University of Virginia Library

Choosing Life Style

Coat & Tie Tradition Fading Slowly

By Bob Culten
Cavalier Daily Staff Writer

For years, the coat and tie was
as much a part of the Virginia
gentleman's image as his bourbon
and his honor. All, three are still at
the University in varying degrees,
but the coat and tie seems to be
fighting a losing battle to maintain
what Playboy would call "sartorial
supremacy."

There never was a regulation
that prescribed coats and ties for
everyday attire. It was just that the
students here thought that their
University was a uniquely superior
institution in an aristocratic, ante
bellum sort of way. The formal

courtesies that Rhett Butler knew
were very much in vogue. Coats and
ties were a part of that life style.

So over the years, up until the
mid-1960's, the Virginia Gentleman
wore his Harris tweeds to class and
his black pinstripe suit when he ran
for election. The muted trends in
men's fashion drifted slowly down
from New York to be accepted
when they conformed to the
general image and rejected when
they did not. Button-down collars
and plaid pants made it. Double-breasted
and Edwardian styles never
had a chance.

The demise of the coat and tie,
or of its dominance at least,
probably began with the advent of
the seedy look several years ago.
Collars were to be worn frayed, as
well as buttoned down. Loafers
were not broken in and stylish until
they were held together by adhesive
tape. A pair of chinos or dungarees
were sufficient with any and all
types of jacket. Socks were optional.
It was still a coat and tie,
but it signified the beginning of the
revolt against formality and elegance.

From there it was just a short
step to the widespread use of a
sweater and slacks for daily wear.
There were grumblings from traditionalists
the Raven Society
issued a statement urging that the
heretics visit their tailor and return
to the flock.

Sweater Tradition

For a while it seemed that they
had done so. But a hard core of
anti-establishment sweater wearers
kept their own tradition alive. But
they were among the less prestigious
elements in the student body,
whose pecking order was still
established by the traditional standards
of fraternity affiliation and
political clout.

Those standards depended, however,
on the basic conservatism of
the students and upon relative
isolation from the cross-currents
that were affecting student ideas
and customs in other parts of the
country. The rise of the student
movement, and the glamorization
of those who spearheaded it eliminated
some of the conservatism
and much of the isolation.

Rigid Dress Style

The radicals on the Grounds,
such as they were, had their own
rigid style of dress. Their hair, of
course, was longer. But they invariably
wore (to show that they
were non-conformists) blue denim
shirts, dungarees, and a surplus
Army fatigue jacket. As their
number grew and they achieved
more political and social prominence
they kept their ideas on
attire.

Presently, much of the student
body here is polarized. There is the
traditional bourbon swilling Cavalier,
still a fraternity member, still
conservative, and still wearing his
coat and tie. There is a small but
growing group of liberal-radical
independents whose ideas on style
vary from mod and Edwardian to a
style that could be called radically
disheveled. They, however, have
loosened things up enough so that
an even greater number who might
have gone along with coats and ties
in the past now feel free to wear
whatever jumps out of the closet
first each morning. And the graduate

students wear whatever they did
at their undergraduate school.

What this year will bring in
the way of dress in anyone's guess.
Eljo's and Michtom's, the traditional
barometers of student taste
on the Grounds, have not made a
clear decision yet. The traditional
tweeds are still there, but so is a
suit that looks suspiciously mod.
And rumor has it that there are
large selections of bell-bottoms
inside which are selling quite well.

It would appear then, that just
about any mode of dress will be
acceptable and prevalent at Virginia
this year, at least within certain
factions of the student body.