There are almost no words: Harvard University is launching a line of menswear clothing that looks as if it were ripped from the pages of Details magazine.

The über-preppy line, called Harvard Yard, will range from $160 to $495 for items including garish short-sleeve plaid shirts and slightly-too-tight seersucker shorts. Apparently the fact that Harvard can barely pay its bills as a result of the economic downturn did not occur to anyone as a hint that now might not be the best time to start peddling overpriced sport coats.

The line will be produced in conjunction with the men’s clothing company Wearwolf Group, with which the school struck a 10-year deal. “We thought Harvard had a rich and authentic connection to this particular style,” the company’s executive vice president, Jeffrey Wolf, told WWD.

The menswear line will consist of “short-sleeve plaid shirts, Liberty print wovens, seersucker shorts, regimental stripes, sporty knits, patterned jackets and fancy pants — all in a contemporary, tapered fit,” according to the trade publication, and was apparently inspired by photographs of students lounging in Harvard Yard in the 1960s.

“It’s a style that has become current again and not just with the American consumer,” the line’s creative director, John Fowler, was quoted as saying. “We think Harvard Yard will have global appeal.”

For the first (and probably last) time, we second Perez Hilton’s reaction: Why?

(Photo: Harvard Yard, via New York)