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Oxford or Cambridge: Two Robes, One Old Argument
Oxford and Cambridge have been arguing since 1209, when a handful of scholars left one for the other and started the oldest rivalry in English academic life. They have raced boats at it since 1829. Most Englishmen who never attended either still, if pressed, pick a side.
So it seemed only right to make two robes and let them argue. The Oxford and the Cambridge are the same robe, cut from the same cloth, in the same weight, with the same collar. Everything that separates them is color — which, as any rivalry will tell you, is usually enough.
The Cambridge, in crimson.
One pattern, two temperaments
Both are woven with the same interlocking geometric figure — a small, repeating maze of a pattern that reads as a plain color from across a room and only resolves into something intricate when you are close enough to shake a hand. It is the kind of detail that rewards the wearer more than the audience, which is rather the point of a robe.
Both are finished with a navy satin shawl collar and matching lined cuffs, so the two share a common thread even in opposition. And both come with a tie belt in the same cloth.
The Oxford, in blue
The Oxford takes a blue base and runs the geometric figure across it in a slightly deeper tone, so the pattern emerges as the light moves rather than announcing itself. With the navy collar, it is the quieter of the two — the robe you reach for at seven in the morning with a cup of coffee and no intention of speaking to anybody.
The Oxford, in blue.
The Cambridge, in crimson
The Cambridge does not do quiet. A deep crimson base, the same maze pattern picked out across it, the same navy collar for contrast — and the whole thing considerably more willing to be looked at.
A note for the purists: Cambridge's color is famously a pale blue, so a crimson Cambridge is a small act of insubordination. We would say it suits the robe better than accuracy would have. If you want the blue, it is on the Oxford.
The geometric weave, close up on the Cambridge.
The cloth
Both are 100% cotton and deliberately lightweight. This is the distinction people most often miss when buying a robe: a heavyweight terry robe is wonderful for ten minutes after a shower and unbearable for an hour afterward, while a lightweight cotton robe can be worn all morning without becoming a personal weather system.
Cotton also breathes, which means these work in July as well as January — a genuinely year-round robe rather than a winter one you put away in March.
The same weave in blue, with the lined cuff.
Fit and sizing
Both run from M to 4XL, cut long with a generous wrap and a shawl collar that sits flat rather than riding up the neck. If you are between sizes, take the larger — a robe should be able to go over a shirt without complaint.
Sizes M through 2XL are $189.95; 3XL and 4XL are $209.95. Both robes are currently in stock in every size.
So which one?
The honest answer is that it depends on the hour you intend to wear it. The Oxford is a morning robe — quiet, blue, content to be ignored. The Cambridge is an evening one, and knows it.
Pick a side: the Oxford or the Cambridge. Or see the rest of the lightweight robes.
Oxford and Cambridge have been arguing since 1209, when a handful of scholars left one for the other and started the oldest rivalry in English academic life. They have raced boats at it since 1829. Most Englishmen who never attended either still, if pressed, pick a side.
So it seemed only right to make two robes and let them argue. The Oxford and the Cambridge are the same robe, cut from the same cloth, in the same weight, with the same collar. Everything that separates them is color — which, as any rivalry will tell you, is usually enough.
The Cambridge, in crimson.
One pattern, two temperaments
Both are woven with the same interlocking geometric figure — a small, repeating maze of a pattern that reads as a plain color from across a room and only resolves into something intricate when you are close enough to shake a hand. It is the kind of detail that rewards the wearer more than the audience, which is rather the point of a robe.
Both are finished with a navy satin shawl collar and matching lined cuffs, so the two share a common thread even in opposition. And both come with a tie belt in the same cloth.
The Oxford, in blue
The Oxford takes a blue base and runs the geometric figure across it in a slightly deeper tone, so the pattern emerges as the light moves rather than announcing itself. With the navy collar, it is the quieter of the two — the robe you reach for at seven in the morning with a cup of coffee and no intention of speaking to anybody.
The Oxford, in blue.
The Cambridge, in crimson
The Cambridge does not do quiet. A deep crimson base, the same maze pattern picked out across it, the same navy collar for contrast — and the whole thing considerably more willing to be looked at.
A note for the purists: Cambridge's color is famously a pale blue, so a crimson Cambridge is a small act of insubordination. We would say it suits the robe better than accuracy would have. If you want the blue, it is on the Oxford.
The geometric weave, close up on the Cambridge.
The cloth
Both are 100% cotton and deliberately lightweight. This is the distinction people most often miss when buying a robe: a heavyweight terry robe is wonderful for ten minutes after a shower and unbearable for an hour afterward, while a lightweight cotton robe can be worn all morning without becoming a personal weather system.
Cotton also breathes, which means these work in July as well as January — a genuinely year-round robe rather than a winter one you put away in March.
The same weave in blue, with the lined cuff.
Fit and sizing
Both run from M to 4XL, cut long with a generous wrap and a shawl collar that sits flat rather than riding up the neck. If you are between sizes, take the larger — a robe should be able to go over a shirt without complaint.
Sizes M through 2XL are $189.95; 3XL and 4XL are $209.95. Both robes are currently in stock in every size.
So which one?
The honest answer is that it depends on the hour you intend to wear it. The Oxford is a morning robe — quiet, blue, content to be ignored. The Cambridge is an evening one, and knows it.
Pick a side: the Oxford or the Cambridge. Or see the rest of the lightweight robes.