#TBT in the Archives 9/3/15

Casually dressed Ship students walk across campus, circa 1970s

On Tuesday we posed a question on our Facebook page about when American college students began to dress more casually on campus, and what sparked this big change. Casual dress evolved out of athletic wear worn in gym classes in the early 1900s and was essentially a product of practicality--students wanted low-heeled oxford shoes to walk long distances across campus and cardigan sweaters to keep warm in drafty dorms. By the 1950s, young men began to ditch their suits for sport coats and young women began to wear slacks. Many historical milestones triggered this shift. Can you think of any?

Ship gym class, circa early 1900s. Casual wear was inspired by early 20th century athletic wear worn in gym class and by athletes.

The transition from conservative to casual did not hit our campus until the mid-1960s. Yes, some women could be found sporting slacks and shorts and men refused to cut their long hair, but these trends did not become the norm at Ship until the mid-1970s, years after the hippie subculture movement began to sweep the country.

The Raider Club photo from the 1969 yearbook provides some insight into individual choices of dress. Although women did wear pants on campus, the majority continued to wear dresses and skirts, maintaining their conservatism. The gentleman in the back row in the letterman jacket, however, was not shy to sport his casual style.

It was not until the mid-1970s that it became the norm to see everyone in blue jeans and slacks, depicted in this 1976 Math Club yearbook photo. This reveals that Ship adopted the casual wear trend later than many other campuses across the country.

One thing to consider is that gender differences in clothing regulations existed on campuses nationwide long into the 1960s. To read about women's clothing regulations and how Ship's dress code was abolished, check out this previous post: http://shiplibrary.blogspot.com/2015/03/tbt-in-archives-31915.html.

American casual style was a marker of liberation and individuality and varied by campus, decade, and individual. What factors do you think contributed to casual dress arriving at Ship later that the rest of the nation? Let us know in the comments!

To read more about how casual style evolved on college campuses and contributed to American identity, check out Deirdre Clemente's Dress Casual: How College Students Redefined American Style, available in the library!

Want to learn more about Ship's history? No need to wait for the next Throwback Thursday! Contact Archives & Special Collections via e-mail: specialcollections@ship.edu or phone: 717-477-1516.


Secondary Sources Consulted:
Clemente, Deirdre. Dress Casual: How College Students Redefined American Style. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 2014.