Throughout the 20th century the Brooks Brothers oxford-cloth buttondown was a classic of American menswear, so iconic it was immortalized in a piece of literature, namely Mary McCarthy’s short story “The Man In The Brooks Brothers Shirt.” Like all of Brooks’ clothing throughout those decades, the shirt offered superb taste and good quality at a …
That Brooks Brothers has now seen fit to “re-introduce” its original buttondown shirt – complete with unfused collar, cuffs and placket – should be Big News. Unfortunately it’s all rather anti-climactic, isn’t it? But better late than never, you might say. I can only suppose that it finally got through the thickheads at Brooks that there …
Yesterday a reader notified Ivy Style of a new buttondown oxford he spied on Brooks Brothers’ website. The description bears words that loyal but frustrated Brooks men have wanted to see for decades: “We’ve restored the signature rolled collar.” You read that right, Brooks has finally admitted that something went wrong with the collar on …
Last week a reader posted an image on Ivy Style’s Facebook page that appeared to show Cary Grant in a buttondown-collar shirt with French cuffs. One sees this occasionally in old photos and movies, but it’s not something you can exactly go out and buy readymade today. We asked Richard Press to weigh in on …
When I was in college, I worked part-time tutoring foreign students in English. One Japanese guy became kind of a pal, and during a conversation one day he said, “The way it works is that America comes up with an idea and Japanese make it better.” I was only 20 at the time and this …
Is it 1980, with “The Official Preppy Handbook” atop the best-seller list? Or perhaps it’s eight years later, with Ralph Lauren running epic 18-page narrative ad campaigns in Architectural Digest? No? Then perhaps the space-time continuum is at 2004, when this time Ralph Lauren introduces Rugby, putting an irreverent twist on preppy classics for a …
Warning: denim Hard to believe that the season of glad tidings a good cheer was just two weeks ago. Has anyone else noticed an above-normal level of persnickety punctiliousness in what is considered acceptable to wear? Recently discussions have included rep ties, signet rings and critter stuff, and there’s certainly no shortage of self-appointed fashion …
If you haven’t put on a tie yet, then head over to your closet and dust off your pheasant tie in honor of National Bird Day. If you don’t have a pheasant tie— or any other kind of avian-themed neckwear — then you can at least honor the day by shopping for one. Above, J. …
For our first post of 2016, we turn to a topic destined to be more contentious than horsebits on loafers. Namely, rings on fingers. Several months ago Bloomberg ran a story called “Everything You Need To Know About Wearing A Signet Ring.” The author, a woman, is Nic Screws, formerly with Esquire. There’s some fun …
Here’s to happy smooching at the stroke of midnight, just like they did half a century ago. If she says, “Kiss me, stupid,” you can assume it’s consensual. Photo by Joel Meyerowitz. Happy New Year from Ivy Style! — CC
Here are the highlights — good, bad and neutral — from 2015, the year that was. Help us add to the list. — CS & CC * * * Ivy Style gets a magazine-style, device-responsive redesign Ralph Lauren steps down as CEO According to The Daily Beast, college students lose their collective mind John Simons …
Ellsworthy Kelly, surely one of the last of a generation of artists who combined abstract art with blue buttondowns worn unironically, has died at the age of 92. There’s plenty of news coverage here, while below is an interview from his later years:
Here’s a curtain call for our pre-Christmas posts on rep ties and their affiliations in the UK. Paul Winston, whose family operated the Chipp brand, originally posted this on his blog back in 2010. — CS * * * A Yale graduate would not put a Harvard blazer badge on his/her jacket. But we here …
In the current climate, one half expects to one day see Santa Claus come out of a re-education camp gaunt, clean shaven, fully repentant and vowing never to pick up his sooty clay cutty. But thankfully Christmas still offers free range and a delightful annual tradition to that endangered species known as the pipe smoker. …
The topic of striped ties came up this week, both here (in our last post on William Ivey Long), and in our Facebook group. On the Long post, commenters drew the distinction between striped ties that run the original English way (high on the right, low on the left, when facing the wearer), and the …
The photo above is from Rice University, 1965. Those of you who feel cut off from family and friends this year, take heart and remember the immortal lyrics “I’ll be home for Christmas, if only in my dreams.” So curl up with an edifying book and tune in to Ivy Style, as we’ll have special …
For some, navy blazers, white shirts and rep ties are the perfect costume — costume in the dictionary sense, that is. Namely, “a style of dress… especially that peculiar to a nation, region, group, or historical period.” So it should come as no surprise that a costumer would appreciate this costume. Pictured is stage and …
What do saddle shoes and kilties have in common? They’re both featured in the Laurence Fellows-penned image above from the Esquire archives, and they’re both not on my Christmas list. Regular readers will know my aversion to both footwear atrocities. But then again I dig bit loafers. De gustibus, et cetera, et cetera. Below is …
With disappointment I am forced to announce that our khaki project is on indefinite hold. While still “in development” and not killed completely, our partner, I’m happy to announce, was Bills Khakis, which was excited to make a quality product. A sample had been created and was about to go into production when the company …