Since their invention by British soldiers in India, who tried to conceal dust by dying their trousers with tea, khaki pants have been a menswear staple marked by overabundance. Department store racks are lousy with them, and new brands appear and die out yearly. The khaki market is a hard one to win a share …
Will Fall 2010 be remembered as the peak —and therefore beginning of the end — of the Preppy/Ivy/Trad/Americana trend, or will it mark the beginning of a much larger and longer influence on American style and culture? Time will tell, and things are heating up in preparation. In this weekend’s Sunday Styles section of the …
It’s Menswear Market Week here in New York, and I’ve spent the past few days at a couple of the trade shows. First up, Designer Forum, sponsored by the Custom Tailors & Designers Association, the oldest trade organization in the US. Pictured above are rep bow ties from Collared Greens, which has combined the preppy, …
Last summer, when I posted a photo of myself on the front page of Ivy-Style, I was also wearing madras. Of course, that was a shot from the rear. This year I’m showing my less flattering side. Recently, while researching a story on madras for The Rake, I spoke with Ethan Huber at O’Connell’s and …
Eager to reinvigorate a stodgy brand in the wake of the Americana fashion trend, Bass is preparing a new marketing campaign aimed at “hipsters,” Harbor Footwear spokesman Jason Lazar told Ivy-Style. Curious, we probed Lazar, the excutive vice president for Harbor, which holds the footwear license for G.H. Bass & Company (which is owned by …
The current issue of Details devotes its style section to home-grown looks, saying that American style is a rapidly growing global trend. Writes the magazine: Classic American style is dominating fashion these days. What started as a domestic revival has snowballed into a worldwide movement — well-dressed guys from Antwerp to Tokyo have suddenly traded …
“Take Ivy” inspires once again, this time New York shoe shop Leffot, which has unveiled its $625 cordovan Venetian loafer with direct reference to the former cult book that’s soon to be ubiquitous. Made in Maine, the “Ivy” loafer comes in unlined cordovan and four color choices. If you like the look of the Venetian …
A few months ago I heard about the Allen Ginsberg biopic “Howl,” and asked the production company if there were any upcoming screenings. There weren’t, as the film had yet to find a distributor. It’s got one now, and is scheduled for release on September 24. The film focuses on the poet’s 1957 obscenity trial …
As Teruyoshi Hayashida once said, “Apres moi, le deluge.” Previously we reported on the similarities between Gant Rugger’s Spring 2010 collection and Hayashida’s ’60s photo book “Take Ivy,” and now the sartorial breviary appears to have inspired another brand, this time Dockers and its flood-length chinos. Urban Outfitters is now offering an exclusive Docker pant …
Last night Brooks Brothers held a soiree at its Madison Avenue flagship celebrating the launch of its bow tie collection in collaboration with the blog Social Primer. Guests were asked to honor the occasion by wearing a bow tie. Most did, as you’ll see in the shots below.
Polo Ralph Lauren has finally released images to Ivy-Style of its Fall/Winter 2010 collection, which include a new silhouette in the Blue Label line. This updated sack suit was first reported by WWD Men’s about two months ago, which was picked up by Valet, and since then has been sitting in Ivy-Style’s Ephemera column under …
Last week saw the passing of actor Robert Culp, who starred in the ’60s TV show “I Spy.” Last year Ivy-Style contributor Zachary DeLuca wrote a fine tribute to the show, in which Culp plays a former tennis star turned secret agent generously costumed in natural-shouldered suits and buttondown collars. The post can be found …
Yesterday Bruce Boyer and I visited Brooks Brothers, who were showing the Fall/Winter 2010 collection on the sixth floor of the 346 Madison flagship store. The goods represented the company’s growing commitment to reclaiming its heritage, and there were many nods to its golden age in addition to the new girls and home collections. Though …
The designers at Gant Rugger appear to have hit the books in preparation for the Spring 2010 collection. Or at least one book: “Take Ivy,” the 1965 Japanese photo book hyped to the max on the Web over the past couple of years. The sartorial motifs of “Take Ivy” abound in the Rugger collection, mixed …
Don’t things like this usually come in threes? Click here for The Washington Post‘s coverage.
Louis Auchincloss, author of prep-school classic “The Rector of Justin,” plus many novels and stories set among New York’s Old Money, died Tuesday night. The New York Times’ coverage is here. And from 2008, The Washington Post’s book critic Jonathan Yardley looks back on “Justin.”
As promised, a few notes on the ENK menswear trade show held last week. For spring and fall, Allen Edmonds will be bringing out a number of updated shoes in the trad category. Three of them are highlighted above, while all six are in the photo below (apologies for the bad shot).
This weekend I attended Designer Forum New York, a menswear trade show sponsored by the Custom Tailors and Designers Association, the oldest trade organization in the US. The event allowed me to finally meet two cyber-colleagues in person: Ivy-Style contributor Zachary DeLuca and author G. Bruce Boyer. Meanwhile, the clothes on display (such as the …
Young men who came of age during the heyday of the Ivy League Look could largely rely on their peers for sartorial guidance. By the ’80s, things were much different, and the budding man of style had to rely increasingly on books, magazines and movies. But today’s young men, who’ve never known life without the …