Give This Style the Old College Try

There's a crispness in the air, the leaves are starting to change, football season is in full swing and college students are well into their semesters, looking forward to fall break. I'm so jealous of them! I think my own ideas about classic collegiate style stem from a romantic ideal of brick Ivy League dorm rooms of the 1950s and '60s, The Official Preppy Handbook and the movie Animal House.

The reality at age 18 for me was moving into an un-air-conditioned characterless building that was so bad it's since been torn down. (Oh, and I'm not kidding, the dorm was called Balz. Yup, pronounced like you think.) However, the Balz experience did not dash my collegiate style dreams. I bedecked that depressing room in Laura Ashley (give me a break, it was the '90s) and still think of blue blazers, leather-bound books, leather club chairs, fireplaces and plaid blankets when I think of collegiate aesthetic.

If you're yearning for a little fall semester style, here are a few ways to bring it to your home.

Go for classic tartan patterns. The ideal collegiate style mixes lots of plaids. We're talking blankets, upholstery, kilts and even pants.

Get the lowdown on the difference between "tartan" and "plaid"


Channel your inner Winklevoss. I know these oars aren't really the type used by today's crew teams, but the technologically superior, high-performance oars of today just aren't as charming. Crossing two of them over a bed or a fireplace still gives a nod to Head of the Charles style. By the way, Head of the Charles is a really fun thing to attend during fall break — ahem, I mean, October Reading Days.


Go for a final club/secret society/faculty lounge vibe. Speaking of the Winklevae, The Social Network is another one of those movies that gave us an inside look at how the elite within the elite live college life. Well-worn leather upholstery, club chairs, brass tacks, dark wood paneling, built-in shelves, Oriental rugs and a roaring fire complete the look of how we imagine an exclusive club or faculty lounge. In other words, have many leather-bound books and an apartment that smells of rich mahogany.

By the way, Harvard doesn't allow movies to be filmed on campus so we were actually looking at a few prep schools and Wheelock College when we were watching The Social Network.


Hang a college banner with pride. Vintage wool felt banners and blankets have a classic look that lets you show off your school pride. Also, they may help subliminally prep your Little Einstein for all of those application essays in his or her future.


Don't fret, this parent doesn't seem to be insisting upon Harvard. Junior's options are open thanks to this plethora of university T-shirts turned throw pillows.


Create a study carrell atmosphere. Sometimes in school you have to sequester yourself into an isolated nook in the stacks with a smuggled-in coffee and no distractions.

This kind of environment can also force you to get down to business at home. Keep everything you need to get your work done within reach, turn off your phone and hunker down in a cozy library corner.


Hang academic charts and posters. Botanical charts, large-scale rolled maps, anatomical drawings and other scholastic posters have been popular for several years, reflected by the prices you'll see when you try to find them online.

They make for interesting lessons, conversations and artwork, and remind us of a time when you weren't looking at all this stuff on a laptop.


Display vintage trophies. Watching steeplechase races while wearing big hats was one of those classic collegiate experiences I had that actually jibed with my old-fashioned ideas about college.

No winner's cup ever made it to my dorm room (like I said, I only watched), but the idea of vintage trophies and Jefferson cups is very old-school college. These vintage items are enjoying a resurgence lately (spy them here; it's hilarious), adding traditional flair to libraries, bedrooms, foyers and even bathrooms.


Show your colors in an original way. This very academic family made nautical flag-like paintings with the school colors from all of the universities they attended. The white one is holding a place for wherever their son decides to go to graduate school.

See the rest of this basement


Pay homage to your favorite college team, tradition or event with jerseys or a mural. This one is in honor of The Beanpot, an annual tournament between the hockey teams from Boston College, Boston University, Harvard and Northeastern University.


This idea is for serious fans only and works best in a playroom, kid's room, home gym or basement.


Use a vintage trunk as furniture. Do kids still use trunks to pack for college today? I have no idea, but we did. When you don't have much furniture, they make great nightstands, coffee tables and even extra seating in the dorm, and they do at home now, too.

Check out some great steamer trunks

Show your colors: Do you have anything around the house that honors the university you attended or was inspired by collegiate style? Let us know in the Comments section.

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