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What’s This About
Trad, short for traditional, is classic American natural-shoulder menswear, built around soft jackets and suits, Oxford button-downs, chinos, Shetland knits and loafers.
This guide explains the look and how to wear it today, such as
Where the word trad comes from in American and Japanese menswear
How trad differs from Ivy and preppy
The core garments, from the navy blazer to penny loafers
Outfits for court, client meetings, office days and evenings
Simple ways to update trad clothes
and many more!
Trad is a way of dressing, not a sign of background, and most of its garments are easy to find new or second-hand.
Key Points
01Trad overlaps with Ivy and preppy, and writers draw the lines between them differently.
02The defining jacket has a soft, natural shoulder with little padding.
03Start with an Oxford button-down, chinos, a navy knit and penny loafers, then add a blazer and flannels.
04Courts and employers set their own dress expectations, so check them before relying on any outfit guide.
Trad, short for “traditional”, is a menswear term for classic American natural-shoulder clothing, such as soft-shouldered jackets and suits, Oxford button-down shirts, repp ties, chinos and flannels, Shetland sweaters and leather loafers.
It overlaps with American Ivy League style, preppy fashion and the modern Old Money look, but the word has its own history and emphasis.
In menswear, trad has nothing to do with the “trad” label used in some online lifestyle and political communities; it simply describes a way of dressing.
This guide explains what trad means, how it differs from Ivy and preppy, which garments to start with, and how to wear the look at work, including in law offices and courtrooms, and at the weekend.
What does trad mean in menswear?
The word has been used for this kind of clothing for decades in both the United States and Japan.
Ivy Style has documented a “Trad Shop” opened in the summer of 1960 inside a clothing store in Ithaca, New York, near Cornell University, selling only traditional natural-shoulder clothing; its owner explained that “trad” was simply short for “traditional”.
In Japan, the clothing firm VAN Jacket, founded in Osaka in 1951 by Kensuke Ishizu, promoted the American Ivy look, and its staff produced the 1965 photo book Take Ivy on Ivy League campuses.
Japanese shoppers and shops have since used “trad” and “ametora”, slang for “American traditional”, for this kind of clothing, a story told in W. David Marx’s book Ametora; our Japanese trad style guide covers that version.
From the mid-2000s, the word spread again through English-language menswear forums and blogs as a name for natural-shoulder suits, tassel loafers, Shetland knits, Harris Tweed and madras.
Trad, Ivy and preppy compared
The three labels overlap heavily, and writers draw the lines differently, so treat this table as a working guide rather than a fixed rule.
Scroll horizontally to see all columns →
| Label | Usual meaning | Typical emphasis |
|---|---|---|
| Ivy | The clothing of American Ivy League campuses, best documented from the early twentieth century to its peak in the 1950s and 1960s. | Student clothes such as sack jackets, button-downs, chinos, crew-neck sweaters and loafers. |
| Trad | The same traditional American tailoring and casual wear, as sold by established clothiers and worn by adults today. | Natural-shoulder jackets and suits, conservative ties and grown-up work wardrobes. |
| Preppy | Later and broader reinterpretations, popularised in the 1980s by books such as The Official Preppy Handbook. | More colour, pattern and casual sportswear, from pink shirts to madras shorts. |
Some writers, for example, describe trad as the most conservative of the three, while others treat it as simply the general name for traditional American clothing.
Where trad clothing comes from
Trad clothing grew out of the clothes worn at American universities in the first half of the twentieth century, a story covered in our guide to preppy style origins.
Campus outfitters such as J. Press, which opened beside the Yale campus in New Haven in 1902, and the New York clothier Brooks Brothers sold the key garments.
The defining jacket is the natural-shoulder “sack” jacket, with little padding and little waist shaping, usually with three buttons and a lapel that rolls to the middle button.
That cut is softer than the heavily padded tailoring of many earlier and later suits, a contrast with the structured Victorian tailoring that came before.
Many of the fabrics and patterns came from Britain, including tweed, Shetland knitwear and striped ties, as described in our guide to British countryside clothing.
The Oxford button-down shirt is generally credited to Brooks Brothers around 1900, after the firm saw collars buttoned down on English polo players’ shirts.
Chinos, penny loafers, navy blazers and tweed sports coats completed the campus wardrobe, which also shaped New England classic style, the bookish dark academia aesthetic and country club outfits.
The look is often linked with wealth and with “Old Money vibes”, but the clothes are widely available, and wearing them says nothing reliable about a person’s background or abilities.
Core garments of the trad wardrobe
A small capsule wardrobe of the garments below covers most trad outfits.
The labels named are examples of makers associated with the look, not a required shopping list.
1. Navy blazer or natural-shoulder sports coat
A navy blazer is the most versatile trad jacket, as it works with chinos for business-casual days and with grey flannels for dressier occasions.
For cloth and cut, wool or a wool blend around 10 to 12 ounces suits most of the year; look for a soft, natural shoulder with little padding, in a three-roll-two or two-button front.
As for details, metal buttons recall the blazer’s nautical origins, horn or plain buttons look quieter, and patch pockets look more casual.
In terms of fit, the shoulder seam should end at your shoulder and the collar should sit against your shirt collar; our tailored suit guide explains common alterations.
2. Oxford button-down shirts
The Oxford cloth button-down is the everyday trad shirt, smart enough under a suit and relaxed enough with chinos.
In cloth and cut, look for 100 per cent cotton Oxford cloth; a box pleat at the back gives room to move, and a soft, unlined collar gives the characteristic roll.
For colours, start with white and light blue, then add pink, university stripes or a fine check.
