The preppy look is back - get ready to join the league of gentlemen

There are a number of reasons why I love the preppy, Ivy League style. First of all, it is an achievable and easy look to adopt regardless of whether you graduated from Harvard or Yale. Two, it is a look that transcends trends. New looks come and go, but this one always makes the grade. Best of all, it suits all ages, from toddlers to the old and grey - just visit a Ralph Lauren store, to see prepsters, both young and old.

Ivy League style is one of those trends that designers like to pilfer when they get bored with unwearable and extreme fashions. And this season, it has matriculated into a full-fledged fashion trend. Credit must go to labels like J. Crew, Tommy Hilfiger and Brooks Brothers, which have never strayed far from this aesthetic. Two books have also been released celebrating the trend - Take Ivy and True Prep: It's A Whole New Old World, a sequel to the 1980 cult best-seller, The Preppy Handbook.

Thom Browne is a designer who likes to reference the collegiate way of dressing. It may not appear so at first glance as he likes to create shock value-laden imagery through his styling and mis-en-scene. This autumn, he layered patterns on prints by piling sweaters on jackets and onto more sweaters topped off with heavy, looping scarves and fur earmuffs. But peel away the layers and you find pieces that are inspired by the academy, such as the chunky white tennis sweaters with blue and red stripes and navy toggle coat worn over a light grey glen plaid blazer. Another prep-inspired look is the oversized baseball-style flannel jacket paired with a roomy double-breasted sportscoat, accented by a cable knit scarf with white stripes on one end (3).

Brooks Brothers dedicated an entire collection to campus fashion with its University line The collection echoes the fashion in Dead Poet's Society: khaki blazers (4), aged brogues, corduroy sport jackets, striped ties, plaid windbreakers, ribbon belts and rugby shirts.

Tommy Hilfiger seems to have studied at the same school as the designers at Brooks Brothers, as he showed similar pieces. There are colour-blocked cardigans worn over pressed shirts and diagonally striped ties (1), thick khakis, ring sweaters, argyle sweater vests, relaxed turtlenecks, beige raincoats and varsity jackets. If they were to make a movie adaptation of John Knowles' A Separate Peace, they would be pulling looks from Tommy Hilfiger.

DKNY and Lacoste also got the memo that fashion is going back to school, sartorially speaking of course. Lacoste showed a look that was Jay Gatsby and Brideshead Revisited meets The Royal Tenenbaums. A feather wool coat was layered over a ribbed cream cardigan and button down shirt. All this was paired with sweat pants and trainers, and to affect the look of an artsy intellectual, a beret. In the real world, take off the beret, slip off the coat and hit the tennis courts on a cold, breezy day. I bet even Roger Federer would dig it.

At DKNY, the style is more modern in the form of a very slim grey suit with narrow lapels that is worn with a crisp white shirt and a black tie with thin red diagonal stripes (2). This is layered with a grey puffer vest and a black pea coat. This one can go straight from a college's hallowed halls to a corner office. Whether the office is yours or you're just delivering coffee, you would still cut a dashing figure.