The classic college stereotypes inspiring current menswear collections – and how to master student style.

As the world of men’s style continues to circle around a wistful, pastel-toned vision of the 1950s (which judging by the SS17 collections this month, will be on the agenda for at least another year), we’re seeing various sub-trends from the era bubble to the surface from week to week as new items arrive on MR PORTER. We’ve considered the beach-club look, thanks to the likes of KAPITAL, Saint Laurent and company. We’ve seen lots of artfully aged denim à la Mr Jackson Pollock, and ruminated on how to perfect that most quintessentially 1950s hairstyle, the quiff. This week, however, it feels like things are taking a somewhat collegiate turn, thanks to all the vintage-style knitwear that’s kicking about. So please indulge us for a moment as we take a stroll through the campus of a fictional MR PORTER university, sometime around the middle of the 20th century, to ponder the following stylish characters:

As any Ivy League style aficionado will tell you, being top of the class isn’t just about grades, it’s also about the way you strut around campus with not a hair out of place, sporting some kind of neat button-down shirt (such as those offered by Acne Studios) and pairing it with such a well-behaved sweater as the example above, from Belgian designer Mr Dries Van Noten. Here the red-and-white stripes around the cricket-style V-neck evokes college colours – the implication is that the wearer is proud, upstanding and most definitely in it to win it.

Those afflicted with prowess in the sporting department often find themselves inconvenienced at college by the fact they actually have to study a little, too, in order to retain the sports scholarship that got them there in the first place. Still, all you all-star quarterbacks (or dedicated gym-goers) out there can happily remind everyone of your athletic status in your time off-pitch by investing in items including the above sweater from Mr Thom Browne, embellished with retro-styled sporting stripes, and sartorial sweatpants by Mr John Elliott – a favourite of NBA stars such as Mr Nick Young.

College is a time to learn, achieve, and grow into the grown-up you were destined to be. Mostly. Actually, though, it’s often just a good excuse to drink too much, smoke too much, start a band and generally attempt to imitate the habits of a) Lord Byron b) Mr Jack Kerouac or c) Mr Bret Easton Ellis, depending on your vintage and/or whim. Of course, the squares in charge of the whole operation aren’t really allowed to recognise the important contributions made by those who follow the latter path, but fashion designers are, which perhaps explains the presence of this wonderfully oversized and rakishly distressed sweater in the latest collection from J.W. Anderson. Wear it with a pair of Converse (preferably a little bit battered too) and take yourself back to the good, bad, old days.