I got taken for an employee at Brooks the other day. Hasn’t happened in a while. — CC
English lass Rebecca C. Tuite reached out to us several years ago, introducing herself as a sorority girl simpatico with our little sartorial fraternity here. She was researching the corollary of the Ivy League Look, namely the style that WASPy women wore at elite eastern colleges at the same time young men were setting styles on college campuses.
She wrote several pieces for us that combined sartorial observations with the social context of boy-girl interactions during the heyday, including “Vasser Versus Ivies Touch Football,” “Double Date,” “The Yale-Vassar Bike Race,” plus posts on “The Man In The Brooks Brothers Shirt” and a piece on Richard Frede’s collegiate novel, “Entry E.”
The fruits of her research have blossomed and ripened in the form of her recently released book, “Seven Sisters Style,” which is getting plenty of publicity. Congrats to Rebecca, and here are some images from the book that show the girls fraternizing with the fellas. — CC (Continue)
Last night the CBS evening news did a story on Joe Brown of Pensacola, FL, who is still a hardworking barber at the age of 98. Patrons were asked, as they should have been, whether they feel safe in the hands of a nearly century-old tonsorian, especially when he breaks out the straight razor. But apparently his skills are still sharp and he gives a good cut.
Mr. Brown said that the low point in his very long career was when the Beatles became the rage and hair styles — along with pretty much everything else — began to change.
And so we present the above photo, alerted to us by ever-faithful reader “OldSchool,” as an illustration of the battle between Ivy and Beatles haircuts. I wonder which side won? — CC
I suppose after nearly three years now of a golf obsession that’s caused me to neglect career and relationships (though apparently I’m not the first the sport has had this effect on), it was inevitable that I start a golf project.
And so I’m pleased to announce the debut of Golf Style, which is accessed via the new web domain .guru. I’ve always thought the best way of launching a site is with “guru” in mind.
My latest piece for Ralph Lauren Magazine is on the shawl-collared cardigan, which was the favored warm-up gear for baseball players from about 1900-1930. Origins of exactly how and why the shawl cardigan became associated with baseball are murky, and very few of the sweaters survive outside of photographs. I was able to talk to several baseball historians, including MLB’s official, in an effort to shed some light on the handsome sweaters, which were eventually supplanted by woolen varsity-type jackets. (Continue)
Kudos to longtime Ivy Style supporter R. Hanauer for the wonderful cover on its new spring catalog, which arrived in my mailbox today (as it should have in yours).
Hanauer paid tribute to the great tradition of apparel illustration that companies such as Brooks Brothers and LL Bean championed for so many years. A quick call to company scion Randall Jr. revealed that they indeed commissioned the illustration, and the artist’s name is David Merck.
Head over here to see the brand’s latest bow ties. — CC