My livelihood has been creative brand-building for nonprofits: not a profitable activity, I might add. But here goes nothing:

I was delighted to see the bookstore’s smart clothing line that gets to the bottom of Whitman’s new theme: “unpretentious Northwest culture.” Prominent display of an organization’s name, tag line and mission on clothing has been a staple of nonprofit branding since T-shirts and sweats went haute.

But if advertising Whitman’s culture as unpretentious is actually pretentious, then the best way to drain-and-seine Whitman’s protein and to broadcast its appeal would be to drolly brand it as “pretentious.” Get it?

Imagine the popularity of sweatpants with “PRETENTIOUS” on one side: and maybe “PRECOCIOUS” on the other. I’ll leave variations on a theme to the English Department.

I might offer, though, that the “Northwest” theme misses a key to Whitman’s magic, which is its global outlook and study-abroad facets.

So, here’s a possible workaround: Why not offer “unpretentious” apparel in multiple languages? Of course, putting anything in French on a piece of clothing is, by definition, pretentious: and gauche.

Promoting a liberal arts education can be awfully weird sometimes. Especially in the marketplace. But as Ms. Ruth Wardwell has proposed, “let’s own it.”

John Mills, parent