The Reunion Costume Collection
Welcome to Princetoniana's permanent showcase for Princeton Reunion garb.
The Museum's virtual "gallery space" for such attire spans two complementary exhibits. One is the Princetoniana Committee's collection of Reunion and Beer Jackets. The other is this photo display of the much less formal outfits that classes have traditionally concocted before or after acquiring the Reunion Jacket at their 25th.
This collection is centered on the often zany costumes created nowadays for the major 5th, 10th, 15th, and 20th reunions, plus some outfits of that ilk designed after the 25th. It also records costumes historically created by younger classes for their off-year reunions. These include quirkily minimalist P-rade outfits donned by the graduating seniors from WWII up until the 1980s, when wearing beer jackets or senior jackets became the norm instead.
Much of the collection is derived from party and P-rade snapshots posted by alums to the University’s “Reunions” website since 2020. Other images have been excerpted from old reunion yearbooks or early issues of the PAW. And more than a few photos have come in from individual contributors.
Out of those troves, the Museum has selected & edited images that portray a given costume to best advantage. The permanent collection also provides further historical context for these unique creations via a separate Chronology of non-pictorial info about them.
Tim Tulenko '67, Curator
NOTE: Images to fill gaps are actively sought. To contribute, see the Guidelines for Submitting Costume Photos.
