Preppy threads, picked fresh from the Vine

While attending college in Boston, students are thrown into the strange world of a brand called Vineyard Vines. Terriers shipped in from the West Coast are often perplexed by this cultural phenomenon, and Commonwealth Ave could be an advertisement for the brand in itself.

While perusing their website –definite foreign territory– The Tab took note of a few things.

First off, Vineyard Vines is obviously outrageously pricey.

Plaid button-downs, of which there are about 7,009 different iterations, range from a hefty $98 to well over $120.

So, let’s discuss the elephant in the room, or rather, the giant whale that has washed ashore in fashion. Whales are great, but when donned as a pattern on pants with a matching embroidered whale belt, and a polo with another whale on it, I wonder where style went to die in Boston.

Eman Khazra, CGS ’19 and a Los Angeles native, said he was taken back by the widespread trend upon arrival at BU. 

“It’s all based on a pink whale, which is really dumb,” said Khazra. “I wanted to wear Vineyard Vines for Halloween as a joke, but I didn’t even know someone who owns it.”

Vineyard Vines gains points for color palate, quality, and preppy aesthetic.

There is a certain air that a boy wearing Vineyard Vines adopts.

First assumptions: the wearer is from Connecticut, has mad flow, has spent many hours on the lacrosse field, loves pounding brews with their friends, and probably has the damn whale pants.

They are likely to come from a well-off family and sport Sperry’s as their shoe of choice everyday, until fall when the Timbs or Duck Boots are unearthed.

From memes to movies, this is a stereotype that has been seen in pop culture quite often.

From the Vineyard Vine’s website.

There is a linearity about style in Boston that is not typical of other big, young cities. In most metropolitan hubs, there is a diversity about style. People embrace the vibe of their location and use it to amplify their own personal views on clothing and presentation.

The Northeast is traditional and colonial, so it does make sense why a company, founded in Martha’s Vineyard in 1998, would have such a deep rooted presence in the surrounding vicinities. It is classic idyllic Americana apparel.

In general, the brand seems to combine the preppy upper class New England style with a level of laid-backness that really appeals to guys in frats.

So as ‘whalegating season’ continues, the quest to understand Vineyard Vines does as well.