The GANT Varsity Jacket & Other Preppy Icons

In this article we dive into the classical preppy icon: The Varsity jacket from GANT.

Collaboration: Gant

Published 2023-11-04

When Bernard Gantmacher and sons, Marty and Elliot, founded GANT in New Haven in 1949, they had a clear mission in mind: to make the best shirts at an affordable price. Year after year and collection after collection, they expanded the product offering and incorporated additional pieces of the collegiate wardrobe, such as the Varsity Jacket.

Also named the Letterman Jacket, the Varsity Jacket is a piece of clothing with a colorful history, inspired by the energy and optimism of college days. Its popularity quickly grew and it became a much-loved part of the casual wardrobe; a champion with roots in American school sports that is today enjoyed all around the world and far beyond the baseball diamond.

The origins of the Varsity Jacket date back to the second half of the 19th century. In 1865, the baseball team of Harvard University started sewing a capital letter ”H” centered on the chest of a thick knit sweater worn by the players during games as uniform. Only the best performing team members were allowed to keep it, otherwise they had to return their garment at the end of the season. Harvard’s football team followed a few years later with its own version of the jersey and other Ivy League universities slowly adopted this practice
with their own rules.

It grew into being a piece to promote their school and show off the sporting achievements of the most deserving teams. The letters started invading the rest of the everyday wardrobe and other Ivy League universities also adopted these large letters.

- It just takes one look at Teruyoshi Hayashida's book Take Ivy from 1965 to realize that the Varsity jacket is an absolute icon. GANT was right there on campus when the style was born and supplied prep staples like the Oxford Button-Down to both jocks and academics alike. Throw in the club blazer and you're good to go, says Christopher Bastin, GANT Creative Director.