J. Crew’s Fall Lookbook is out. Here are some photos. It is the premier collection for men’s creative director Brendon Babenzien there, and while it isn’t at all pure Ivy, there are enough influences to tell you which way young designers are leaning. That’s good news. They are …
I remember getting lit up one time by a reader in the Facebook Group about wearing a Harvard sweatshirt when I didn’t go to Harvard. And in his profile pic,the guy was wearing a Yankee cap. I used to think it was a measure of intelligence to be able to hold both sides of an …
I spend a lot of time looking at vintage images of things. They are not in as bountiful a supply as one would imagine. Except for barbecue images. There are a ton, and I would guess that the reason is that barbecuing was a family deal you could do outside back when there were more …
I saw sweaters for sale on Greenwich Avenue yesterday. It is back to school time. Which is weird because that used to be the third week of August. Yet, here we are. First, check out J. Press’s Pennant Label. They USE the word “Ivy.” I have been toying with the idea of starting …
This story has a lot of names you are going to recognize, and one I am proud to introduce you to. Brooks Brothers. You know them, right? They had an executive named May Tan. Finance. Southwick Apparel? They had a CFO, May Tan. May has a big time resume in corporate, as do I, …
Editor’s Note: S.E. wrote this comment, which I am reprinting without permission because, well, it was already printed here. It is a great response to the Ties-Are-Dying crowd. The wearing of a necktie is an act of rebellion. Hell, the same can be said for opting for Classic Ivy. But more about that in a …
It’s a Friday in July, but I have three things. First, The Amazing Tom sent me another article from WSJ on how the Tie Association is disbanding, and it started with a sentence so stupid I had to meditate again after I read it this morning. I am not even going to link this stupidity, …
Let’s unpack this because it is starting to hurt my feelings. My central thesis about Brooks Brothers back when Mr. Bastian took the wheel was this: What happens when a company is bought or sold is that it goes into debt. If you don’t do this kind of thing regularly, that sounds counterintuitive. If Nevada …
Richard Press has agreed to be our first guest. Eric Twardzik has agreed to be a guest. I am pitching G. Bruce Boyer a whole other thing, but worst case scenario I will beg him to be a guest. Who would you like to hear? The format is going to be an hour interview, …
Editor’s Note: Eric Twardzik is one of the most skilled men’s fashion writers working today, so when we had a chance to publish his behind-the-scenes take on The Andover Shop, we leaped at it. We were right. On the day that I was asked to work at The Andover Shop, I was not looking particularly …
When I first posted about Jay Butler loafers almost a year ago I was pretty happy about them. If you are new here, and 3/4’s of you are, a quick Jay Butler primer for you. Jay Butler shoes are different in that they were designed like moccasins. So you wear them for a bit …
In the greatest book written in the last century, The Gold Coast by Nelson DeMille, the protagonist John Sutter is getting into it with a law enforcement official and closes his diatribe with, “… and at least have the decency to wear leather shoes.” The rubber soled shoe subject will not die, but a founding …
Editor’s Note: Rather than have me litter the post with “click on the image to see…” – if you click on each image you will see the product featured but on the Duck Head site in better detail. I am all about the locally sourced nature of some things. Nantucket Red as a color will …
I wrote about the Essex pant last week here – The Essex is khakis, I suppose, but it isn’t. Wear them on most of the occasions you wear khakis, sure. If you wear khakis to work, wear the Essex to work. If you wear khakis to dinner, wear the Essex out to dinner. …
You mean to tell me Betsy Ross did not make the first flag? Stand by. The story of Betsy Ross goes a lot like the story of me approaching Jay Butler to make some Ivy Style shoes. Washington comes up to Ross and says, “Can you help me make a flag?” (That is SO hands …
Trend is a dopamine hit, an understandable one. Who doesn’t like new, the zap you get from a change, a piqued curiosity? Trend serves us in a number of places. The markets (the markets love volatility). Social progress (where a trend leads to a more permanent evolution). Etc. My least favorite word is trend. There …
Before this, I ran the FB group for a few years. That job was/is an exercise in a few things – the hardest of which was to pick the right level of snark with those who disagreed with me. I wanted to be funny, but also get the point across, but maintain dignity. Right? So …
Give an Ivy Classicist the rules about when and where to wear sneakers and they are shod for a day. Make the rules together and they are shod for a lifetime. That’s shod – twice in one paragraph. Hang on. YES. It means what I wanted it to. Let us begin the session with common …
Editor’s Note: These are in stock. record needle scratch No, for real, in stock. No waiting until Thanksgiving, no only-size-we-have-fits-your-kid. In stock. Now. For real. These are khakis that you can build your entire wardrobe around. My first professional writing gig was for an investor relations company, which, in a branding blown tire of the …