The phrase “to die with your boots on” means to leave this earth while still doing your duty, heeding your call, following your passion. While some look forward to a long sedentary retirement, others want to work at what they love until the very end. I’m not sure if Leon Gorman was actually wearing boots when …
My latest piece for Ralph Lauren Magazine is on the Jaguar XKSS, a rare ’50s sports car whose distinguished owners include Steve McQueen as well as Ralph Lauren himself. Ralph’s personal car will be featured in an upcoming fall Purple Label ad campaign. Here’s an excerpt: The XKSS’ combination of gorgeous curves and raw power …
Last week The Independent published a feature on John Simons, who is to England what Kensuke Ishizu is to Japan. The king of English Ivy is celebrating 60 years in retail. Writes the paper: Simons, more than anyone, is the man who brought the “Ivy Look”, the apparently effortless American cool of the postwar years, …
There’s just a handful of hours left until the prime-time debut of Donald Trump’s presidential reality show. He’ll be flanked by nine other White House hopefuls, including Jeb Bush, son of GHWB, who is pictured above in sack suit and striped watch band. The son is pictured below — in Brioni. Trump’s preferred suit, coincidentally. Enjoy the …
Last week saw the deaths of two accomplished men. They came from very different backgrounds, but both would have crossed paths, metaphorically speaking, in the society pages. One as subject, the other as reporter. Frank Zachary (pictured above) was the editor of Town & Country during the WASPy ’80s. The son of Croatian immigrants and …
Yesterday was the birthday of John F. Kennedy. Here are a few pictures of him while a student at Choate, submitted by a reader a couple of birthdays ago. Above Kennedy is pictured in buttondown collar, which he would abandon during his presidential election — the first to reach a mass audience via television — …
Last night’s evening news featured the rare appearance of a suited man on television not wearing the American Boardroom look we associate with politicans, newscasters, and virtually everyone else on television. Pictured in buttondown shirt, conventional rep-striped tie and tortoiseshell glasses is NTSB spokesman Robert Sumwalt. Can you guess what part of the country he’s …
Is Rand Paul the coolest/squarest/hip-to-be-squarest politician so far in the 2016 presidential race? While he’s yet to be spotted in JFK’s Nantucket reds, or GHWB’s striped watchbands and J. Press suits, Rand’s wardrobe has the tradly touches of buttondown collars, conventional striped ties, and gold-buttoned navy blazers. That’s pretty unusual for a pol in the …
Who was that in yesterday’s pic of Muhammad Ali? None other than the great singer Sam Cooke, who died of a gunshot wound in 1964 at the age of 33. He’s pictured above in tab collar and emblematic tie, which appears to depict a griffin or lion rampant. The grass background even suggests a campus …
Apologies for being in the dark yesterday as we got bit by another bug. We’re now in the process of migrating to a new hosting company with better protection against these tedious maladies. In the meantime, we welcome everyone back with a special treat from Toronto-based style writer and broadcaster Pedro Mendes, who recently interviewed …
“Brotherly love” wouldn’t exactly be accurate. — CC
I run into Alexander Julian every so often at menswear events. He’s always mentioning his family shop — Julian’s of Chapel Hill, NC — and how it helped popularize the Ivy League Look during the heyday. Well last week Alex lost his uncle Milton Julian, who was a partner in Julian’s before he set off …
Today Lehigh University put up a lengthy profile on G. Bruce Boyer from a piece that ran in the school’s alumni magazine. I supplied some quotes about my avuncular colleague who’s certainly inspired me in my own writings on clothes. Check it out here. — CC
Update: A time for greatness indeed. Cuban cigars will become legal for the first time since the Kennedy administration. * * * The last in our troika of JFK-themed posts is the announcement of a new book by Taschen. The $150 tome reproduces the article “Superman Comes To The Supermarket,” which Norman Mailer penned for …
Renowned photographer Phil Stern, who documented World War II and stars of Hollywood and the jazz scene, has died at the age of 95. Stern did much work for LIFE Magazine and many of his images are instantly recognizable, such as this iconic shot of James Dean. The above photo, in keeping with our JFK …
This week Paul Winston, scion of the Chipp dynasty, told me that the space he is currently sharing will lose its lease come next spring. As Paul is getting long in the tooth (not to mention his cutter, who’s about to turn 86), Paul will use the change to close the curtain on his tailored …
Bill Cosby is invoking his right to remain silent, so to speak, on the flood of allegations against him. Cosby was the subject of an Ivy Style post during year one for his role — and wardrobe — on the TV show “I Spy.” As seen in the photo above, taken during a performance at …
There’s a new biography on preppiest president George HW Bush, written by none other than his son, the other George Bush. Father and son are pictured above. The Washington Post has an excerpt and review here. OK, so 41 was wearing sack suits and striped watchbands when Reagan’s look was what Paul Fussell calls “LA …
In the opening scene of Mike Nichols’ 1967 film “The Graduate,” an airplane captain intones the chilling words “We are now beginning our descent into Los Angeles.” Nichols has died at the age of 83. “The Graduate,” one of my favorite films, is truly directed — that is, crafted by a man with a vision. …