This weekend a minor kerfuffle erupted on Twitter. Although completely common in the apparel industry, the David and Goliath story hit close to home for those with preppy tastes and sensibilities, who also tend to be the same people who lament the decline in domestic manufacturing and steep rise in offshore production. Newport-based Kiel James …
Editor’s Note: Hank Grant is one of those people who offered to step up when my family’s health went down. THANK YOU The textile known as Scottish tartan has long been associated with the traditional style of dress. Tartan sports coats, vests, and trousers are frequently worn to Christmas parties. Tartan ties and scarfs are …
Editor’s Note: First, THANK YOU to James Grant who threw in a great story while I am finishing up my family’s medical issues. Second, the site is still not repaired so apologies for only one image but this is such a great piece you probably won’t mind. When I was a boy, I once asked …
By James H. Grant The following is an addendum to the article titled A Sergeant and His Clothier. When I enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in November 1966, I knew there was a good chance that I might spend one year of my four year enlistment in the Republic of Vietnam. It did not …
By James H. Grant When I was in the U.S. Air Force during the years 1967-1971, one of my tours of duty was at Royal Air Force Chicksands, in Bedfordshire, England. RAF Chicksands was an interesting assignment. Although it was an air force base, it had no runway, no hangars, no control tower and no …
By James H. Grant Horse-bit loafers, also known as brass-bit or snaffle loafers, have been around for many years. Not being a horseman myself, I had no clue what a “snaffle” was, so I had to look it up. The original shoe was introduced by Gucci of Florence, Italy, in 1953. Consequently, the style is …
By James H. Grant [Warning: The following article will probably cause considerable controversy and disquietude – perhaps even some gnashing of teeth. Proceed with caution. – JHG] In the late summer of 1961, I embarked upon a venture to change my wardrobe from the non-descript blue jeans, plaid shirts, and black loafers I had worn …
Never, Always, Sometimes: Ten Simple Rules of the Southern Collegiate Style By James H. Grant As far as I know, there were no codified standards which governed how we should dress when I went off to college in the 1960’s. There was no handbook, no Hoyle’s Guide, and no Marquess of Queensberry Rules. We were …
By James H. Grant The United Kingdom of Great Britain has many well-known clothiers and outfitters: Aquascutum, Barbour, Burberry, Harrod’s, Liberty of London, just to name a few. Although less heralded perhaps, the firm of J.C. Cording & Co., Ltd., at 19 Piccadilly, London, is one of the finest brands for traditional men’s and women’s …
By James H. Grant In the early 1970s, I knew a priest who served as the Catholic chaplain at Emory University in Atlanta. We occasionally conversed over a beer at Jagger’s, a local pizza restaurant. Father Genesse taught me the Latin expression: De gustibus non est disputandum. There are several nuanced translations of the phrase, …
Editor’s Note: We have all enjoyed reading Mr. Grant’s work, so I wanted to make sure I said thank you to him. Thank you. The alleged TV drama on ABC and Hulu, Will Trent, is based on Karen Slaughter’s series of novels. Frankly, I have not read any of Ms. Slaughter’s novels, but I would …
Editor’s Note: Please click here for the accompanying photo essay. DO NOT be concerned if you are not up to speed on the aesthetic phenomenon known as Dark Academia. It is an esoteric subculture which gained traction during the peaks and valleys of the Covid-19 pandemic. During those austere times, the DA aesthetic was of particular interest to …
Editor’s Note: It is Mr. Grant’s week here and we are grateful. The cover image is a small puzzle, it’ll be solved in a second here by someone bright. It would be my guess that 5% of the visitors to this website have never heard of an OCBD. They probably stumbled onto Ivy Style, …
Editor’s Note: Thanks again to James Taylor, Waterhollow Tweed. It still freaks me out when he likes a song I do on FB. James Taylor likes. A BRIEF HISTORY OF H. ORITSKY, THE ‘NATURAL SHOULDER’ COMPANY Many people are familiar with the “Big Name” tailors of Ivy Style, such as Corbin, H. Freeman, Hickey Freeman, …
In Pompeii around 79 somebody urinated, somebody else took the ammonia out, and dry cleaning was born. Why? Because they were wearing a lot of wool (seems like a heavy fabric to me when you are beneath a volcano) and wool shrinks in water. Imagine you take a week or whatever to weave your Pompeiian …
Editor’s Note: Jonathan Boorstein is a regular contributor who also has curated an image library of the most fantastic automobiles. He can be reached on the Facebook Group as well. “Christmastime is prime time for tartan plaids,” proclaims the latest catalog from The Vermont Country Store, which, like Yankee Magazine, is one of those minor, …
EDITOR’S NOTE: On the Facebook Group we are exclusively clothes oriented, but we also find the history fascinating. If you don’t know about WaterhollowTweed, it is a very small, eclectic online shop that offers a few Ivy Grail finds a week at very reasonable prices. The purveyor, James Taylor (every time he comments on …
I like pens and I go into town (that is what you call it when you take the train to Manhattan from where I am) about twice a week. There is a non-Staples pen store a few blocks outside Grand Central, I had a few dollars in my pocket from the last Evening With James …
Although this is somewhat tangential to our subject matter, it is germane to this present moment in American society. I should also be of interest to style omnivores. As a previously unpublished writer with the paper, I pitched this piece to the LA Times back in 2005 . An editor greenlighted the proposal, and when …