Uniqlo Jumpers / Ivy Sweats / Making Uniforms / Why It’s a Great Time to Buy Jeans*

THE RADAR / Issue #2

Hello! Welcome back to THE RADAR, The Prep Clubs’s new fortnightly digest for interesting bits and pieces in the sphere of collegiate threads. You can attend last week’s meeting here, for ventures into authenticity.

UNIQLO LAMBSWOOL JUMPER

We avoid fast fashion around these parts, with such an abundance of clothing available secondhand there’s seldom a reason to head to those parts, plus the environmental practices and quality will always underwhelm. The one label, for me, that gets a hall pass in certain cases is Uniqlo, they have, of course, got some considerable ivy pedigree having first sprung up in the Japanese Ivy revival, in the wake of Van Jacket and the like. These days they’ve become budget heroes, most of us can’t drop £20-£30 on a pair of socks, this is where Uniqlo shines.

Their raglan-sleeve, lambswool knit has something of the shetland about it, the lighter variations made by Harley particularly. Obviously it’s no perfect substitute, but as a budget pick or to fill out an early spring wardrobe it’s a great cut, in 100% lambswool (do not try and brush it, you will be disappointed), in a nice selection of colours. The sleeve construction is a lovely detail that’s rather uncommon from mall brands.

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CLUB APPROVED SWEATPANTS

The oxford and sweatpant combo is a high-risk, high-reward move, miss and it’ll look bizarre, discordant, hit and you get a very interesting postmodern take on casual wear.

To fit snugly into a classic ivy canon, there are a few criteria a sweatpant needs to meet. We want to see a generous leg, in both length and width such that we get a very pronounced break; a thick waistband, front drawstrings are a nice touch; some sort of cuff at the hem which makes for the classic balloon-ish silhouette (if you want to rock sweats, don’t pretend like they’re anything else); 100% cotton jersey or french terry; probably in grey marl. Here are three picks at three price points:

Bronson MFG: Bronson aren’t the finest garment makers going, but if we’re honest very few of us are interested in breaking the bank when it comes to sweats. Drawstrings at the ankles are welcome, the added versatility of either the cuffed or straight hem. Having drawstrings in a contrasting white adds a fair whack of retro appeal.

Camber: The go-to for most jersey items, simple cuts, made in the USA. These aren’t as versatile as the Bronsons, being locked into the cuffed hems, and they don’t have the retro appeal of the white drawstrings but they’re heavy, and they fit beautifully through the leg. They’re well placed as a midship option.

Loopwheeler: Truly the upper echelons of prohibitive, not just the most costly here in and of themselves, you’ll also need to make a trip to Shibuya should you want to pick them up as they’re an in-store exclusive at the time of writing. The reward is art in sweatpant form. Having been featured by the club once before, a suite of options available for waistband/ leg/ cuff. Essentially inaccessible to us layfolk but perhaps another stop to add to the imaginary Tokyo trip itinerary.

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UNIFORMS