It’s always interesting to read interviews with the personalities of Tradsville, as it tends to reveal a surprisingly diverse lot — young and old, hip and square, slim fit and baggy, and of course liberal and conservative — all of whom share a common affinity for natural shoulders and oxford cloth. This week an interesting …
E-commerce site Mr. Porter has unveiled a new collection by Paul Smith in which the British designer draws inspiration from “Take Ivy.” According to the website’s announcement, Sir Paul, who has been at the forefront of British fashion for five decades, is well placed to explain how Ivy style first came to the UK from …
Don Cheadle’s Miles Davis film project is apparently climbing slowly but surely through the rings of development hell, though the light of day may be miles away. According to reports, the music rights have been secured and there’s a script that focuses on one 36-hour period of the jazz great’s life. Perhaps befitting a small …
Last month Ivy Style reported on the suspicious similarities between an inexpensive, offshore-produced belt by Lands’ End and what many consider the real deal made by Rhode Island native Kiel James Patrick (disclaimer: an Ivy Style advertiser). The post struck multiple nerves, including domestic versus offshore manufacturing and design integrity within the apparel industry, and …
Perhaps because he’s a football player, Dink Stover has been at Yale for a hundred years. Hey, the real world is coarse and common, would you want to leave? One hundred years ago this month Owen Johnson published his college novel “Stover At Yale,” which is long on novel but short on college. I attempted …
In February Ivy Style featured a virtual question-and-answer session with columnist Richard Press, and this time we turn the podium over to menswear author G. Bruce Boyer, contributor to the upcoming Ivy exhibit at the Museum of the Fashion Institute of Technology, and whose latest book, “Enduring Style,” features never-before-seen photos of Gary Cooper. Today …
Summer is three months, or 90 days. Today Brooks Brothers sent out a mailer announcing a boxed set of polos in 44 colors. Why 44? Because that’s the flagship’s cross street on Madison Avenue. It’s also convenient number for planing your summer wardrobe. Not only does the set cover just about every shade in the …
Today Assouline sent out an email announcing the publication of “The Ivy League” by Daniel Cappello, my colleague at Quest magazine. The book starts by examining the history of the Ancient Eight and its place in American (and increasingly, global), culture, and goes on to devote a chapter to each school and what makes it …
Today in 1925 F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” was published. A cage-match between old money and new, it is regarded as the greatest American novel by many literary critics. As you’ve probably heard, a new film adaptation is scheduled to be released this year on Christmas Day. It is directed by Baz Luhrmann and …
Mark your calendars, guys: You have a four-month window to visit New York and see the Ivy League Look exhibit at the Museum of the Fashion Institute of Technology. The exhibit will run from September 14 to January 5. Though I met with the organizers again a couple of weeks ago, I didn’t know they’d …
We asked the companies who kindly provide Ivy Style with advertising support to share something new from their Spring 2012 collections. Here’s what they had to say. Nigel Knox This sock (pictured above) is a 2 cm. stripe repeat with alternating heather and solid colors in decidedly preppy colors that pair exceptionally well with khakis …
I spend much of my day with the Internet radio dial tuned to WGBH, and yesterday there was a long segment with the Cornell Glee Club. Here they are doing the greatest college song of all time. Video quality is mediocre, but they sure sound great. — CC
A sign of civilization in an age where the edgy, extreme and downright trashy are lauded daily, the April issue of GQ encourages readers to “kill their style icons,” and suggests trading Jack Kerouac for John Updike. Kerouac went to Columbia, but was too bohemian to dress Ivy League. Updike, on the other hand, went …
Yesterday Gant took its Yale Co-op collection global. Released last year in the New Haven store, the collection is now available online and in Gant stores across Europe and Asia. The release is backed by a hefty marketing campaign that includes photos of current Yale students and faculty, as well as vintage images such as …
This weekend a minor kerfuffle erupted on Twitter. Although completely common in the apparel industry, the David and Goliath story hit close to home for those with preppy tastes and sensibilities, who also tend to be the same people who lament the decline in domestic manufacturing and steep rise in offshore production. Newport-based Kiel James …
March Madras carries on, but now it’s back to madness — mad as in “Mad Men,” which returns to TV this Sunday night after a 17-month hiatus. The setting is now 1965, so the clock is ticking in the closets of these Ivy-clad* Madison Avenue guys. Pictured above is a still from the new season …
If you can’t get enough of our “Golden Years” columnist Richard Press, former president of J. Press and grandson of Jacobi, then you’re in luck. A little coaxing was all it took for him to start tweeting and the septuagenarian says he’s already addicted. Richard will be sharing terse anecdotes, words of wisdom, style tips, …
This is Ivy Style’s 1,000th post x .50. In honor of the occasion, I bribed longtime friend and colleague Michael Mattis, who’s been at my side since I first started blogging on style in 2004, to write some moderately kind words. This was the best he could do. — CC I must confess I have …
March Madras continues with this updated post with two more sartorial jump balls. In the first, J. Press squares off against Gant. Wearing an almost blinding uniform, J. Press offers a traditional madras sportcoat priced at $495. But shouldn’t this guy have graduated by now? In contrast to Press’ perennial classic, Gant offers classic-with-a-twist. Its …