3. Chinos and grey flannels
Khaki chinos are the casual trad trouser, and grey wool flannels are the dressier one.
The cloth for chinos is cotton twill around 8 to 10 ounces; traditional trad trousers sit higher with a straight leg, while slimmer or lower cuts are a personal choice rather than a rule.
Khaki and stone are the first colours, then olive or navy.
For length, a hem that touches the shoe with a slight break or none looks neat; turn-ups (cuffs) are traditional on flannels.
4. Shetland and lambswool sweaters
Shetland wool sweaters add texture and warmth over an Oxford shirt in cooler months.
A crew neck or V-neck cut in a regular fit leaves room for a shirt underneath without bulk.
Navy, grey and camel are the easiest colours, with burgundy, bottle green or yellow for more colour.
When styling, let the shirt collar sit over the neckline of a crew neck, a classic campus detail.
5. Penny loafers and other leather shoes
Penny loafers suit trad outfits from chinos to a relaxed suit.
Choose smooth brown, burgundy or black leather, or suede; shell cordovan, a dense horsehide leather, is a more expensive option that creases in rolls rather than fine lines.
Other trad shoes include tassel loafers, plain-toe bluchers, brown suede bucks and cap-toe shoes for suits.
Dark socks matching your trousers look neat with suits; no-show socks are a summer choice for casual outfits.
6. Suit, ties and outerwear
A navy or grey natural-shoulder suit, a few repp stripe and solid knit ties, a trench coat or wool overcoat, and a waxed or quilted jacket for weekends round out the wardrobe.
Updating trad clothes
Trad looks most current when one or two garments are updated and the rest stay classic.
1. Colour and pattern
Try olive chinos with a white Oxford shirt, a navy blazer and a grey Shetland sweater, or a striped shirt with a muted paisley tie.
Keep to one stronger colour or pattern per outfit if you need to look conservative.
2. Outerwear
An olive quilted liner jacket or a field jacket over an Oxford shirt and knit gives a more casual, outdoor feel.
Choose matt fabrics and simple pockets so it sits comfortably with tailored trousers.
3. Shoes
Swap tan penny loafers for burgundy leather or suede loafers, or wear plain white leather trainers with chinos and a navy knit at the weekend.
4. Accessories
A wool scarf, a knit tie in a warm colour or a plain cotton cap at the weekend adds personality without changing the outfit’s base.
Wearing trad at work
Trad tailoring is well suited to conservative workplaces such as law firms, banks and universities.
Courts and firms set their own dress expectations, so check local rules and your employer’s dress code first; the outfits below are suggestions for the US and UK office norms most readers will meet.
Our guide to styling by occasion, location, season and time of day covers other settings.
1. Court and formal meetings
Wear a navy or charcoal natural-shoulder wool suit, a white or light blue shirt (a point collar or a button-down, as your setting allows), a plain navy or grey silk tie, black cap-toe Oxford shoes and a black belt.
For fit, jacket shoulders that end at your shoulders and trousers that touch your shoes without pooling look neat when you stand and sit.
2. Client meetings
Wear a navy blazer, a light blue Oxford button-down, khaki or grey trousers, a dark knit or silk tie and brown leather penny loafers.
For a more formal meeting, swap the blazer and trousers for a charcoal suit.
3. Office days
Wear a white Oxford button-down, olive or stone chinos, a navy crew-neck Shetland sweater, tan penny loafers and a brown leather belt.
Skip jeans and graphic T-shirts if your office expects business-casual dress.
4. After-work events
Wear a navy blazer, a navy and white striped Oxford shirt, burgundy or grey trousers, a knit tie in a warm colour and burgundy leather loafers.
Where to buy trad clothing
Traditional American clothiers, department stores, online retailers and second-hand shops all sell trad clothing, and vintage natural-shoulder jackets can be very good value.
For shirts, try Brooks Brothers, including its best-known essentials, Gitman Vintage and J.Crew.
For trousers, there are Bonobos, Todd Snyder and Ralph Lauren.
Knitwear makers include Drake’s, Jamieson’s of Shetland and John Smedley.
Shoes come from G.H. Bass, Rancourt & Co. and Alden.
For jackets and suits, look to J. Press, Brooks Brothers and O’Connell’s, or vintage natural-shoulder jackets; if you use a made-to-measure service, ask for a soft, natural shoulder.
Ranges, prices and shop locations change often, so check each retailer’s current offer, and try jackets on or plan for a tailor’s alterations when buying online.
How to start a trad wardrobe
Begin with a light blue Oxford button-down, khaki chinos, a navy crew-neck sweater and brown penny loafers, which together already make a complete outfit.
Add a navy blazer and grey flannels next, then a natural-shoulder suit if your work calls for one.
Buy for the places you actually go, and check fit at the shoulders, collar, sleeves and trouser hem before price or label.
Optional tools from The VOU
Some readers like extra help when choosing clothes, although none of these tools is needed to wear the garments above.
You can read about choosing an image consultant and what an image consultant does, and our guides to dressing for your body shape and seasonal colour analysis explain two optional frameworks for thinking about proportion and colour.
For the vocabulary behind this guide, see our explainers on clothing, garments, fashion accessories, menswear silhouettes and outfits.
We also cover heritage luxury brands and how logo-heavy luxury designs come across, and our fashion style guide explains personal and historic styles.
You can start with three of The VOU’s quizzes, a body shape quiz for men, a seasonal colour quiz for men and a fashion style quiz for men.
For personal help after the quizzes, you can book a consultation. Read about The VOU’s image consultants and stylists, see our styling services for men or contact us with questions.