Senior jacket showdown: Final four designs vie for place in future P-rades

Class of 2003 officers announced the four finalists for senior class jackets yesterday after members of the class voted from among 16 designs ranging from trendy to traditional to humorous.

Runoff voting will be held online until midnight tonight, and the results will be announced over the weekend, Catherine Farmer '03, senior class president wrote in an email.

This year, jacket designs struck a balance between distinct logos and more free-flowing patterns.

One finalist features the traditional University tiger with the class year and "PU 2003" fabric lining, as well as trendy characteristics like a sleek high collar and cuffed sleeves that added a bit of flair to the design.

Another design, cut like a traditional suit blazers, recalls the jackets of the 1930s and 1940s with its orange and black stripes.

A third finalist features a tiger set against a black background who wraps around the front and the back of the jacket. His tail spells the class year.

The fourth design is more boxy and simple with a high collar, a large "P" on the front and the class year on the back. It also plays with flashy lining material that features a cartoon tiger carrying a "Princeton 2003" sign.

Style, function and creativity are all important factors in designing and choosing an appropriate design, stated Ayn-Monique Tetrault Rooney '03, the designer of a finalist jacket.

"I chose the design that I did because I wanted something that was simple and updated but still symbolized our class," Rooney said.

While the tradition of senior jackets serves to unify alumni from all classes, the jackets themselves also create a distinct class identity by reflecting the culture of the era in which they were designed.

"I think the idea is that [the jackets] capture a certain moment in time, and it's more fun to look back on them when they really stir up memories of graduation year and all that was going on in the pop culture sphere," Robin Givhan '86, fashion editor for The Washington Post, wrote in an email. "It should reflect the trends that infiltrated the campus; it shouldn't play to the runway or hipster street culture."

Nicole Lorenzo '96, president of lingerie design company Zoe San Francisco and owner of the Princeton boutique Splurge, agreed that the value of the senior jacket does not lie in its fashion merit but in its ability to represent the spirit of the graduating class while still being fun and playful.

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"Many of the older jackets are flashy and stylish with tiger prints and the like," Lorenzo said. "I think it's important to have something fun to wear to the P-rade, almost like a costume. In my opinion, the more out there the better."

Senior jackets, also known as beer jackets, emerged early in the 20th century and were traditionally made of white denim with a logo on the back.

The first known design appeared on the senior jackets of the Class of 1918 and consisted of a beer glass labeled 1918 and topped with a head of foam, according to the Alumni Council webpage.

Though jacket designs have evolved over the years, the jackets and their logos are still an important unifying force within the graduating class.

"Many classes have a very specific and distinct logo to represent their class, and some classes have even taken the jacket logo and used it throughout Reunions as a class symbol," said Courtney Coleman '03, class vice president. "Whatever logo is chosen has the potential to become a symbol of the class as a whole."

Class officers held open submissions for designs for several weeks earlier in the semester, and then designs were posted on the senior class webpage, Coleman said.

More than 90 percent of the senior class voted on the jacket design, said Jack Land '03, senior jacket chair.

With their final fall semester drawing to a close, seniors are looking for a design that will reflect their unique Princeton experience and provide a sense of class unity after graduation.

"Since we have to wear the jackets so much in the spring I think people want a jacket that they can enjoy wearing," Rooney said.