Today, July The Fourth 2020, we celebrate America and things that are uniquely American. Like baggy oxford-cloth buttondowns, tassel loafers, national parks, and Hollywood. However, this comes at a contentious time in our nation’s history. In fact, it probably feels rather frightening. You may feel as if you’ve been abandoned in a barren wasteland. And …
The jacket above was made by Corbin for The English Shop of Princeton. It’s quite apropos for the Fourth of July, able to hold its own against even the most extravagant fireworks display. And although the jacket was made for a haberdashery called The English Shop, it’s pure Americana. So on this Independence Day weekend, let’s …
Lord Of New York may sound like a comic-book villain, but it’s actually a lesser-known Ivy haberdasher. It came up in conversation at a Paul Stuart event recently with a fellow who sells menswear on eBay under the username mack11211. Mack told me about a few bespoke Lord suits made in 1963 he has for …
During the quarantine, I have had a lot of time on my hands, as I’m sure we all have. There have been burst of extreme productiveness – including completing my undergraduate degree cum laude and starting my master’s program – and bursts of equally extreme inactivity, including hours spent loafing around (often in loafers) and …
J. Press has reopened its stores after months of lockdown. Says spokesman Robert Squillaro, “We fully respect the guidelines set forth to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, but at the same time we are delighted to welcome our customers back into our stores. “While our Web business has been very strong over the past …
Bilbo Baggins, Dr. Watson, the original Tim in the UK version of “The Office,” the adult film star in “Love Actually.” All these parts have been played to some acclaim in recent years by Martin Freeman, now one of Britain’s leading character actors. But just as important as Freeman’s acting capability is his sense of …
In a web post during the 2011 Rugby World Cup, GQ France wrote, “The classic rugby, in thick cotton, with a white collar and soft buttons, had an honorable place in menswear. Especially preppy menswear. It was a simple, comfortable, colorful item, easy for students in American universities to wear. It was also a good way …
It’s been a dismal year for American manufacturing, with the lights going off at the Brooks Brothers shirt factory in Garland, North Carolina; the culling of Southwick in Haverhill, Massachusetts; and the impending shutdown of the original Gitman factory in Ashland, Pennsylvania. Surely even the most cynical trads are hoping that at least one factory will …
They never taught me how to baste a suit at Dartmouth, but I had to learn how in a hurry when Ray Jacobs got sick on the road. “The road” was the term used to describe retail travel exhibits that fulfilled the clothing needs of Ivy grads after they left college and refused to partake …
For decades clotheshorses have signaled their custom suits to the cognoscenti by leaving one button on their sleeves undone. This subtle practice eventually served as fodder for budding literary dandy Tom Wolfe in his 1965 essay “The Secret Vice.” But today, thanks to the Internet, the style conscious are ceaselessly bombarded with photos of rakish …
If you’ve been neglecting your seersucker jacket, now’s the time to start wearing it all the time — even while riding the bike you stole from the new dork in school. After all, doesn’t this model from Ralph Lauren’s long-lost Rugby brand remind you of someone?
In 2011 I wrote a piece for Ralph Lauren Magazine on “cycle chic,” which was defined as the culture of riding a bicycle around a city while wearing fashionable clothing. When it came out, I ran a series of posts here under the heading Bicycle Week, and closed it out with the essay below. That …
Longtime friends and colleagues R. Hanauer are a second-generation family business that makes fine neckwear right here in the US — South Carolina, specifically. The team sends Father’s Day greetings, with second-gen Randall Jr. sporting a quarantine beard, and third-gen grandson already sporting a bow. May he spread necktie splendor throughout the 21st century. Show …
This week saw one of the strangest stories ever to hit Tradsville, something as could only befit the year of our lordless 2020. Alden, maker of ultra-conservative footwear crafted in New England, has filed a lawsuit against its former VP and CFO for allegedly embezzling $27 million from the company, $15 million of which was …
Greetings to all, and I hope that your corner of Tradsville has emerged from lockdown and you’ve been able to don some madras and get outside. My first summer here in Newport is already magical. I’ve been surfing at dusk, swimming out to rocks perched in the ocean, and even had my first sail in …
One of the advantages to collecting vintage madras is that it provides the opportunity to compare the idiosyncrasies of this unique fabric. Just as no two bolts of madras are completely alike, no two madras jackets are alike. As a counterpoint to the in-depth historical analysis of Christopher Sharp and the poignant madras-heyday memoirs of …
When it comes to certain things, you just don’t want to know how they’re made. Madras, however, isn’t one of them, as its creation is pretty interesting. The following is a 2011 interview with Cape Madras cofounder Brian Sisselman, who provided these wonderful photos of madras being made in Southeast India, and tells us how your favorite …
The history of the plaid cotton fabric dates back to the turn of the 20th century when it became an informal sporting costume of the Raj. It was British Colonial long before Holden Caulfield enrolled at Pencey. Brooks Brothers introduced the fabric to America in 1920. Not to be outdone by his competitor, my grandfather …
When I visited The Andover Shop in 2010, Charlie Davidson had a handy tip if you’re unsatisfied with the collar roll on your buttondown oxfords. It goes like this: 1) Unbutton the collar. 2) Push it upwards until it achieves an arched shape. 3) Stick the tip of a pencil through the buttonhole and make a …