The Original Prep - Take Ivy

Since it's back to school season, we thought we'd share with you a little treasure that sits on the Joe Button shelf (The New York Times described it as a treasure of fashion insiders).

Some time during the 1960s, a Japanese photographer named Teruyoshi Hayashida took a little journey through all the Ivy League schools in the US, where he spent some time capturing (in a series of extremely grainy photographs) the preppy school life and style of the Ivy students. This culminated into the publication of a book, Take Ivy, which subsequently became a cult classic and led to a fashion explosion of the American "Ivy Style" in the Ginza district of Tokyo around 1965.

The popularity of this book is a true testament to the timeless appeal of this style and if you look closely, although the photographs were taken in the '60s, there is an uncanning resemblance to the prep style we've seen resurface (large checks, tartan, plaid shorts etc). Enjoy! It really is a prep style bible.

Photos by Teruyoshi Hayashida