Having lived in Cambridge for much of my life I am very
conscious of how the University has affected the fashion of the town. Many of
the oldest stores in Cambridge are linked to the University and the sale of
University clothing to locals and tourists alike is a major source of income. I
therefore thought in this series of posts I would examine the University outfitters,
where you can acquire that particular style that has somehow become part of
higher education itself. Be it the classically refined English style on show in
Cambridge and Oxford or the laid-back Ivy League look of America's East Coast.
So lets start with a classic outfitter of the east coast preppy GANT.
So lets start with a classic outfitter of the east coast preppy GANT.
Anyone who knows me can testify to my love for this brand. It produces classic preppy wear, but alas at a price. Gant clothes do not come cheap, but they do last.
Gant has embodied the preppy ethos since the company launched in 1949, but its history is older than that. Bernard Gant, a Ukrainian immigrant to New York in 1914, established a small family business with his wife that sold shirts to some of the biggest names in American clothing.
J. Press and Brooks Brothers where just a few of the businesses clients. However by the 1940 the company was adding a small G to mark the shirt as one of theirs and then in 1949 Gant was officially launched when Bernard's two sons began to produce under there own name.
Since then the brand has gone from strength to strength, although interestingly its first store was not opened until 1989, as until then it had retailed through department stores. It also has a very successful partnership with Michael Bastian. Gant is all about colour and comfort, a true preppy brand. And through its history it has embodied a small part of the American Dream.
Gant has embodied the preppy ethos since the company launched in 1949, but its history is older than that. Bernard Gant, a Ukrainian immigrant to New York in 1914, established a small family business with his wife that sold shirts to some of the biggest names in American clothing.
J. Press and Brooks Brothers where just a few of the businesses clients. However by the 1940 the company was adding a small G to mark the shirt as one of theirs and then in 1949 Gant was officially launched when Bernard's two sons began to produce under there own name.
Since then the brand has gone from strength to strength, although interestingly its first store was not opened until 1989, as until then it had retailed through department stores. It also has a very successful partnership with Michael Bastian. Gant is all about colour and comfort, a true preppy brand. And through its history it has embodied a small part of the American Dream.
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