Class is a categorization of people by how much wealth they have and/or how they acquire(d) that wealth. It can be divided up based on job occupation, inherited wealth, or non-inherited wealth, among other factors. Notably, class membership is hard to define and can be subjective.
A subculture is an informal group of people that share a set of values, beliefs, and/or cultural items. Importantly, members of a subgroup should be able to identify with one another and find unity within their group. Conversely, those outside the group, or a part of the dominant culture, are often confused about the practices of a subculture.
Trufelman’s discussion begins with Ishizu and his introduction of the Ivy style to Japan. At this point in time, the Ivy style was limited to a few hundred students on the streets of Tokyo. They all read the Men’s Club magazine, all dressed the same way, and were all hated by the police.
“It was confounding for Japanese authorities -they were like ‘why are young men wearing these outrageous bright pants and boxy jackets?’(What is subculture? 00:05:39-00:05:47) ”
Trufelman jumps back over to the US to discuss Ralph Lauren, who, at around the same time, was beginning his own line of preppy clothing. His company at this point was small, with less than a dozen people. And when Ralph met a young fan of his at a clothing store, they were able to bond over the clothing he sold.
Trufelman jumps between these two developments because they mirror each other. This new Ivy was understood by a small, closely-knit community. In other words, it was a subculture.
Flash forward a few years, and the publishing of Take Ivy and its accompanying film by Ishizu brakes the negative stigma of Ivy in Japan. With the stigma gone, its popularity jumps. It becomes sought after because of its perceived eliteness and rarity. And as Ivy became associated with wealth, it became an indication of class.
Over a decade later, Lisa Burnbache writes the Preppy Handbook. This book’s creation made the preppy style’s nuances accessible to all. This, combined with the new idea that culture could be bought, transformed Ivy from a niche subculture into, as emphasized by the book’s cover, an indication of class.
“Now it was you know, can we buy this idea of class? That we’re sophisticated, that we have moral worth(What is subculture 00:37:00-00:37:10 )”
The development of Ivy from a subculture into a class is mirrored in the US and Japan. The process began in both places with the publishing of a piece of media that subsequently popularized the style. What Trufelman emphasizes here, however, is the times at which these happened. Japan was ahead of the US by 15 years. Now, instead of Japan taking from the US, it is the US lagging behind Japan.
Works Cited
Trufelman, Avery, host. “What is subculture?” American Ivy, Articles of Interest, 16 November 2022, https://articlesofinterest.substack.com/p/american-ivy-chapter-4
Trufelman, Avery, host. “What is class?” American Ivy, Articles of Interest, 23 November 2022, https://articlesofinterest.substack.com/p/american-ivy-chapter-5
Vilardo, Philip, and Mari Wepprecht, editors. “Social Class in the United States.” Introduction to Sociology: Understanding and Changing the Social World, University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing Edition.
“What Is a Subculture?” Edited by Rachel Buckner, Subculture and Sociology, Grinnell College, https://haenfler.sites.grinnell.edu/subcultural-theory-and-theorists/what-is-a-subculture/.