Back to Campus

Looking over the national campus scene, one is immediately aware that the majority of men now attending our colleges and universities bear almost no resemblance--sartorially as well as politically--to the undergraduates of the past. By and large, what today's collegians wear as well as espouse reflects the spirit of youth that calls for change. Self-expression is their trademark.

Just how liberal the wardrobes of students are, of course, varies from campus to campus. But the prevailing fashion winds of change and individuality, it would seem, are strong enough to be felt at all schools, to degrees ranging from brief gusts to hurricane force. In compiling information for this, our tenth Back to Campus forecast, we've talked to undergrads across the country and, predictably, received a rich variety of answers to our fashion queries. In interview after interview, however, the students made the following observations:

1. Today, most collegians consider themselves ultracasual and are more involved in doing their own thing than in being caught up in any specific fashion trend. But almost all commented on the total change that has come about in men's fashion during the past four years and celebrated the fact that males now sport colorful plumage.

2. Fraternities have all but undone whatever was left of their staid, old-school-tie approach to fashion in favor of more contemporary attire.

3. Students attending even the most conservative of Deep South schools are finally getting it all together and sporting garb that they once considered outlandish--flared slacks and body shirts, for example.

4. Style-conscious students at Midwestern and Western schools make the point that many local haberdasheries fail to keep abreast of fashion changes and cater to a small, ultraconservative group with predictable--and dated--tastes in clothing.

This year, Playboy once again visited five schools in five distinctive sections of the country--East, South, Midwest, Southwest and West--in order to meet as well as photograph undergrads. New York University was the most urban-oriented of the five schools, and, as might be expected, the men tended to have broader wardrobes (including several suits, topcoats and other outerwear, such as bush jackets, short leather jackets or canvas jackets lined with shearling) that would satisfy both the variety of dress options in a metropolis the size of Manhattan and the extremes of weather.

We would characterize the University of Miami in Florida as the most fashion-conscious school we visited. Most of the men interviewed expressed awareness of and interest in current clothing styles and trends. Flared slacks, colorful shoes and tight-fitting body shirts were frequently seen.

On the surface, Rice appeared to be the most conservative campus on our list. But, according to our sources, the school is divided almost equally into short- and long-haired types, with the latter group, as you might guess, favoring the more extreme styles.

At the University of California at Santa Cruz, casualness, comfort and appropriateness for the easy-does-it outdoor California life were the major concerns when selecting clothes. Many students there also added personal touches by having designs hand-embroidered on a jacket or a pair of jeans.

The quad of the University of Illinois was a wild sight. Undergrads, their hair shoulder length or longer, sailed Frisbees. Braless coeds were in abundance. The clothes we saw ranged from moderate to ultra-extreme; however, we were left with the impression that many U of I students consistently wear colorful offbeat attire to class as well as to weekend parties on and off campus.

So much for capsuled impressions; here, then, is a regional rundown of the aforementioned five sections of the country. While checking out the garb, keep in mind that our recommendations for a specific number of items in a category (six pairs of slacks, for example) are average figures and certainly not absolutes; you may wish to adjust the number up or down, depending on your present clothing requirements and your current life style.

The east: Fashions in this area are an interesting combination of old and new. Some body shirts are being worn to class, but there are also plenty of button-downs still around. Undergrads aren't buying any new ones; they're just getting maximum mileage out of what's left of their Ivy shirt collections. On some campuses, longer sweaters are expected to take hold. Wide ties are everywhere, with four inches the minimum width. Norfolk and bush jackets continue to be worn in varying fabric weights and colors.

Below are our suggestions as to what Easterners will need in the way of clothes to see them through the coming academic year.

Suits: two or three; a glen-plaid two-button with peaked lapels and deep center vent; a four- or six-button wool pin-striped double-breasted; and, perhaps, a solid-color two- or three-button in a range of fabrics from corduroy or poplin to flannel.

Sports jackets: two; a single- or double-breasted navy-blue blazer--if you're the blazer type--and a tweed Norfolk jacket with bellows pockets or a lightweight bush jacket.

Slacks: six pairs; five should be cuff-less, flared-leg styles in whatever patterns and shades are currently being worn on your campus; the other pair should have wide straight-cut legs with two-inch-high cuffs.

Shirts: a total of a dozen dress and body shirts in direct proportion to your suit wardrobe; dress-shirt collars should be long; cuffs with double or triple buttons are preferred to the single-button style; bright solids and bold stripes are both popular.

Sweaters: six--a figure that can be adjusted up or down, depending on the number of body shirts you own; choose from turtles and mock turtles in body-hugging knits, long cable-stitch styles and U-necked models, some belted.

