Reunion Costume Chronology

An Annual Timeline of P-rade Attire

While the photo exhibit in this “Reunion Costume Collection” is extensive, it is certainly not complete. The outfits currently depicted are far outnumbered by ones for which photos remain elusive. To get a fuller grasp of the historical scope & variety of P-rade attire, a deep dive into written P-rimary sources is the way to go.

Here, then, begins a decade-by-decade chronology of costume characteristics. Unlike the photo display, which is organized by class, this serial catalog is organized by successive reunion years.

The 1900s — “Costumes Commence, Floats Flourish”

The 1910s — “Costumes Thrive, Floats Revive”

Each of these descriptive essays comes complete with tabular notes excerpted from online copies of the Prince, the Alumni Weekly, and class reunion yearbooks. They itemize available info about the vast range of Reunion outfits Princetonians have donned since the turn of the 20th Century. Along the way, they also list some of the costume-related floats & stunts that classes have flaunted in the P-rade.

To explore the evolution of Princeton Reunion garb, just click on each successive decade listed above. Additional decades will become available in coming months, as research in this frivolous field goes forward.