In a column some years ago for the Washington Post, George Will discussed William Zinsser and the craft of writing, making a passing reference to J. Press and the formality observed by old-school WASPs such as Zinsser: Tooting his own trumpet is not the style of this self-effacing and decorous WASP, who never leaves his …
Once the dust had settled from my journey back to California and I was firmly nestled back in the very same apartment where I’d stayed for six months in 2009 (shortly after founding Ivy Style), I began work on a lengthy article. It quickly became clear it was the most important story of my life. …
I’ve seen every masculine change in fashion from the “drape shape with the reet pleat” zoot suit of the WW II years to the latest “New Bohemian” look from Dries Van Noten, and the way I dress is still imprisoned by the years of my youth. But my appreciation of style is not, so I …
There will always be Americans and Englishmen who find the other culture more appealing. You don’t have to look hard to find Anglophiles in the States, and “Downton Abbey” has relit the Anglomania torch that never really gets extinguished. But while having English taste points your class arrow upward in the US, having American taste in England …
By definition, an Ivy League jacket has natural shoulders, three buttons and no darts. It may also have lapped seams, swelled edges, patch pockets, hook vent and two-button cuff. But what makes a pair of shorts Ivy League? Evidently having been designed while looking at photos of JFK aboard his yacht, the Manitou. At least according to …
OK, not a trend for this season, but it was in 1957. At least in one place: Rhodes College. And at least among this group of guys… on this particular day. But even in this small scientific sample, you can see human social tendencies asserting themselves. The guys in solid socks may be part of the …
When the forecast reaches 60 degrees in Boston, you may be blinded by the sunlight reflecting off of my fellow citygoers’ legs, which haven’t seen the light of day in months. I too am guilty of chomping at the bit to wear anything other than cords and wool stockings by the end of March, and …
The month of May means madras season for some parts of the country at least. And if you’re somewhere that’s still chilly, consider flying first-class — at least in your imagination — to a land of eternal sunshine in these premium shorts from Country Club Prep, which are priced at a cool $120, or enough …
We’ve been on the topic of buttondowns lately, and even rarer in Tradsville than the piqué is this iteration. Pictured is Tony Curtis in a custom shirt (note monogram) consisting of buttondown collar and French cuffs. We can only assume the stubble was for an acting role. It’s an unusual combination, but more of an odd …
Are you such a clotheshorse that you’ll remember an outfit you saw on a mannequin a year ago? Well I remember browsing the Ralph Lauren Rhinelander mansion last spring and spotting an ensemble that made me stop and scrutinize. It was a gold-buttoned navy blazer paired with a white buttondown, no tie. But upon closer inspection, …
Some things get lost in translation — academic jaron, for example — but not the buttondown shirt. Settle in for a lengthy read courtesy of Nathaniel Weiner, Ph.D. candidate at York University and his paper “Transatlantic Translations of the Button-down Shirt,” which appears in the journal TranscUlturAl. Here’s the article’s opening, as well as relevant …
This column from Richard Press originally ran in 2013. His new book “Threading The Needle” is out now and available here. * * * Until the 1960s, retailers respected the privacy of their celebrity clientele. The producers of “The Dick Cavett Show,” however, encouraged me to bend the rules. Beginning in 1968, the credit “MR. …
Years ago Tradsville personality “AldenPyle” started a thread at Ask Andy that included the above ad, which ran in the Yale Daily News in 1941. The ad touches on several themes we explored in our definitive rise and fall essay. First off, notice the split between clothes for campus and clothes for town, which consists of …
Yesterday as part of my pandemic-era ritual of wearing my Sunday best, I wore a fine custom shirt made by colleague Spencer Bennett as a tribute to the gentleman. Last week Bennett’s son informed Ivy Style of his passing, and issued this statement: On April 20, 2021 Spencer Bennett, co-founder of Michael-Spencer Shirts, passed away …
We bring our Nantucket Reds weekend to a close with an important message from The Onion, who tells us there’s no bluffing when it comes to go-to-hell pants: You’ve either got the stones inside or you don’t. There’s no dipping your toe in the pool, no test drive. You’re either a pirate-pant wearing swashbuckler or just …
A summer memory that always makes me smile was the one morning when I escorted my son on to his school bus. I was standing at the front of the bus when I heard a precious pipsqueak bellow, “That man is wearing pink pants!” As the bus monitors tried to shut him up, he continued to …
Today J. Press (nickname “Squeeze” back in the heyday), unveiled a collaboration with Murray’s Toggery, maker of the iconic Nantucket Reds. “We produced a small group of products that are perfect for Spring/Summer on their own or combined with many of the other warm-weather favorites we both offer,” J. Press executive Robert Squillaro tells Ivy …
There aren’t many movies from my youth I actually remember going to see, but “Back To The Future” is one of them. It was the summer between junior high and high school, and I was filled with the sense of having completed an awkward trial and was eagerly anticipating what lay ahead. A friend said …
According to the February issue of Free & Easy, Japan evidently never saw the 1979 “Are You a Preppie?” poster. It’s always interesting to hear foreigners’ take on American culture. It’s equally interesting to hear tales about guys in other countries trying to copy American style before the Information Age. The Heavy Tweed Jacket blog …