Last night the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology celebrated the opening of “Ivy Style.” Here are some photos of the revellers.
Above, David Mercer of Mercer & Sons, wearing his Hasty Pudding Club tie; G. Bruce Boyer, Richard Press and Christian Chensvold.
Below, Andrew Yamato, who’s producing a video of the exhibit that will post at A Suitable Wardrobe next week:
Jason Jules, who runs the blog Garmsville, was over visiting from England:
There were a few old-school gents in attendance:
Here’s Sean Crowley, necktie designer for Ralph Lauren, wearing a vintage J. Press jacket from the early ’60s:
This old Tiger (Princeton class of ’70) wore his 25th reunion blazer:
The always charming (and funny) Lisa Birnbach, who apologized for looking like a waitress:
Menswear author Robert Bryan (left) and friends dressed in keeping with the historic focus of the exhibit:
Likewise, it was no surprise to find this pair in the blazer section:
Jason Nickel of Brooks Brothers, wearing the Cambridge-fit updated sack jacket:
Another member of the brethren, Erik C. Nelson:
This distinguished gent, John Major, is the husband of the museum’s director Valerie Steele, and was wearing the tie he picked up at Cambridge as a visiting fellow studying Chinese history:
And finally shirtmaker extraordinaire David Mercer, who flew down from Maine just for the event:
I was hoping you would put up some pictures, Christian. It pained me to have to decline such an invitation, and these pictures don’t lessen that pain, but they are such fun to see. That first picture is fabulous!
Thanks for the pictures Christian. People watching is always the most fun part of any event.
That updated Cambridge-fit Brooks jacket is ample enough evidence of the decline of the Brothers Brooks. It doesn’t even look as if it qualifies as a sack jacket.
Too short, too tight, totally lacking in that certain something that usednto be the distinguishing characteristic of BB.
Sorry for the orthographical infelicity.
“usednto” should have been “used to”.
One of the drawbacks of the iPad on-screen keyboard is that one’s thumb hits letters in the lowest row of keys, instead of the space-bar.
Looking at the two chaps from Brooks Brothers tells you all you need to know about the state of that brand…
I rather like the cut of the new Cambridge fit. The picture suggests to me a late 50’s-early 60’s British look.
David Mercer looks fine.
Have to jump in and say Brooks Brothers has declined as well. The first guys looks like Mr. Bean with his too small suit. Please do not try to push off this neo-prep look with “Oh, in the 50’s and 60’s people did this”. I saw pshaw on you. I lived then, have a couple jackets that were my fathers that I tailored to fit me and I can tell you I don’t look like that.
Not all of us like to look like we are wearing a suit or trousers that fit us 5 years ago or are skin tight.
…and not all of us like to look like we are wearing hand-me-downs that we haven’t grown into yet. I like the Cambridge too. At 5’7″ I’m not tall, but hardly a dwarf, and even 36S jackets in other BB cuts (Black Fleece excepted, of course) are way too long. It makes me look silly and undignified. Sorry it upsets some people, but I’m glad BB is making jackets that actually fit me now.
Besides, they still make all the boxy old cuts you know and love, so what’s it to you? Maybe taller guys are just cranky because they no longer have a monopoly on clothes that fit? In any case, I hope BB doesn’t heed the negative chatter. They need to stay relevant like any other brand.
I guess I’m feeling crabby today, but you’d think the neckwear designer could have found a tie that made it past his sternum. And Erik C. Nelson: If you’e going to go to the trouble of wearing a pocket square, you should consider cinching up your tie. Or is that just too square for words?
I like the guys in the first photo. In my opinion too many of the rest do not really look authentic.
I like the guys in the first photo too, they’re having fun and the whiskey is workin.
The English gentleman’s navy cotton blazer reminds me of one of my favorite all-time blazers, a RL Polo un-constructed navy drill cloth with brass buttons from the 1970s. Wore it till it turned to dust.
Also, I meant to ask Christian, is Mr. Major’s seersucker suit blue or grey or moss? just curious, on my monitor it looks moss.