Last year saw the return of the vintage-style letterman jacket to the catwalks – a truly American symbol of youthful vigour and freedom, mixed up with hyper-luxe fabrics and evening wear on boys and girls alike.
Letterman jackets are first love, heart-shaped candy, Danny Zuko, synchronised choreography and kisses behind the bleachers fare. They’re a boyfriend’s jacket round your shoulders when it gets cold; sweet-hearted chivalry and hormones deluxe. Sure, it’s an American thing. We didn’t exactly grow up with lettermans, in fact, we were probably more likely to be wearing bad polymix jumpers behind the netball shed, but you get the picture. It’s appealing.
So appealing that on my recent London jaunt I bought one for myself – a classic little red and cream sweetheart with a Scottie motif and an extra-warm dose of fuzziness – and one for my brother – the classic letterman, reworked with grownup toggle buttons and a slightly rolled collar. Tyler loves his and has been wearing it a lot – layering it up with plain hoodies and T’s to great effect. I have yet to wear mine out and about in Cape Town, because I really want to switch it up and wear it with a party outfit. In the first place I don’t even own a pair of sneakers, but I just think the uber-casual girl-next-door thing is too easy. Too expected.
It needs to be high drama meets highschool! I have struggled to find images of girls wearing it well. And so I put my styling powers to the test today… I’m thinking quarterback’s girlfriend nursing a secret crush on the debate team captain. Or the band. Preppy with a punch; peppy with some punk. I’ll do an outfit post this evening to show you how I paired double denim with letterman love and a little bit of height. Well, a lot.
Gimme an L!
The Pessimiss 