With The Game coming up this Saturday, students are scrambling to finish their assignments and pack for home. But in the midst of this final week before break, people are forgetting about something incredibly important – their Game Day outfit. The Yale-Harvard football game isn’t just a day where Yalies and Harvardians pretend to be sports schools, it’s a day to scream school spirit with your swankiest get-up. Unlike the mornings where you throw on your Yale sweater to hide your hangover from your language teacher after BD, wearing Yale merch will be a conscious, deliberate decision.
Game Day fashion has a long history tracing back all the way to the World Wars. As we explore the history of Yale Football Game fashion, we’ll also return to the present to what today’s Yalies can wear to the game on Saturday.
Fashion history
As university culture shifted dramatically during the World Wars, American football preserved a campus-wide enthusiasm for boisterous collegiate spirit. Meaning, it was one of two ways students could show off their manly prowess. The other was missionary work, where it was probably a lot harder to channel Roaring Twenties glamor. If you were a female student on campus, you weren’t! Not until 1969.
Through the imbued values of patriotism and masculinity, football cemented itself as an essential activity for Yalies. As such, what you wore to these games was important.
A snapshot into past Yalies’ Sunday best, football fashion showcased a unique atmosphere — youthful yet ritzy. After all, what better way to show collegiate pride than to outdress your opponent?
As a reaction to the Great Depression and global conflict, 1930s fashion drew inspiration from ancient Greece, largely due to the romanticization of democratic ideals from the era. The decade saw the transition from loose flapper dresses to form fitted, backless halters and cultural icons of the time, such as Joan Crawford, sported fur coats, the era’s mark of the elite.
Mink! Mink! Mink! Fur collars, pill-box hats and suits: the fashion statement of the Yale vs. Princeton game of 1935 reiterated the importance of the textile in collegiate culture. In wolf gray and beaver brown, furs decorated the lapels and fur cuffs of coats, which were in the trending colors: olive greens, wine reds and powder blues. However, perhaps the over-saturated use of fur brought karma to the Elis because Yale suffered their worst defeat by Princeton in history with a 38-7 ending score. Thrift your fur jackets at your local Goodwill or steal one from your mom if you want to rock this 1930s look without the over-hunting, population-decimating guilt.
Following the establishment of the Ivy League in 1954, Macy’s began running advertisements promoting coats branded for “Champions of the Ivy League,” imbuing the prestige of the universities into a marketable mod. Fitted with a tweed suit and equipped with a silver-tipped cane, the post-war American man saw a return to Edwardian wear. On the official program for the Columbia vs. Yale game of 1957, every man dons a tan or brown overcoat, with many spruced in sports scarves, fedoras and — the craziest fashion statement of all time — the bow tie.
A sign of the times, fashion reveals significant influences from cultural and social issues. Yalies’ fashion epitomized the “classic” style of each decade, a unified stylistic choice that was both born from the university’s elitism and pedaled its continuation. Today, things are different on campus. Slipped away is the self-imposed uniform of Ralph Lauren polos and brown leather loafers, revealing a diverse expression of styles. Ultimately, what you wear on game day reflects your school spirit! Whether it be sweats or a three piece coat, wear your armor and proudly represent Yale.
– Kate Soo Hyun Kim
What to wear to The Game
Now that we have the history of collegiate football wear, here’s your guide to the Yale-Harvard Starter Pack and how to be the most Yale you can be.
First and foremost, if you’re not wearing any blue, you’re doing something wrong. Yale’s signature color is navy blue so you’ve got to wear it (but you can probably get away with any shade of blue to be honest). And there can absolutely be no traces of red on you or risk being marked as a traitor.
As for clothing there are some of the classic Yale merchandise items:
1. The Y Sweater
Available in either navy blue with a white Y or in white with a navy blue Y, the Y sweater is my personal favorite merch item that screams school spirit. It screams so much school spirit, in fact, that the H sweater’s of Harvard pale in comparison. We all know Y is the cooler letter if we’re being honest.
2. The Yale Scarf
It’s the one you see randomly in the window of the Bow Wow — yeah that one. Whether you’re sacrificing 40 meal points for this scarf or coughing up the money at the bookstore or Campus Customs, this is one of those must have items a Yalie wants because everyone else has one — me included.
3. The Yale Beanie
It’s a beanie, it’s got the Yale logo on it. Need I say more? It’s one of those items where your head shape determines how good you think you look in it. It’s also one of those items where you have to commit to wearing throughout the entire game unless you want to reveal your amazing frizzed beanie hair to everyone in the stadium.
4. The Ultra Classic Hoodie
It’s a little basic but any hoodie that is branded with the Yale logo is a good option for those of you who can’t be bothered to go full school spirit costume but still want to fit in with the rest of the Yale football crowd. It’s the go to item for those of you who value being comfortable over being stylish. You just want to be warm, is a football game ever that serious? The answer is yes, yes it is.
5. The Baseball Cap
Great for a bad hair day, flat hair day or any kind of hair day, but also great for shielding your eyes from the sun in case you get stuck on the sunny side of the Harvard stadium this year. The baseball cap is an item you see people try to pair with a wool coat, a crewneck and sweatpants trying to exude east coast old money but college student edition, and it only works maybe 60 percent of the time.
6. The White Aran Knit Sweater
“Gilmore Girls” fans, this one’s for you. Also known as the Rory Gilmore Sweater or the Fall Sweater, the white Aran Knit sweater is a dark horse that definitely shows you watch “Gilmore Girls.” Fun fact: If you pair it with jeans, you’ll be perfectly recreating Rory Gilmore’s outfit at her first Yale Harvard football game.
7. The Blue Cardigan
We’re really just trying to get you to wear anything blue here, and for those of you trying to exude the east coast preppy chic, a blue cardigan is the way to go.
Of course we can’t forget the specialty Yale Harvard merchandise made by clubs. Many clubs are offering Anti-Harvard merch like the Record or Junior Class Council. Special shout out to the Record for their variety of Yale Harvard merch, from their coquette style “Yale > Harvard” white crew neck to their Harvard Erectile Dysfunction Club and “we suck” football play sticker, they have some of the funniest merch I’ve seen. I will definitely be sporting a Harvard “EDC” sticker on my chest this Saturday.
Last but not least, the way to be the most Yale without clothes:
8. Become a Blue Man group Member
Yes you read that right. Blue Man group. Nothing would scream school pride more than painting your entire body blue for the Yale Harvard Game. Alternatively, you can also just paint blue football stripes or hearts on your face — that works too.
How you put together your outfit for the Big Game is up to you. You can pull a Joey from Friends, and wear every Yale merch/blue item you own or layer up your favorite items that keep you warm, but still reflect your school pride. With the Big Game this weekend, grab your friends, wear your blues and have a good time shouting “School on Monday.”
– Alexis Lam