Outerwear: one dressy overcoat and two or three jackets--perhaps in fringed suede or buckskin, corduroy--or an inexpensive import, such as a Swedish army--type coat.

Shoes: three to five pairs; boots are a must in both cowboy and demiboot styles; also a pair each of sneakers and loafers; and one pair of plain-toed bals or bluchers to wear with a suit.

Hats: floppy leather slouch models, bush hats and Then Came Branson navy-blue watch caps that can be pulled down over the ears.

The South: Until recently, this college area was the last stronghold of uptight coat-and-tie traditionalism. Now, Southern students are also enjoying a new-found fashion liberation and are reconstructing their wardrobes with such good-looking wearables as these:

Suits: three; a bright-colored cord two-button with peaked or notched lapels and a deep center vent; a dark single-or double-breasted solid or chalk-stripe model; and a three-button windowpane plaid.

Sports jackets: four; the variance of styles from campus to campus is so broad that you'll want to hold off doing any shopping until checking out the local scene.

Slacks: eight pairs; two or three should be more expensive cuffless flannels that range from basic grays and browns to subdued patterns; you'll also want a pair or two of tie-dye jeans and a number of cuffless, flared-leg styles in lightweight, inexpensive fabrics; most slacks, incidentally, are held up with a two-inch-wide leather belt sporting a large buckle.

Shirts: Tapered dress shirts with long-pointed collars in wild prints and wide stripes are often worn to class, as are cotton knit body shirts; on some campuses, puffy-sleeved Tom Jones shirts are being combined with fringed leather vests; bright-colored five-inch-wide ties are big, although a few diehards still are knotting up neck scarves apache fashion.

Sweaters: six to nine; two should be ribbed-knit body styles; at many Southern schools, big-stitch--the bigger the better--sweaters are worn in place of a winter jacket; turtlenecks in both heavy-and lightweight materials also are favored, as are long-sleeved and sleeveless U-neck pullovers.

Outerwear: Check out double-breasted polished leather and suede; also poplin windbreakers, bush jackets and nylon sailing parkas; long Army coats are worn by surplus-store casual types; for more formal occasions, try a three-quarter-length camel's-hair topcoat with leather buttons.

Shoes: four to six pairs; choose from sandals, demiboots, two-tone tassel and lace-up models, wing tips and loafers; on many Dixie campuses, Italian soft-leather moccasins, too, are a stylish shoe-in.

The Midwest: Students in the heartland of America no longer protect themselves from winter winds and snow by donning drab, monochromatic wearables with zero degrees of style. From Kansas State to Ohio State, the fashion words to the wise Midwestern undergrads are color and versatility.

Suits: three; a wool two-button in either a double stripe or a bold plaid; a very shaped dark double-breasted with peaked or notched lapels; and a lightweight whipcord or corduroy two- or three-button with an action-back pleat, half belt and a deep center vent.

Sports jackets: The British country look is popular, as seen in mediumweight Norfolk jackets and shaped tweed coats with very wide lapels; some corduroy and a few polished leathers and suedes also are worn, as are six-button double-breasted three-to-button models.

Slacks: eight pairs; stovepipe-legged pants are still being purchased by sartorially restrained Midwesterners who are not yet ready for the flared-leg look; in flares, Jacquard prints and geometric patterns are everywhere in a variety of colors, including rust, gray and such intrepid shades as British-officer pink; jeans, of course, are Midwestern favorites--especially on cold winter mornings when there's snow in the air; elephantine bell-bottoms (cuffless) with Navy-style button fronts have some campuses well buttoned up.

Shirts: at least a dozen dress shirts plus three to five body shirts; the ubiquitous button-down in both solids and stripes is still seen, but there are also plenty of long-pointed- and medium-spread-collar shirts around; pullover sweater shirts with a polo collar and two-button neck placket will continue to be worn.

Sweaters: six to ten; the V neck has all but vanished from most Midwestern campuses and in its place, you'll find such European-inspired offerings as the body-hugging U neck, which shows more of the shirt you're wearing; very long cardigans that extend almost to the knees are being donned by a venturesome minority; big-stitch cables with turtle and crew necks rise in popularity as the temperature drops.

Outerwear: three to four; Army field jackets and ultraheavy lumberjack shirts in red, green and blue help cut the chill (continued on page 270)Back to Campus(continued from page 172) of a walk to class on a frigid morning; belted three-quarter-length coats (some have fur collars) are often worn in place of a dressy topcoat; at some schools, double-breasted camel's-hair overcoats assure warmth at the football stadium; some waist-length leather jackets are seen; and, if you have a few bob left in your clothing budget, you may also invest in a poplin bush jacket.

