In the 1930s, women attending the Seven Sisters colleges began rebelling against the dress code restrictions, eventually developing a new, empowering style of clothing: preppy.
The Seven Sisters-a prestigious group of American colleges: Barnard, Bryn Mawr, Mount Holyoke, Radcliffe, Smith, Vassar, and Wellesley, whose members include fashion icons such as Katharine Hepburn, Jacqueline Kennedy, Ali MacGraw, and Meryl Streep-perfected a flair that spoke to an aspirational lifestyle filled with education, travel, and excitement.
Their style, on campus and off, was synonymous with an intelligence and American grace that became a marker of national pride and status all over the world: from jeans and baggy shirts to Bermuda shorts and blazers, soft Shetland sweaters and saddle shoes, not to mention sleek suiting, pearls, elegant suitcases, kidskin gloves, kitten heels, and cashmere.
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| Smith students are seen on campus in 1968. |
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| Vassar students seen in the 1950s: Skirts were required for dinner at 6pm every evening, so many students kept them on for after-dinner studying or gossiping with friends. |
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| Radcliffe, 1954 |
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| Hoop rolling at Bryn Mawr, c.1950s. |
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| A Vassar student reclines in her dormitory during the 1950s |
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| Barnard College, 1928. |
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| Mount Holyoke. |
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| Vassar students stretch out in their cuffed jeans and sweaters (including both a Fair Isle sweater and a cardigan buttoned backwards, which became a popular campus trend), outside in 1950. |
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| Vassar, 1967. |
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| Mount Holyoke students, 1945. |
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| Smith, c.1930s. |
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| Sleek hair, turtleneck sweaters, and preppy blouses, all seen enjoying an on-campus revival here at Bernard. |
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| Radcliffe students stroll together on a winter’s day in 1954 – bare legs, socks, saddle shoes and oversized topcoats were a Seven Sister’s style trademark whatever the weather. |
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| Vassar student hard at work, c.1930s. |
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| Vassar student clad in her normal attire incl. saddle shoes, flannel skirt & Brooks Brothers sweater w. jacket drawn up over her head to fend off the rain because umbrellas are taboo, on campus, 1936. |
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| Photo: Courtesy of Rizzoli |