In September, 2010, I was watching my old cordovan oxfords get polished at Tokyo’s “shoeshine bar” Brift H, when a middle-aged man walked in and pulled out an original 1965 print of “Take Ivy.” The book had not only been autographed by all four authors, but also had a rare printing error. I leaned over …
Lately there’s been much talk about trigger warnings on college campuses. Some professors now feel pressured into putting cautions on centuries-old works of literature that include scenes that could be upsetting for an ever-growing list of reasons. I modestly propose a new category of trigger warning, as I represent a marginalized minority group especially vulnerable …
This week Allen Edmonds sent over some images from its archives. As promised, they’re being presented today as an antidote for those suffering from sartorial nausea due to yesterday’s post on footwear of the poncier variety. And now, thanks to AE, we get to learn about a late ’30s campus trend I’d never heard of: crepe-soled …
Today A Continuous Lean put up a post entitled “The Enduring Appeal of Ostentatious Loafers.” What does “ostentatious” refer to in this context? Why to bit loafers, Prince Albert slippers, and Belgian Shoes. Here’s the preppiest passage: … By the eighties the Gucci loafer came to represent the pretentious bravado of pastel wearing undesirables. From …
Recently a reader alerted us to a pair of deadstock pants for sale on Etsy. They’ve been scooped up, alas, but that needn’t stop us from examining them. The cotton-polyester trousers come from a Main Street clothier called The Washington Manfuacturing Company of Nashville, TN. It began making workwear and trademarked the name “Dee Cee” …
I’m going to start the week out by playing DJ. Below is a playlist with 50 tunes spanning the years 1954-1967. This is not a historic survey, but instead a far more personal selection. In general, these are songs I’ve been listening to for a long time. A couple are from my parents’ record …
I still stop by and bang golf balls on the third floor at Brooks whenever I’m passing through Midtown. Recently I spied two pairs of madras shorts that had a real heyday vibe, thanks to the color palettes of olive and burgundy. They certainly feel like they’d be more at home in the pages …
This week the e-commerce company Mr. Porter brought out an exclusive collection of Bass Weejuns. And I mean exclusive in every sense of the word: the shoe carries a whopping price tag of $480, a pretty penny indeed. Today, perhaps to get consumers excited and justify the price (especially when you consider the shoes …
This post originally ran this week in 2009 and was Ivy Style’s 100th post. * * * This is Ivy-Style’s one-hundredth post. Over the past 99, I can honestly say that the thing I’m most proud of is never having once attempted to confirm or deny that there is or is not such a thing …
As a follow-up to yesterday’s post about “Jaws” and Narragansett beer, we continue Shark Week with these suds and killer-fish items from tradly brands and retailers. Also check out Shark Week pages at Country Club Prep and Tucker Blair. Above and below, Castaway Clothing’s Infested Sharks shorts: Cheap Buzz belt by Belted Cow: Crabs …
I had an obsession last summer. I call my obsessions “manias” in homage of Kenneth Grahame’s aristocratic amphibian, Mr. Toad. I sometimes feel like the dapper toad, but I have to admit my manias pale in comparison, as I gravitate to armchair pursuits that risk neither life nor fortune. My summer mania started this way: it …
As the red, white and blue weekend draws to a close (don’t forget to cheer for the RW&B tonight in the Women’s World Cup final), here’s a roundup of all (well, most) of Ivy Style’s coverage of red pants over the years, including articles, links, photos and random references to Nantucket. Anyone bought a pair …
… love beads and oxford cloth? Screenshot from the Monterey Pop Festival documentary, submitted by contributor J. Kraus. Date: summer 1967, the year of the fall of the Ivy League Look. Happy Birthday, America. — CC
This post originally ran five years ago this week. * * * For a certain breed of trad purist, there are only four shirts worth wearing: oxford-cloth button-downs in white, blue, pink and yellow. White and blue are everyday staples of the office wardrobe, and pink is the iconic color, leaving yellow in fourth place, …
In our last post, the Millennial Fogey talked about his penchant for shirts with contrasting white collars. Clearly they weren’t a defining staple of the genre during the heyday. But they’ve long been offered by the usual suspects, though likely worn by men whose most recent time on campus was for a class reunion. Call it Tycoon …
While I’ve been told I’m conservative in my dress, I certainly don’t consider myself orthodox. I’ve got darted suits with pleated pants (from J. Press). And this depravity will almost certainly ignite the torches among the trad inquisitors: I’ve been known to wear blue oxford-cloth buttondowns with contrasting white collars. I make no apologies, as …
One of the more interesting books I read during my fascination with cultural decadence in my twenties posited that there is no progress or decadence, only change — change interpreted as good or bad. Today I think we can all agree that change is a good thing. As we approach our seventh anniversary, Ivy Style …
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 …
This week I heard about a prime-time drama on Fox called “Wayward Pines” featuring a preppy with a wayward-fitting school blazer. Apparently the show has a sci-fi theme. I’ve actually been on a sci-fi kick lately since watching a movie called “Predestination,” based on a story by Robert Heinlein. I got a collection of his …