Kamakura Shirts, a great friend of Ivy-Style.com, was forced to close its Madison Avenue shop, which was founder Yoshio Sadasue’s longtime dream. Below is a statement from his daughter Nanako, who has taken over the family business. * * * Since opening on Madison Avenue in New York on October 30, 2012, our New York …
Update: Kamakura has just edited and uploaded a longer version of its interview with me: * * * Kamakura Shirts took a big risk when it opened a shop on Madison Avenue in the heart of Midtown Manhattan. After all, no one had ever heard of them. But it was the dream of owner Yoshio …
Like things buried in your closet that you didn’t know you had, I keep finding drafts of old posts that apparently never published or became deactivated for some reason. This one goes all the way back to 2012 and includes the following video clip from Japanese TV. And while you’re in a Kamakura mood, head …
Brooks Brothers showed its Spring 2020 collection recently. Exactly when or where I don’t know, since they no longer invite Ivy Style. I could blame that on the commentariat cranks, but no, it’s firmly on me. WWD reported about it on Tuesday, writing: The 201-year-old brand updated many of its staple pieces — dress shirts, …
Kamakura Shirts, in case you were unaware, devotes a part of its website to what you could call “dynamic content.” That’s another way of saying a brand blog. Since 2014 fashion critic Toshiyuki Kurosu has been writing pieces for Kamakura, and a number of them have been translated into English by “Ametora” author W. David …
Kamakura recently unveiled a new unlined OCBD called the Sport model. Here’s the description: The traditional button-down shirts of America from the 1960s captured the hearts of so many in the past. Now, those button-downs have been reproduced using all the techniques available to Kamakura Shirts. It is said that the button-down shirt was born …
Kamakura has a new collection on its website called “Looking Ivy Stylish” in conjunction with Graham Marsh. Included is a tab-club collar shirt, something I’ll need to consider as a change of pace from my pinned club collars. Alas Kamakura’s are alpha-sized, but that doesn’t mean a decent fit is impossible. Check out the collection here, …
I was hoping to have something really special to share with you guys, but alas fate had other ideas. This summer I was approached by Kamakura Shirts, who wanted to do a video interview with me. I suggested doing it at the famed New York watering hole The Campbell Apartment, and we were able to …
Last week Kamakura Shirts used its Madison Avenue location for a soiree book signing for Graham Marsh. Marsh, an author, designer and illustrator, is one of the biggest names in the UK Ivy community. He has also collaborated with Kamakura on a line of vintage Ivy shirts. The party was in celebration of a new …
Tokyo-based W. David Marx, author of the recent book “Ametora,” has just posted an English translation of an extensive 2013 interview with Yoshio Sadasue, founder of Kamakura Shirts, as part of his research for the book. Much of the interview centers around Sadasue’s years at VAN and the early days of Ivy in Japan. Sadasue …
Last night Kamakura Shirts held a party celebrating the opening of its second New York store, located Downtown at Brookfield Place. The party was held at an event space in SoHo and was far more packed than these photos may suggest. And yet the crowd all seemed to be part of a family that Kamakura …
Today Kamakura unveiled its summer collection. The model is pretty scruffy and many of the shirts are spread collar, but those of you who appreciate variety might enjoy some of the alpha-sized buttondowns available in fabrics such as linen and breathable 36-gauge knit, which is pictured above. The company has also announced it will open …
We’re long overdue for an update on Kamakura Shirts. A couple months ago I had coffee with the NYC store manager and a a member of the founder’s family visiting from Japan, and they said the New York store is doing just great. In fact, they’re currently scouting for a second NY location, likely in …
We’ll conclude the recent batch of Kamakura-versus-Brooks discussion (aka the “buttondown showdown”) with a couple of photos snapped yesterday in the Madison Avenue store. The shop may be small, but it still has room for some newly arrived pocket squares and wool neckties, in addition to all the shirts.
This morning Kamakura Shirts alerted us to this recently produced, 11-minute, English-language TV profile of the company. It’s very interesting for its business and manufacturing insight, and if you’ve already become a fan of Kamakura, I think you’ll enjoy learning more about the great value and attention to detail that goes into its shirts. — …
We just got a note from Kamakura Shirts saying that it has just launched an oxford campaign in celebration of its newly operational e-commerce store, as well as its fully stocked oxford-cloth buttondown collection. Says our contact, “Unfortunately we did not have enough of them for a long time, and we are afraid if we …
Although it was founded in a small historic Japanese town, last week Kamakura Shirts opened at its spiritual home: Madison Avenue. Why spiritual home? Because, according to the company’s marketing materials, “the Ivy League style is in our soul.” Located at 400 Madison, just one block from J. Press and four from the Brooks flagship, …
Sorry, I just can’t abide another “round up.” In no particular order: Mr. Graham Marsh has done a number of illustrations which are remarkable over at Kamakura Shirts in a piece he also wrote entitled: A to Z of the Ivy Look. There is some revisionist history in here, but I think you will enjoy …
As we race towards the heart of summer, here are some reflections on warm-weather attire from our erstwhile Millennial Fogey columnist. * * * Allow me to reflect on what clothing serves me best in summer. I’ll start with the tried-and-true, not to say cliché: I’m mad for madras. Sportcoats, Bermuda shorts, trousers, shirts — sadly …