Is it obnoxious when an adult wears an Ivy league college sweatshirt?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My husband wears Penn gear because he has it from college and it still fits. He played a sport, so he has a ton of sweats, jackets, etc. and we toss them as they wear out.

I don’t understand people who wear vacation gear for a ski resort or beach town they went to once. College makes sense to me - you spent 4 years there. Vacation gear makes sense to me if you have a house there or have been going to the same place every year forever and it is part of your family’s culture / collective memories.

My kids always want to buy souvenir hats and sweatshirts from any random beach town we might spend a weekend at. I get why it seems strange, but they view that stuff as souvenirs to remind them of a fun weekend. It's usually only about $10-15, and more useful than a snowglobe or refrigerator magnet, so I don't fight it. Maybe that will help you understand.

I am not judging your kid. I am judging my mom who went to a Bar Harbor once for a long weekend and is wearing her fleece and using it to strike up conversations in the grocery check out line 10 years later. It was not purchased due to unexpected weather. For some reason that is different to me than my inlaws who wear shirts and jackets with the logo of a popular western ski resort because they own a timeshare there and have been skiing there 2-3 weeks a year since the 1980s. It’s a big enough part of their family that some of my husband’s siblings got married there - hence actual family history and connection. So when someone randomly asks you if n public about the place on your shirt, so you have something interesting or meaningful to say. My mom doesn’t even know anyone who lives in Maine.

It sounds like you really just have an issue with your mother. I mean, unless she's pretending that she's a Mainer or lying about it, what's the harm exactly? She's been there one, like lots of people, she has a memory of it, why not have a conversation with the checkout person about it? It's not really that different than talking about the weather or other forms of small talk. It's so odd to me that wearing a piece of clothing with a logo from a place (school, vacation destination, etc) is worse or more gauche than wearing a piece of clothing with a clothing company logo on it. How is it worse than wearing a Nike or Gap or what not shirt/pullover. Why must there be family history to justify the wearing of a fleece? No one gets upset with people wearing sports team clothing that they are --just-- a fan of. I'd just assume that people are a fan of the college or vacation destination--no sports team required.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Threads like this are how DCUM makes me scratch my head.

seriously. who thinks about this stuff? not me

[Anonymous]

I have a Stanford t-shirt. I didn't go there. I lived nearby for a while and the campus is beautiful. I spent many days going for walks on the campus. Before we moved away, I went to the store and bought a t-shirt to remind me of those walks. Then I lived here in DC. When I'd wear my shirt, someone would ask, did you go there? I'd say no, and get a death stare. Who cares that I was wearing a shirt for a school I didn't attend? I was wearing something that I liked and brought me good memories. Now, if I was lying on my resume, that's bad. But a shirt? Really?

What is funny is that now that I've had this shirt for a while, I've worn it in a bunch of different places. And the only place where people ask me about it is in DC.

[Anonymous]

I hate when someone goes on a trip and then brings me back an apparel souvenir. I have several family members who do this. At least I'll use a souvenir pen or shot glass, but I'm not wearing gear for a place I've never been. Those go straight to the donation bin. Weird.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a Stanford t-shirt. I didn't go there. I lived nearby for a while and the campus is beautiful. I spent many days going for walks on the campus. Before we moved away, I went to the store and bought a t-shirt to remind me of those walks. Then I lived here in DC. When I'd wear my shirt, someone would ask, did you go there? I'd say no, and get a death stare. Who cares that I was wearing a shirt for a school I didn't attend? I was wearing something that I liked and brought me good memories. Now, if I was lying on my resume, that's bad. But a shirt? Really?

What is funny is that now that I've had this shirt for a while, I've worn it in a bunch of different places. And the only place where people ask me about it is in DC.

I know someone who stocked up on Stanford, Harvard, Princeton, and Yale gear for his entire family. They all wear it. Frequently. And none of them went to any of those schools, but they like to pretend like they did.

[Anonymous]

Here's the thing.....people who think this is obnoxious still haven't moved on from their Ivy-envy twenty years out of college. It's all about their insecurity because I can guarantee you the person who threw on their alma mater's sweatshirt hasn't given it an iota of thought.

[Anonymous]

Huh. I wear my college and university sweatshirts because they are there when I’m chilly. I wear them on walks and while gardening, not out and about. If people think I’m obnoxious for wearing those items, well, whatever. People around here will judge you no matter what you wear or do or say.

[Anonymous]

I'm an Ivy alum and while I don't wear sweatshirts on a regular basis, I definitely have no problem wearing clothing from my school when I feel like it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not if they went there and it's otherwise an appropriate time to wear a sweatshirt. If they wore it with a school hat and school socks, that would be a little too Andy from The Office-ish.

I attended four universities, two Ivy and two state. I have and wear stuff from all four.

+1

I'm not sure how anyone could argue with this completely reasonable response.

I'm wearing the hat AND the sweatshirt when I go to a game to watch our admittedly terrible football team.

You should wear your UVA gear proudly all the time!!

[Anonymous]

I wear whatever I grabbed from my drawer. I am throwing out stuff only when it becomes rags. It can be absolutely random stuff. It can be a Harvard t-shirt or a Grand Get one sweatshirt, which appeared randomly in my house. All of it is dominated anyway by the "corporate logo" collection, which includes a full set of luggage, business wear, accessories, random stuff (like portable solar panels or beach chairs), etc. I am not throwing stuff away just because of the logos, I am wearing it and using it.

[Anonymous]

Yes, very obnoxious.

[Anonymous]

I wear whatever I grabbed from my drawer. I am throwing out stuff only when it becomes rags. It can be absolutely random stuff. It can be a Harvard t-shirt or a Grand Teton one sweatshirt, which appeared randomly in my house. All of it is dominated anyway by the "corporate logo" collection, which includes a full set of luggage, business wear, accessories, random stuff (like portable solar panels or beach chairs), etc. I am not throwing stuff away just because of the logos, I am wearing it and using it.

[Anonymous]

This thread actually makes me want to pull out some of my Harvard gear just to annoy people that are still insecure about their university choice 20+ years later. I mean, really. Move on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, very obnoxious.

Yet a Maryland or Rutgers shirt is just fine. Give me a break.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This thread actually makes me want to pull out some of my Harvard gear just to annoy people that are still insecure about their university choice 20+ years later. I mean, really. Move on.

Yep. "Only" went to Penn but I'm about to go see what gear I have remaining.