Princeton University Beer Suits and Beer Jackets

4th Mar 2022

The tradition of a "Beer Suit" at Princeton originated with the class of 1912, who began to wear the beer suit  because they had difficulty keeping their clothes from becoming spotted when they quaffed beer. They noticed the problem while carving their initials on the tables of the old Nassau Inn, when some spilled on their clothes. The suits were introduced in April each year and then worn until graduation. The beer suit was originally a set of white denim overalls with a matching white jacket.

A group of Princeton Seniors in their Beer Suits 1933 as pictured in the school's yearbook Bric-A-Brac

A New York Times article from 1932 noted that, "There is always a design on the back of the coat portraying an outstanding phase in the history of the class. The design this year is a caricature of the Princeton 'smoothie' signalizing the criticism that Princeton students recently have produced poor athletic teams."

The entire Princeton graduating class of 1933 wearing their beer suits

In modern times the tradition continues, although instead of a complete outfit in white, it is now only a jacket. Today graduating seniors receive their beer jackets at graduation and then proceed around in a parade through the campus and the town of Princeton wearing them. They no longer call them beer suits or beer jackets because that would be politically incorrect. Today they are called senior jackets.

Alexander Leitch, in his book A Princeton Companion gives a comprehensive history of the beer suits and jackets. Beer Jackets disappeared during the First World War but reappeared in 1919. The class of 1920 was the first to use a design on the jacket. Sometimes the designs were artful or relevent to the events of the world: the 1922 jacket featured a beer mug with wings; the 1922 jacket had a tiger pursued by a camel and the class of 1925 featured the school's mascot, the tiger, crushing four large books. The class of 1941 featured a tiger wearing a helmet sitting on a bomb-shaped work with a burning fuse.