Y is simply a V that hopped on top of an I in some sort of typography based cheerleading scenario.

When the joint (or crotch? sorry) of Y hits right in the middle, the letter appears a little high-waisted.

When we get very bold, we can drop that joint even lower! In fact, we have no choice.

For the script Y, the form relates to the lowercase italic form.

Lowercase is a bit like a v and a j made sweet, sweet love, conceived, and gave birth to a y.

But often, for italics, lowercase y is more like u and j.

Actually, italic y takes all sorts of crazy forms. Cooper Black Italic relates a lot to what Garamond does. This is type design in a nutshell—an understanding of the classics gives you a framework to play a new game on top of it. ✌