Take Ivy

Take Ivy was the project of Japanese photographer Teruyoshi Hayashida.  His goal was to visit the Ivy League schools in the US and document the New England prep lifestyle and fashion at those schools.  The publishing of this book sparked a fashion craze in Japan for American prep fashion and to this day still demands respect as a huge influence and source of inspiration to the fashion world.


Originally published in 1965, the book was incredibly successful.  For decades after it's release, it was difficult to find and original editions were few and far between.  In 2006, a Japanese reprint was made of the original book and sold out quickly.  Lucky for all of us fashion conscious men in the english speaking world, powerHouse Books rereleased a fully translated version in September that is widely available.  I picked up a copy recently at a local bookstore and can't put it down.


Here are some of the photos from the book:

So if you have a chance, definitely take a look at the book.  The similarities between the styles of today and those of the era are remarkable.  

Next post, I'm going to share a recent project inspired by Take Ivy that takes a modern look at the American prep style from a different perspective.