Grey Flannel Vassar Blazer

16
Grey Wool Vassar Blazer
#VC2011007

worn in 1952
wool, plastic buttons
Manufacturer: Robert Rollins Blazers of New York
Gift of Doris Cohen Sachs ex-’56

During the 1950s, Vassar students became fashion leaders of everyday campus style for women, just as Princeton, Yale and Harvard became recognized as the leading schools for setting menswear trends. Vassar students were instrumental in popularizing a look for girls that was the equivalent of the “Ivy League Look” for boys and for students at Vassar in the 1950s, the “Ivy style” was a status symbol that indicated their equal academic tenacity. Students did not want to masquerade as men; rather they were looking to re-appropriate the meanings enveloped in Ivy style, on their own terms. Ivy men had any number of garments that outwardly indicated their allegiance to their school, including the letter sweater, monogrammed jackets for private dining clubs and personalized jackets for teams and societies. At Vassar in the 1950s, there existed no such garment and, as Karen VanderVen ’59 remembers, “Some [students] wanted something that actually said Vassar on it.” This blazer, worn by Doris Cohen (Sachs) ex-’56, was representative of both Vassar’s prestigious status, but also, a way for students themselves to promote solidarity, spirit and belonging.

Shirt and skirt are not original.