Popping the Polo

Watch out, fashionistas: Playful pinks and soothing coral tones are back on the runways this spring. While, I admit, this newsflash does not threaten my thoroughly static wardrobe one bit, many will take this news as a mandate to abandon last year’s satiny and florid pastels for this year’s newest trend. But not us Harvard kids.

Rather, the preppiness flaunted by generations of Harvardians is here to stay—and our status in the fashion world suffers for it. According to an article in the magazine Women’s Wear Daily, students at Harvard place very low in the Ivy League fashion rankings. The magazine intones, “It’s a rare situation in which a Harvard student isn’t at the head of the class. But when it comes to matters of personal expression and style, these Cambridge smarties are strictly conservative prep.”

While this may be distressing to some—after all, our putative superiority rests on our nearly ubiquitous ranking as “the best”—such news comes as no surprise to me. And it’s not just because I’ve witnessed the all-too-frequent donning of V-neck sweaters and tight, pastel and hugely overpriced Lacostes. No—our now-documented fashion stagnancy reflects the Harvard erudition and vanity we’ve all come to accept.

Chalk it up to be what whatever you want, but preppiness is just another way for Harvard to distinguish itself from the rest of the world. We don’t major (God forbid)—we concentrate. We don’t live in dorms (cringe!)—we reside in Houses. And we certainly don’t dress without needlepoint belts and collars (popped, of course)—we parade our Nantucket reds and salmon-champagnes as proudly as our crimsons.

Walk into the Harvard Club (say, in New York City) and just try to get a table without a jacket and tie. Or, as I myself did just a few weeks ago, attend a function at the Faculty Club in a t-shirt and jeans. The unnecessary formality and (for lack of a better word) self-importance oozes, but at least Harvard is cultured, civilized, distinguished—right?

Admittedly, the Women’s Wear Daily ranking seems a little absurd. But to dismiss the article as petty journalism is to miss the point: There exists some correlation between attitude and fashion, however vague and unimportant, and these attitudes are just as outdated as the fashions.

But hold on, now, boys and girls. Don’t throw out your plaid pants and pink polos quite yet. In all likelihood, you—like the rest of Harvard—are secure enough in your superiority that you won’t have to.

Matthew R. Naunheim ’07, a Crimson editorial editor, lives in Wigglesworth Hall.