, we predict that short leather jackets in a variety of collar and front-closure styles will increasingly be worn. Farther south, canvas-duck hip-length coats and featherweight nylon parkas--often with drawstring hoods--are the favorites.

Shoes: We advise fledgling frosh to visit the campus before they buy. At some schools, boots made of polished leather or supple imitation suede are the preferred footwear. At others, sandals, Gucci-style loafers and plain-toe bluchers set the pace.

This year's Back to Campus clearly reveals that revolutionary fashion headlines are being made on campuses across the country. For a look at what students are wearing at five representative regional colleges--Cornell, North Carolina, Miami of Ohio, Arizona and the California Institute of Technology--turn back to the photo portion of this feature on pages 159-163.