Articles by John Burton


A Very Fond Farewell

Dear Friend and Reader, When I started my term here, my aim was to open the doors of Ivy and traditional clothing to a broader audience. I was so tired of hearing and reading that Ivy was dead. It never was. The rationale was both personal and strategic. On a personal level, I did not


Quick Question While I Still Have You

And by the way, the guy’s book is phenomenal. Question from my friend author John Slemp: John SlempFri, Jun 21, 5:14 PM (4 days ago)to me Hello John! Just read about the change in leadership at Ivy Style, and try to send as many people your way as I can. I have a question that perhaps you


Starting To Say Goodbye So Wanted To Get This All In

When my wife was diagnosed with head and neck cancer, nothing was in control. I was the primary caregiver, and for a year and change almost all I lived was surgery, chemo, radiation, medications, repeat. It was far and away the hardest time of my life. During my tenure here I have talked about Ivy


Ivy-Style’s New Editor and Publisher, Matthew Longcore

Please join me in celebrating the next step in Ivy-Style’s evolution, Mr. Matthew Longcore. My friend and your new Publisher and Editor, Mr. Matthew Longcore. Photo Credit: Laura Arnold Over the next week, I will have a lot to say about my tenure at the helm of Ivy Style’s bellwhether. For now, let me just



You know how Madras feels. Now find out how it smells.

I use St John’s stuff all the time, and even I get it wrong sometimes. Too much, too little. Wrong scent for the season. Etc. So St John’s made the process Burton-proof. Introducing Madras soap. I’ve been using it for a week. It feels good, the bar and the scent last a long time (I


The Future Of Ivy

Ivy has undergone the first leg of its evolution. Inclusion. Not the overly-woke kind, the just-enough kind. That was no easy feat, but change never is. Inclusion has made Ivy cool again, and Ivy has learned the lesson that to survive, it must adapt. Adapt it has. Blue jeans. Fewer ties (but still DO wear


More On Less Ties

Charlottesville’s comment got lost in the shuffle somehow but it started me thinking so I asked for a redo. First, the comment: “Sorry to be so late to the party, but I must join in. Ties are a subject close to my heart; in fact, on most days, literally just an inch or two away.


The Up Side of Fewer Ties.

I know. I was groaning too, for a year. We get Ivy back on its feet and the first thing it does is take off its tie. Probably the dominant trait of Ivy since its inception, too, don’t you think? And that, of course, brought forth handwringing, I suspect the same hands that prematurely declared


Which watch?

Editor’s Note: This piece, by Dean Ricciardi, is the next in a series on watches. Dean is a fantastic guy who also works on the site. So you like watches; maybe you are getting interested in them or the first time, or maybe you have a couple and you’re thinking about getting another, but you


The Class of ‘74

By Daniel D. Covell When someone learns that I’ve recently completed the manuscript for my book on the history of the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC), often he or she will ask, “How long were you working on it?” “Since August of 1969,” I reply, only slightly in jest. I don’t remember the



Bomber Boys Is The Fashion Book Of The Year

The links first. The book. The YouTube channel. The author. Bomber Boys, by John Slemp, is an archive, it is a history book, it is a work of art, it weighs more than I do, and it is the best fashion book of the year. Bomber Boys is a collection of transcendent photography of American


Just Really Quick

If you have Netflix, stop. Whatever you are doing, stop. Go watch Ripley. It is a remake of The Talented Mr. Ripley, taken from the Ripley series of books, but it had to be written by someone who reads the site because it is all inside Ivy-Style jokes. I won’t ruin the story but just


Cheering For Laundry

Editor’s Note: Many thanks again to Daniel D. Covell. The cover image is of a crowd at a baseball game in the 1920’s. Major League Baseball’s Opening Day (or “opening day,” depending on your relative degree of dedication to the National Pastime) is upon us once again, synching into in its slot in the annual



An Ivy Thing

All the greats did this. Kept a journal. Perhaps the most famous journal entry of all time, Teddy Roosevelt the day his wife and his mother died. We’ve gone over that. And, we have gone over how handwriting is Ivy. But if you want the research… Here’s the research. But what we have not yet


Spring & Summer Madras Choices From OMTC

If you are Santa (I was, I have pictures) you have another most wonderful time of the year, if you like Madras though, THIS is the most wonderful time of the year, as the Original Madras Trading Company releases their own SS/24 collection, which you can review here. From their site: Getaway in Madras is