Ivy Times

Feature photo is the 1989 Spring J Crew catalog cover. That image directed the way I dressed ever since. Two articles in the NY Times that were sent to me, if you don’t have a subscription I will summarize. (thanks to my friend Richard for – ) The first is an article about J Crew’s

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Tradified

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From The Editor

Ivy is a fashion born of a mindset manifested in a lifestyle.  There are values attached:  dignity, the value and power of thought, ethics, hard work, aesthetics, appreciation of all things classic, and the dogged pursuit of excellence.   While Ivy evolves (I haven’t worn socks since Easter) the values don’t.  If you are a reader,

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From The Archives

Make Mine A Double: Chens On DB For The Rake

As a follow-up to our tribute to the late Prince Philip and his signature double-breasted blazer, here’s a lengthy feature I did for The Rake back in 2014. It should appeal to all those with a general interest in menswear, as well as all of you now contemplating a DB blazer.  Pictured above is Fred

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Set Sail with St Johns

This is so Ivy. For the month of October, $1 from every purchase goes to the Navy Safe Harbor Foundation. From the web site: MISSION:NSHF assists with non-medical resources not available through government funding. The assistance is designed to optimize the success of the warrior’s recovery and rehabilitation. NSHF aims to ensure that every enrolled


Last Word On The Senate Dress Code

Editor’s Note: the lady with the guitar is Rebecca Ann Latimer Felton, the first woman U.S. senator. She was 87 years old when appointed. She broke tradition, and agism, while dressing traditionally. …. and then we can move on. Is it as curious to you as it is to me that the dress code does


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Duck Head’s Big Deal

This is limited edition, so you might want to skip the rest of this and just go here and buy the pants. If you know anything about Ivy, you know that it is the only place where trad and irreverence meet. In 1978, Duck Head was only 113 years old. But the college kids were


J. Press Again Sets The Bar. The Bar. They Served Scotch. Get It?

I missed an amazing event because… this: But had I gone to J. Press in town I would have had this: And I would have learned about this: That’s tweed from Lovat Mill. Also the cloths featured in Press’ MTM/MTO collection. So I am was bummed that I missed it, until this, which is an


Just Sayin’

The system does work, voices do matter, and sometimes we get it right.. Photo Credit: By United States Senate – https://www.senate.gov/index.htm, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=63532525


It’s What They’re Choosing NOT To Do

Was having dinner with my daughter last night and she was telling me about her ethics class. They were posed with a dilemma – you are conducting a train and you learn that you are going to crash into five people OR you can switch tracks and only kill one person. But you are choosing


Dress rehearsal

Editor’s Note: Again all gratitude to Dan Covell. Great piece, perfect time of year for it. Also photo selection credit: Dan Covell. Every year around this time, as a new school year commences, I get the urge to re-watch “The Paper Chase.” You likely know of it – the 1973 film that depicts the struggles


On The Senate Dress Code

Editor’s Note: This is not a political site anymore, it is a club where we speak civilly and think hard. Please be mindful of same in your comments to this post. If you are not new to the site, forgive my repeating the story, but if you are new, here’s what happened. About a decade


A Great Story From The FB Group

Editor’s Note: MANY thanks to Mr. Jim Moore for this great photo and an even better story. Classic Ivy. In the spring of 1988, Jos. A Bank was a middle-income man’s version of Brooks Brothers: its undarted coats featured a 3/2 closure and a center hook vent, its button-down collars rolled admirably, and their tailors


Can We Talk Boxers?

Unless you count the hybrid shoes that, despite Ivy-Style’s best efforts seem to be coming back, and maybe velcro but only on foul weather gear, the greatest innovation in men’s fashion over the last 50 years has to be the boxer brief and yet it gets very little love. Let us repair that breach. Boxer