OK, that an Onion headline. In other words, a joke. It’s the punchline; now for the setup. It used to be that Brooks Brothers was popular shorthand for the establishment, showing up in lyrics for “Harvard Blues” and the libretto for “Guys And Dolls.” Even in the year 2000 “the Brooks Brothers riot” was coined …
Earlier this week, Derek at Put This On posted a lengthy Q&A with W. David Marx, Ivy Style contributor and author of the new book “Ametora” about Ivy, trad and Americana in Japan. It’s a smart conversation that Ivy omnivores will want to check out. Here’s a teaser: It feels like Americana, prep, and denim …
From the September, 1949 issue of Esquire. Subscribe to the digital archives here. From the University of Maine to UCLA, college men spend most of their time pounding the books in class, in the dorm, or in the library with Miss Distraction of 1949. Their keynote is comfort and neatness. The fellow in the window …
Pictured above is a gorgeous new tassel loafer that just landed on Allen Edmonds’ website and hits stores next week. Dubbed the Acheson, I think it’s the tassel loafer of my dreams and here’s why. Tassels are my go-to shoe; I’ve several pairs and wear them 90% of the time. But even though the ones …
Ivy Style’s associate editor Chris Sharp has an uncanny photographic memory for trad images. He seems to remember every photo he’s ever seen, and, even more amazing, can actually go find them. But I’d like to lay claim to a similar skill: namely, that of letting the gears of the subconscious connect two dots in …
I’ve been vaguely aware that Kiel James Patrick had developed a huge social media following. Sometime last year when Town & Country listed him and now-wife Sarah Vickers as one of the preppiest couples in history, I immediately tweeted my disbelief at Kiel. There he was, right alongside JFK and Jackie! It seems like just …
Our recent post on William Ivey Long led some presumably blue-shirted commenters to say they were reconsidering white. Above is another compelling case for white by another show-biz gentleman named William. Actor Holden is pictured in a LIFE Magazine photo shoot from 1954. Sometimes a white buttondown is all you need. Except for the times …
It’s not often I find myself disagreeing with the other writers at Ivy Style, and on those rare occasions a divergence of views occurs, it calls for some reflection. I was boarding a plane home from a Florida escape when Christian called and sought my first reaction to the news that Brooks Brothers was now …
Throughout the 20th century the Brooks Brothers oxford-cloth buttondown was a classic of American menswear, so iconic it was immortalized in a piece of literature, namely Mary McCarthy’s short story “The Man In The Brooks Brothers Shirt.” Like all of Brooks’ clothing throughout those decades, the shirt offered superb taste and good quality at a …
That Brooks Brothers has now seen fit to “re-introduce” its original buttondown shirt – complete with unfused collar, cuffs and placket – should be Big News. Unfortunately it’s all rather anti-climactic, isn’t it? But better late than never, you might say. I can only suppose that it finally got through the thickheads at Brooks that there …
Yesterday a reader notified Ivy Style of a new buttondown oxford he spied on Brooks Brothers’ website. The description bears words that loyal but frustrated Brooks men have wanted to see for decades: “We’ve restored the signature rolled collar.” You read that right, Brooks has finally admitted that something went wrong with the collar on …
Last week a reader posted an image on Ivy Style’s Facebook page that appeared to show Cary Grant in a buttondown-collar shirt with French cuffs. One sees this occasionally in old photos and movies, but it’s not something you can exactly go out and buy readymade today. We asked Richard Press to weigh in on …
When I was in college, I worked part-time tutoring foreign students in English. One Japanese guy became kind of a pal, and during a conversation one day he said, “The way it works is that America comes up with an idea and Japanese make it better.” I was only 20 at the time and this …
Is it 1980, with “The Official Preppy Handbook” atop the best-seller list? Or perhaps it’s eight years later, with Ralph Lauren running epic 18-page narrative ad campaigns in Architectural Digest? No? Then perhaps the space-time continuum is at 2004, when this time Ralph Lauren introduces Rugby, putting an irreverent twist on preppy classics for a …
Warning: denim Hard to believe that the season of glad tidings a good cheer was just two weeks ago. Has anyone else noticed an above-normal level of persnickety punctiliousness in what is considered acceptable to wear? Recently discussions have included rep ties, signet rings and critter stuff, and there’s certainly no shortage of self-appointed fashion …
If you haven’t put on a tie yet, then head over to your closet and dust off your pheasant tie in honor of National Bird Day. If you don’t have a pheasant tie— or any other kind of avian-themed neckwear — then you can at least honor the day by shopping for one. Above, J. …
For our first post of 2016, we turn to a topic destined to be more contentious than horsebits on loafers. Namely, rings on fingers. Several months ago Bloomberg ran a story called “Everything You Need To Know About Wearing A Signet Ring.” The author, a woman, is Nic Screws, formerly with Esquire. There’s some fun …
Here’s to happy smooching at the stroke of midnight, just like they did half a century ago. If she says, “Kiss me, stupid,” you can assume it’s consensual. Photo by Joel Meyerowitz. Happy New Year from Ivy Style! — CC
Here are the highlights — good, bad and neutral — from 2015, the year that was. Help us add to the list. — CS & CC * * * Ivy Style gets a magazine-style, device-responsive redesign Ralph Lauren steps down as CEO According to The Daily Beast, college students lose their collective mind John Simons …