Seven Sisters Style: The All-American Preppy Look

American college girls. The Seven Sisters-a prestigious group of American colleges, 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. "[The college girl's] contribution to fashion is as American as Coca-Cola, baseball and hitch-hiking," announced Harper's Bazaar in 1935.

Seven Sisters Style explores the multifaceted foundations and metamorphosis of this style, from the early twentieth century through today. Was the Seven Sisters girl an East Coast Ivy Leaguer? A geek or a goddess? Radical or conservative? A tomboy or an American princess? In many ways, she was all of these and more. This book presents a treasure trove of stunning visuals, including those from the archives of the Seven Sisters colleges that illustrate their legacy and enduring reverberations on and off the runway, in Hollywood, and in popular culture. From Dior's tailored blazers, wrap skirts, and short socks and heels to Balenciaga's juxtaposing the argyle sweater, collared blouse, and sharp tailored blazer, and even Band of Outsiders' silk pajama tartans with oversized coats and collegiate wool hats and scarves, it is a look that continues to fascinate and inspire.