Professors: Underrated Icons Vm. 2 — Archie and The Gang

-I'd completely forgotten about the time I spent flipping through my neighbors stack of Archie comics as a kid until I found one laying around at my girlfriend's parents house over Thanksgiving break. Archie has been entertaining kids since he was created by Bob Montana in 1941. Another thing Archie and his crew have been doing since World War II? Keeping it steezy in the clothing department. Archie's style has the unique quality of showcasing the best and worst of each of the decades in which he's been drawn. Archie is always daring and sometimes ridiculous (see: pink bell-bottoms) but he always gives a nod to the classic natty style of his early days. Follow me after the jump for some more photos of Archie and The Gang's iconic style and some more random Archie trivia (I got a little obsessed researching Archie for this post.)



-Even though Archie is never shown to be on any sports team, he often rocks Riverdale High gear with pride. In the vintage cover I used for the lead-in image we see Archie in a Riverdale sweater-vest with a polka dot tie. Lose the plaid pants and that's an outfit I would walk out the door in right now. Ignore this huge gap, scroll down.

-Besides varsity gear, Archie's most consistent quality look is his white shirt under crew neck sweater get up. Though I rarely rock a non BD-collar under a sweater, this is the look I most relate to. Keep it simple, keep it consistent. Archie and his friends are based on real-life people from Haverhill, Mass. where Montana attended high school from 1936-1939.



-Mr. Weatherbee is boss-status. Literally and stylistically.

-Sometimes Archie makes a mistake when dressing. The day he pulled out the polka dot sweater, orange plaid pants and cowboy boots was one of those mistakes.


-Dilton Doiley! My, and now your, favorite Archie character. Actually, Cheryl Blossom is our favorite Archie character (she was removed because she was deemed "too sexy".) You remember that Asher Roth mixtape jam about which cartoon characters he would fornicate? Yeah. But anyway, Dilton —Riverdale's resident nerd/genius, is by far the iciest cat in the Archie crew.

-What really strikes me as interesting is the fact that Montana, and the artists who continue the Archie legacy, have to pick clothes for Archie and his friends for every story. I just wonder how much thought goes into those decisions? Whatever the case, the 70 year old comic has definitely been a stylistic influence to generations of kids, and he's hasn't got the sartorial respect he deserves.