Ellsworthy Kelly, surely one of the last of a generation of artists who combined abstract art with blue buttondowns worn unironically, has died at the age of 92. There’s plenty of news coverage here, while below is an interview from his later years:
Here’s a curtain call for our pre-Christmas posts on rep ties and their affiliations in the UK. Paul Winston, whose family operated the Chipp brand, originally posted this on his blog back in 2010. — CS * * * A Yale graduate would not put a Harvard blazer badge on his/her jacket. But we here …
In the current climate, one half expects to one day see Santa Claus come out of a re-education camp gaunt, clean shaven, fully repentant and vowing never to pick up his sooty clay cutty. But thankfully Christmas still offers free range and a delightful annual tradition to that endangered species known as the pipe smoker. …
The topic of striped ties came up this week, both here (in our last post on William Ivey Long), and in our Facebook group. On the Long post, commenters drew the distinction between striped ties that run the original English way (high on the right, low on the left, when facing the wearer), and the …
The photo above is from Rice University, 1965. Those of you who feel cut off from family and friends this year, take heart and remember the immortal lyrics “I’ll be home for Christmas, if only in my dreams.” So curl up with an edifying book and tune in to Ivy Style, as we’ll have special …
For some, navy blazers, white shirts and rep ties are the perfect costume — costume in the dictionary sense, that is. Namely, “a style of dress… especially that peculiar to a nation, region, group, or historical period.” So it should come as no surprise that a costumer would appreciate this costume. Pictured is stage and …
What do saddle shoes and kilties have in common? They’re both featured in the Laurence Fellows-penned image above from the Esquire archives, and they’re both not on my Christmas list. Regular readers will know my aversion to both footwear atrocities. But then again I dig bit loafers. De gustibus, et cetera, et cetera. Below is …
With disappointment I am forced to announce that our khaki project is on indefinite hold. While still “in development” and not killed completely, our partner, I’m happy to announce, was Bills Khakis, which was excited to make a quality product. A sample had been created and was about to go into production when the company …
Mark McNairy, former designer at J. Press, and, under his own name, creator of a host of “Fuck Ivy” gear, including hooded sweatshirts, has a forthcoming book entitled “F**k Ivy… And Everything Else,” slated for release in February. From the Amazon description: The renowned designer’s views on dressing and behaving well: Ivy League meets street, …
A reader notified me that one of the old trad/collegiate guard has passed. Robert ER Huntley was longtime president of Washington & Lee University. There’s a video slideshow of him here, and the memorial service is streaming live right now. — CC
Are you a fan of long schoolboy scarves, the kind sold by J. Press, Smart Turnout and others, but your own school isn’t represented? Or maybe you’re the self-cultivated type who never even went to college. While there are some fashion scarves out there (such as the ones made by Rugby floating around eBay), let’s …
A true bastion of trad style, Cable Car Clothiers has always held a special place in the heart of San Francisco. Established in the late 1930s, the retailer seems to ride the various waves of boom and bust that San Francisco is known for, while expanding and relocating the business to meet the continually changing …
Chris Sharp found these images in the same Esquire issue featured in our last post: September 1940 (sign up for the archives here.) They should provide further inspiration for any of you who feel stuck in a sartorial rut. The text for the top image described this college man as wearing the color combination of …
This image (another find by comment-leaver Carmelo in the Esquire archives), came with a date but no caption. So I decided to give it one for the headline above. It’s easy to think of penny loafers as a casual shoe since, in the grand footwear scheme of things, they are. But much of the charm …
Here’s a bit of trivia that makes for a fitting follow-up to Richard Press’ column about George HW Bush. In addition to being a Yale man, Bush also headed the CIA, and those two institutions are closely knit. Well, back in the 1950s, those Ivy-clad operatives learned special ways of tying the laces on their …
W. David Marx — who has contributed several pieces on Japanese Ivy for Ivy-Style.com — has hit the bullseye with his new book “Ametora” (that’s Japanese for “American Trad”). It’s a pioneering piece of research and a deftly handled narrative that traces the ups and downs, misunderstandings and mania for the Ivy League Look that …
Recently a unapologetically philistine reader left a comment saying he much prefered the world of finance to the subject of art history. Robin Williams’ character in “Dead Poets Society” has a speech about that kind of thing. But here’s some art I think all of us can appreciate: the work of Japanese illustrator Akira Sorimachi …
Gentle readers (ha!), I have some news to share. I’ve been writing op-eds and essays for my entire career — in fact my first professional publication was a piece of social commentary in my local daily. I’ve always felt like a columnist by temperament, and in the present volatile climate we live in, I figured …
Beware Black Friday shopping — as in beware paying too much. Just about all the sponsors who keep this skull-and-bones ship afloat are offering a promotion of some kind, so if you haven’t clicked on their ads in a while, today would probably be the day. Also beware spending too much, and once again keep …