May 19, 2008...11:00 am
Take Ivy
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In the late sixties, a forward thinking Japanese photographer traveled throughout the northeastern United States stopping at each of the Ivy League schools to document the style of the era. The resulting book, cryptically titled “Take Ivy”, is pure genius. The photo book was out of print until a few years ago when a small run was re-released, only to immediately sell out. I have tried to recreate the spirit of the book as best I can through these scans. Further proof that preppy / Ivy League style transcends time and trends.
More to come…
27 Comments
May 19, 2008 at 11:13 am
The title comes from combining “Take Five” with Ivy League - Jazz being huge in Japan as well as Ivy style.
Fantastic scans - Thanks.
May 19, 2008 at 12:43 pm
Incredible post.
Do you know if Alibris / Argosy / Abebooks might have a copy of either edition? Do you know where I might secure a copy?
Cheers.
May 19, 2008 at 12:47 pm
Dear Paul,
I do not know how you would be able to find a copy. I’m sorry I can’t help you. Might be a good excuse to go to Japan though. A quest for Take Ivy…
Regards,
A Continuous Lean
May 19, 2008 at 12:57 pm
Sounds like a plan!
Best,
-PP
May 19, 2008 at 2:32 pm
Thanks, Michael. Those are wonderful. I was on the Japanese site and saw some of the pics earlier. I have an APB out on that book. No doubt, it’llbe on Ebay soon. I love the Weejuns with the Bermuda shorts and long sleeve button downs. I still wear that all the time down here in EF EL.
May 19, 2008 at 2:34 pm
[...] don’t want to be the last to comment on A Continuous Lean’s posting of scans from the highly coveted book “Take Ivy”. I hope that his post will foster some [...]
May 19, 2008 at 7:53 pm
Wonderful photos, thanks so much for posting them. Madras shorts, Ivy League haircuts, tortoiseshell specs, Weejuns in the rain. Excellent!
May 19, 2008 at 9:35 pm
Thank you for sharing. Like everyone else I’d love to get my hands on a copy of this book. Truly great photographs that really capture the spirit of Ivy.
May 20, 2008 at 8:11 am
I’d like the male edition of those “Ivy Illustrated “cartoon figures too just for fun.
Any other fans of froth like that?
May 20, 2008 at 12:08 pm
Archivia Books on Lex. has suggested contacting nyinfo@kinokuniya.com re: securing a copy of Take Ivy.
Best,
-PP
May 20, 2008 at 5:46 pm
I’ve been trying to track this book down for months-now it looks like i’ll have even more competition!
Russell Street-yep, those illustrated ivy books are fantastic, some of the art work can be found in the Japanese Free&Easy mags-esp in the most recent edition on ‘Cadet style’. I’ve only ever seen them for sale on Amazon.jp.
May 20, 2008 at 6:09 pm
There is a Free & Easy “Cadet Style” post in the ACL hopper for next week…
May 21, 2008 at 4:23 pm
Are any of the above pictures from the University of Pennsylvania? I’m trying to identify all 8 schools, but can only positively identify a few of them from the photo context.
May 21, 2008 at 6:15 pm
So… was this before co-education, or what? Because what strikes me about these pictures, besides the fantastic preppy style, is that there are no girls. Off to do some Ivy research…
May 21, 2008 at 6:19 pm
Dear Margaret,
No conspiracy here. The photos are from a book about men’s style —which is why there aren’t many pictures of women. However, if you notice the picture with the yellow rain coats —that is a girl in the middle.
Regards,
A Continuous Lean
May 21, 2008 at 7:52 pm
Awesome book! We did a feature on this in January with some more photos:
http://www.dejourmagazine.com/jan2008/takeivy.html
May 22, 2008 at 6:55 pm
A copy of “Take Ivy” was just sold in Yahoo Japan auction (to a buyer in Japan) for 21,000 YEN (approx. $200 USD). Digging around a bit has also brought forth the hitherto unknown information (to me at least) that there was also a short “Take Ivy” film produced at the time of the original book. Does anyone know anything about the film?
May 22, 2008 at 10:38 pm
Makes me want to get my hands on a classic yellow raincoat!
May 24, 2008 at 6:52 am
The film had a Jazz piano soundtrack by a Japanese Ivy buff.
There is a theory that the book is just stills from the film.
So far nobody knows for sure…
RS
May 25, 2008 at 11:34 pm
I’ve been trying to tack a copy of this book down for about a year now. Thank you for the scans.
May 28, 2008 at 2:30 pm
[...] from T. Hayashida’s (out of print, expensive) Take Ivy - a photoessay from the 60s on Ivy League prep style. I jokingly mentioned J. Press in the context [...]
May 30, 2008 at 3:32 am
Leave it to the Japanese to buy up J.Press and soak up the remnants of Ivy culture before it fades away.
June 1, 2008 at 10:00 am
[...] Life Mad Men and More Take Ivy Jump to Comments A few more scans from Take Ivy. Specifically, images of the J. Press New Haven shop, the Brooks Brothers flagship and some [...]
June 3, 2008 at 8:14 pm
Amazon Japan has a listing for “Take Ivy - ‘85″. Was there a follow up to the book / movie following the publication of the Preppy Handbook?
And will someone please reproduce the boat-neck “1968″ sweater. I need it. Perhaps Ralph Lauren can do a “1967″ version.
June 21, 2008 at 7:47 pm
My dad has a sweater like that one, though it now fits pretty tight. They were given out instead of letter jackets back then, I believe. Now they give out a letter with the same cut with a large D on it. I have my class year sweater, but they are a different cut now.
June 22, 2008 at 1:31 pm
I would like the record straight. I have lost quite a bit of weight and now my Dartmouth 1968 numeral seater is not nearly as tight as my son’s above post would suggest. Great pics. Interesting that madras shorts, Weejuns and button down shirts are still standard casual attire for many of us.
July 14, 2008 at 6:54 pm
[...] a look at more pictures here: A Continous Lean and DeJour [...]
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