Articles of Interest, American Ivy Chapter 3
Organic vs. planned. Natural vs. coordinated. Slow vs. rapid.
These are the prominent differences between the rise of the Ivy Style in The United States versus Japan that Trufelman highlights in the third episode of American Ivy. This episode attempts to lay the foundation for the intersection between the 3 main inspirations behind Japanese Ivy: 1. Brooks Brothers, 2. Princeton fashion, and 3. The Bright Young People.
Although Japanese Ivy took inspiration from these 3 movements, it was still distinct in the way that it came to be. Princeton ivy was an organic, natural, and slow process. Students began to wear softer and sportier clothing because Princeton was a sports school. It was both laid back and practical — it made sense. Japanese Ivy, on the other hand, was a “coordinated marketing campaign” (00:06:43) that aimed to make Ivy the new trend as big and fast as possible. And a big trend, it was.
A Phenomenon
This “organic vs. planned” phenomenon goes to Trufelman’s point that Japanese fashion trends are easily traceable and therefore worthwhile to dissect. This phenomenon, in turn, enables her to find supporting evidence for her central theme that Ivy never dies. She’s easily able to pinpoint the handful of factors that contributed to the rise of the trend, explain their effects, and prove her claims with direct evidence.
It is apparent that comprehending the wider historical, political, and cultural context that underlies fashion trends is an essential aspect of comprehending the trends themselves, as the two are interdependent. It is impossible to comprehend one without considering the other.
I explored some of these contexts in the timeline below.
Timeline
Works Cited
Trufelman, Avery. “American Ivy: Chapter 2 – by Avery Trufelman.” Articles Of Interest, 2 November 2022, https://articlesofinterest.substack.com/p/american-ivy-chapter-2. Accessed 4 February 2023.
Trufelman, Avery. “American Ivy: Chapter 3 – by Avery Trufelman.” Articles Of Interest, 9 November 2022, https://articlesofinterest.substack.com/p/american-ivy-chapter-3. Accessed 4 February 2023.