American Ivy: Chapter 1, produced by Avery Trufelman, explores the causes, consequences, and significance of trends, particularly the ubiquitous American ‘macro-trend’ of Ivy, a preppy-like style first coined by the Japanese authors of ‘Take Ivy,’ an anthropological study of fashion of the students of Princeton University conducted in 1965. Trufelman highlights the outsized influence of social media in recent years, noting that “everything is a trend… they’re all sort of meaningless because there are so many of them… the only real trend right now is trendiness itself” (Rachel Tashjian, 00:04:03). She further goes on to consider the sociological basis of trends, postulating “…maybe trends are, to a degree, something innate in human culture? A way we know how to follow each other and move within our time” (Trufelman, 00:08:52).
Questions
Research Question 1: What role do trend forecasters play in the trend cycle?
Research Question 2: What might future trends look like?
Research Question 3: How and why has Ivy gained such prominence?
Research Question 4: What do trends reveal about an overall society?
Claims
Claim 1: Ivy is currently trending because of the increased value placed on education, and because people are seeking control in an unpredictable world.
Claim 2: Trends arise from the desire of wanting to stand out as an individual, but also fit into an in-group, as well as signify their identity to members of the out-group.
Claim 3: In the modern age of social media, the increase in the volume of trends has in turn lessened the significance and impact of such trends.
Claim 4 (Preliminary Thesis): Through study of American Ivy, the dominant style of the United States, one can better understand its people, history, and ideals.
I found the sociological and psychological rationale of trends to be the most compelling, personally. I find it fascinating that one can analyze not just an individual, but an entire population, through the lens of their taste in something as simple as the clothes that they choose to wear, and gain valuable insight into their lives, their dreams, and their challenges in doing so.
Works Cited
Trufelman, Avery. “American Ivy, Chapter 1.” Articles of Interest, 26 October 2022, articlesofinterest.substack.com/p/american-ivy-chapter-1.