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 …
Buying authentic Ivy can be a minefield. You have to be on point for all the staples: Burlington socks, Brooks Brothers shirts, Levi’s Vintage 501s, and of course Bass Weejuns, Of course the Internet has made things much easier, especially for those who don’t live in the USA. In the UK, the go-to shop for …
The younger and less-hip cats out there likely didn’t get the reference in our last headline. “No Room For Squares” is the title of a 1963 album by Hank Mobley, who, like many jazz greats active during the heyday of the Ivy League Look, donned sack jackets, buttondown shirts and rep ties. Here are some …
We’ll wrap up our trio of pocket square-themed posts with an update on this little piece of menswear esoterica from five years ago. While covering the trade shows in New York and meeting up with longtime Ivy Style sponsor R. Hanauer, I spied these clever eyeglass cases that perform the function of a pocket …
Lyndon Baines Johnson was not known for his fashion sense, but when the White House invited him to meet with President Truman, the Congressman prepared for the occasion like a dandy. “The first thing he did,” an aide remembered, “was to go out and get his hair cut and his nails manicured.” Next Johnson bought …
Geoffrey Wolff’s novel “The Final Club” has frequently been quoted here for its insightful sartorial observations, including on the importance of understatement in the Ivy wardrobe (contextual understatement, that is, with go-to-hell clothes being another matter entirely). The reason the sack cut became the default jacket style for the Ivy League Look was because it was …
As a follow-up to our tribute to the late Prince Philip and his signature double-breasted blazer, here’s a lengthy feature I did for The Rake back in 2014. It should appeal to all those with a general interest in menswear, as well as all of you now contemplating a DB blazer. Pictured above is Fred …
When I awoke to the news of Prince Philip’s passing, I immediately thought of the image above, my favorite style shot of his. I’d thought, however, that he was wearing a double-breasted blazer in the photo. In fact it looks as though he may be breaking one of the most cardinal style rules of those …
During the Ivy heyday in the US, and as VAN Jac was budding in Japan, Kyu Sakamoto‘s “Ue o muite arukō” became one of the best pop songs to come out of the ’60s. It topped the Billboard charts in 1963, the only Japanese song ever to do so. Since the song’s title didn’t lend itself to …
Today we keep the rock-n-roll theme going with a flash back to this post from five years ago, which is anything but fogeyish. And at the bottom of the post is Waterhouse’s latest video, which should get you in the mood for… water. * * * Last week I saw Nick Waterhouse perform at the …
Years ago the Los Angeles Times asked me to write a story about a new men’s fashion trend that combined English gentleman tailoring with rock and roll style. Though it’s outside the boundaries of Tradsville, I thought it may serve as inspiration for freeing up latent energies, thereby having a therapeutic effect amid the social …