October 2011

Upmarket Neckties From Lands’ End

Lands’ End is a great source for simple ties like stripes and knits. I have both the navy and black Italian-made knits, which are just the right width for me. But this season the Sears-owned brand is offering a handful of specialty ties at a much higher price point. Above is a patchwork tartan wool


Junior Prom: Ivy Style Completes Year Three

Lately I’ve been hitting golf balls so obsessively I failed to notice that October 1st marked Ivy Style’s three-year anniversary. We’re finally seniors. In the meantime, though, it’s time to celebrate the junior prom. The image above is from the Vassar archives, and comes from an article with an amusing run-down of men from various


Preppy Book Signing At Saks

Last night Jeffrey Banks (pictured above) and Doria de La Chapelle signed copies of their new book “Preppy: Cultivating Ivy Style” at Saks Fifth Avenue. It was a full house, though hardly a Prep-a-Palooza. Besides your humble blogger in rep tie and pinned club, there was just KJP and sweetheart:


I Finally Take A Good Photo

… and then get mis-identified. Mort must have been not stoned. Me at the Gant fashion show two weeks ago, in tailor-tapered tan 501s and Allen Edmonds penny loafers. Above the waist: navy Lacoste polo and a constipated expression. It’s pretty ignominious when your most flattering side is your feet. — CC


See Ya Later Alligator: The $1,000 Brooks Brothers Belt

I think I’m going to get an engine-turned belt buckle. I’ll have it engraved with just two initials — CC — a little in-joke reference to my abbreviated bylines here. For now, however, I’ll have to settle for a leather strap to go with it. Brooks Brothers offers a buckle for $250 — the going