Welcome back to the Gentleman's Gazette!
In today's video, we discuss trad style; what it is, how it evolved, and how it's different
from prep style or Ivy style.
Trad is an adaptation of the North Eastern American style which is not as popular as
prep or Ivy style.
Arguably, trad is the most classic and refined version of this northern American style.
It's, in fact, a somewhat contemporary take on the fashions of the roaring 20s.
Its core is similar to Ivy style, trad was born as a form of rebellion against the fathers
and the parents.
It was a way for students to develop their own identity using clothes that were somewhat
related to what their fathers would have deemed appropriate, at the same time, adding their
own touch to it.
Trad was way for young men to distinguish themselves from polo and boat shoes wearing
young men as well as very stodgy old Saxon wearers.
So what exactly is the difference between prep, Ivy, and trad style?
Think about it this way, prep is the most casual style.
Ivy is a notch up, and trad is even less casual and more formal than Ivy style.
Some of those argue that trad is a more sensible approach to classic clothing that is a little
more unique and interesting.
The entire purpose of trad is to maintain the conservative approach to clothing while
adding a personal note without going overboard and looking like you're wearing a costume.
For those attending Ivy League schools, that often meant a blazer that was very traditional,
sometimes with a crest embroidered on the chest pocket, maybe paired with a repp tie
and a regular button-down cotton shirt in white.
For more casual events, andanIvy style proponent would probably wear a school sweater.
A trad person would maybe wear a v-neck sweater with a sport coat on top of it.
In the 60s and 70s, a piece that was very popular was a turtleneck sweater.
Ironically, it is popular once again the Instagram world and so if you look around, you can see
a lot of men wearing turtleneck sweaters combined with suit jackets or sport coats.
For a casual event today, a trad would maybe wear a sweater or a sweater vest but with
a bow tie and a tweed sport coat.
Whenever you see the bright colors of Polo Ralph Lauren or maybe even J.crew, think of
trad as more muted and less flashy.
Often students weren't allowed to attend functions or school in the more vibrant preppy or Ivy
style clothes so trad allowed them to express themselves while still adhering to traditional
dress codes.
So how would you dress in a trad style way?
Well first of all, think of it as using a very traditional approach with a bit of nonchalance.
You can also check out our video on sprezzatura and while that's over the top, in most cases,
it goes in the right direction.
You just add more casual elements that would traditionally not work with your outfits,
for example, that means you invest in a blue navy blazer or two in several three-piece
or two-piece suits, as well as cardigans and
sweater vests.
However, instead of going with plain solid worsted colors you would mix it up and wear
maybe a herringbone suit in brown just like the one I'm wearing here right now, or maybe
a houndstooth flannel suit, or you would go with a faint windowpane on your navy suit,
instead of going plain solid.
So to mix it up, you would skip the matching vest with your suit and instead, opt for maybe
a burgundy flannel vest or a doeskin vest or a moleskin vest or you could go with a
blue tweed vest such as the one I'm wearing it here right now.
In terms of neckwear, you can still wear neckties and bow ties, however, you can maybe go with
slightly different knots.
Not just a four-in-hand but maybe the Oriental knot the Victorian knotk or the Kelvin knot,
and to learn more about how you can tie those, please check out our video guides here.
In terms of type fabrics, madder silk ties were very popular and so were repp striped
ties, however, a little more texture such as with knit ties, or maybe a bourette silk
ties just the one I'm wearing here right now were quite on point because they were different
than what their fathers wore.
The goal is to always express yourself in a sophisticated way that is different enough
to break with the monotony of classic suits all the while not allowing people to pinpoint
how your outfit is different.
So for shoes, that could mean adding suede shoes to otherwise conservative suits or maybe
adding a colorful pair of shoelaces to an otherwise rather stiff outfit.
To learn more about shoes, shoelace colors, and how you combine them, please check out
this video here.
When it comes to suits with trad style, you wear them predominantly maybe 60-70 percent
of the time with the rest being Navy Blazers and combinations.
With Ivy style, it's about 50/50, 50% suits, 50% Blazers and combinations , and a prep
style follower will hardly ever wear suits and mostly wear a blazer or more casual options.
While preps would often roll up their pant hems, that's not something you would see with
a trad enthusiast simply because they weren't too keen on showing their bare skin.
While preps love their boat shoes, Ivy style people would prefer penny loafers and a trad
enthusiast will always opt for a penny loafers and never for the boat shoe unless of course
you're actually on a boat where they serve its purpose.
If you're into Ivy style and you wear a seersucker suit, you could combine them with white buckskin
shoes.
For trad, that is too loud and over-the-top, instead, you'd maybe wear a pair of suede
shoes.
Likewise, slim fit shirts are a no-no for trad.
You wear traditionally full cut dress shirts that don't show off your muscles or anything
else.
It's all about natural fit and comfort and if you wear shorts during a warm summer day,
you opt for the solid Navy ones, not the bolder colors or any patterns on them such as the
Madras pattern that may be a prep style enthusiasts would wear.
Obviously today, dress codes have relaxed a lot more and so it's okay for trads to wear
slightly more colorful pocket squares or just things that are a little bit louder that might
have not been considered 100% trad appropriate 50 years ago.
For example, you could also go with an alligator belt or a lizard skin watch strap rather than
a plain calf leather watch.
I think trad is a wonderful concept because it allows people to wear suits that are not
business suits and therefore they look more casual but they're still quite stylish.
Of course the world, in general, has become more casual and so prep style and Ivy style
are more popular today but if you want to mix things up and go a little bit more formal,
trad might be the perfect way to do so.
If you haven't already done so, please check out our guides on preppy style and Ivy style
as well as all our other guides and videos that are related to it such as Madras, maybe
knit ties, or the ten ties every man should have.
Of course, all these new videos come conveniently to your inbox if you subscribe and then hit
that little bell on YouTube.
In today's outfit I'm wearing a classic two-piece suit it is single breasted with a notch lapel
it has three patch pockets which make the suit a lot more casual and of course the fabric
is much brighter it's not just a tobacco Brown it's a medium brown with a small herringbone
pattern paired with a blue tweed vest as well as a white shirt and a bourette silk tie in
brown that has a houndstooth pattern the pocket square is wool challis in blue and it picks
up the color of the tweed vest my socks I opted for a shadow striped brown
and blue socks from Fort Belvedere which tie the entire outfit together and you can find
all of these accessories in our shop here so take a look In terms of footwear I opted
for a thick double soled English pair of tricker's boots in a nice tan color which go well with
the overall feel of the suit my dress shirt has double cuffs and our cufflinks from Fort
Belvedere with tiger's eye in gold I have a little pinky ring with blue and gold and
my watch is a very flat gold very thin watch with a brown lizard strap that ties it all
together