Black Ivy is a book that delves into a piece of fashion that isn't talked about enough. Jason Jules and Graham Marsh perfectly explain the history and social context behind the Black Ivy aesthetic. The Black Ivy style popularized in the 50's and 60's was a derivative of the Ivy style. The Ivy style was adopted by male students from the most prestigious institutions in the U.K. and U.S. The style revolves around button-down oxford shirts, polos, blazers, loafers, and crewneck sweaters. The aesthetic represented a level of social elitism that often Black people were not privy to. So when elements of this style were adopted by Black men in the 50s and 60s, it became a silent revolution in style that was seen as the unspoken uniform for the civil rights movement and beyond.
Black Ivy: A Revolt in Style is more of a coffee table book than a novel, anthology, or historical narrative. The photos take center stage and help to tell the story and illustrate the message. There's a reason that some people look at pictures from the 60's and it appears as though Black men are almost always dressed up. They took the Ivy style and created Black Ivy, which was their twist. This book explains that, for the most part. Below are some of the best quotes and photos that help illustrate the central points.
"Rather than a sign of conformity and compliance, Black Ivy was a kind of battledress, a symbolic armour worn in the nonviolent pursuit of fundamental change. Making society treat them differently meant making the mainstream see them differently. And they did."
"The irony is that while many Black Ivyists adopted the style in order to be perceived as acceptable in the eyes of the mainstream, they instead managed to heightened the perceived differences by giving the style an edge and attitude that it would have otherwise lacked."
"They can also lay claim to championing the style of dress combining traditional Ivy with elements of jazz and street style to create something totally authentic, and that looks more contemporary than their establishment counterparts."
"The popularity of sunglasses here has a direct correlation to the beats and bebop generation. Wearing sunglasses-outdoors, indoors, during the day or night-showed a kind of detachment, if not disdain, for the outside world. The original Beats, a disaffected group looking for meaning In post-war, mid-century America, modelled themselves on Black jazz musicians like Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Lester Young."
"Black Ivyists virtually weaponized sunglasses in this period, from the subterranean night life of Miles Davis at the Cade Bohemia to the front line of civil rights activity."
"Within the world of mainstream Ivy clothing, workwear doesn't make the grade. Rooted in the elite Ivy League schools, workwear—denim, chambray shirts, dungarees, chore coats and workboots-were an anathema. But within the Black Ivy wardrobe, it has pride of place."
"During the civil rights period, when activists from the Northern states went to the South to assist local branches of the SNCC and the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) mobilize the local inhabitants' voting registration, it became obvious that wearing suits and ties while trying to gain the trust of local sharecroppers was not going to work. The elegant solution was to dress like the sharecroppers, not only by way of showing that they were prepared to help out with some farm work if it was required but also demonstrating their support and solidarity to the outside world. It was this that gave denim and workwear its rebellious image, the impact of which resulted in an industry-wide boom in the early '70s for companies like Levi's, Lee, and Wrangler, alongside others such as Maverick, and Big Smith."