Shoes: six to seven pairs; sandals and loafers to be worn early in the fall with no socks; cowboy boots; some two-tones--but don't expect to find them on every campus; square-toed bals and bluchers are big, as are jodhpurs; a pair of ankle-high hiking shoes with crepe soles will come in handy after a heavy snowfall.

The Southwest: Students whose pursuits take them to the wide-open spaces of the Southwest have adopted an equally wide-open attitude toward fashion. Clothes down here run the gamut from archly conservative to totally freaked out, thus upholding the image that this is a region where rugged individualism and originality still prevail.

Suits: three; a dark two-button single-breasted Sunday-best style with moderately wide lapels; a six-button double-breasted in a bold plaid or stripe; and a four-button Norfolk suit with a half belt at the back.

Sports jackets: two or three; the trend is to four- or six-button double-breasted jackets or navy-blue blazers; wide-lapelled corduroy two-buttons and poplin bush jackets are two additional inexpensive styles Southwesterners dig.

Slacks: eight pairs; five should be casual, cuffless styles--belled jeans and cotton flares in solids, stripes and checks, for example--the rest can be dressy-looking flannels and worsteds with wide straight-cut legs and two-inch-high cuffs.

Shirts: 12; although the basic button-down is still worn, most students also have on hand a number of bright-colored or bold-striped dress shirts with a more sophisticated collar treatment (either wide-spread or long-pointed); fancy-patterned cowboy models with snap fronts and cuff closures have been at home on the range for years and their popularity hasn't diminished in the slightest; also look for skinny knits and tank tops (the latter are often worn after class).

Sweaters: ten; V- and crew-neck styles are still top-drawer choices, but many students are taking to body-hugging rib knits, U-neck models and belted looks; Irish fisherman weaves are often worn when a norther hits and the temperature drops.

Outerwear: Anything goes, from fringed buckskin to poplin golf jackets; obviously, the location of your campus will weigh heavily in determining the types of fabrics and the styles to select.

Shoes: five pairs; cowboy boots, of course, supplemented with sneakers, loafers (both penny and tasseled); wing tips are still the favored footwear when a suit is the order of the day or evening.

The West Coast: Here, the fashion scene is way out and wide open; students are quick to pick up on one style and drop out of another, with constant change and a high degree of personal expression the hallmarks.

Suits: Fashion norms for this section of the country are so diverse that we recommend that you check out the campus before investing in any expensive threads.

Sports jackets: three to five; the belted look of bush and Norfolk jackets in various fabrics, from poplin and corduroy to Harris tweed, is a uniform trend at virtually all West Coast schools.

Slacks: ten pairs: cuffless and flared are where it's at in railroad stripes, bright solids, tie-dyes, floral patterns, sunbursts--you name it; also have on hand one or two pairs of dressier slacks with two- or even three-inch-high cuffs to wear with a jacket or blazer.

Shirts: at least a dozen; choose from patterned body shirts (reptile is very big), funky-colored tank tops, tie-dyed Wallace Beery undershirt pullovers, pastel golf shirts with a two-button neck placket and oxford and broadcloth dress shirts with long-pointed collars; wide (the wider the better) and wild-looking ties are worn with the latter style; at some schools, dark-colored T-shirts are donned--usually with a pair of faded Levis.

Sweaters: eight to ten; U-neck models in dark brown, black and gold are often worn, as are ski sweaters, mock turtles and turtles; at colleges and universities in Oregon and Washington, big-stitch cable styles in turtle, crew and cardigan appear late in the fall.

Outerwear: The vast variety of garb is mind-boggling; Mexican and Peruvian ponchos, buffalo-hide jackets with 18-inch fringe, nylon sailing parkas, sheepskin coats, leather vests, ski jackets, navy English air-raid-warden midicoats, Burberry trench coats, suede polo coats with a sash-tied waist, camel's-hair double-breasteds--this list is just a beginning; whatever you fancy in the way of outerwear, somebody on the West Coast is selling it.

Shoes: four to six pairs; monk straps with modified square toes are sometimes worn with a suit; cowboy boots, demiboots, sneakers, loafers, some two-tone saddle shoes and Mexican sandals with tire-tread soles are the favored classroom footwear.

Hats: Beaded Indian bands are tied around the heads of a hip minority; floppy leather styles, Aussie bush hats, black-felt Indian hats with a high rounded top and English driving caps in tweed or simulated leather are all seen along the Pacific shore.

And that's our Back to Campus fashion forecast. Obviously, the collegiate clothing scene is so diverse that we couldn't cover every trend--nor have we attempted to do so. But we have provided a clear picture of the direction undergrad styles will be taking during the coming semesters. The next move is up to you.