By Matthew Longcore There is nothing quite like the beauty of a handcrafted, one of a kind item. My talented wife, an artist with a home based studio, has run her own business for the past five years. We live near the New England coast and spend a lot of time walking the beaches of …
By James H. Grant In the early 1970s, I knew a priest who served as the Catholic chaplain at Emory University in Atlanta. We occasionally conversed over a beer at Jagger’s, a local pizza restaurant. Father Genesse taught me the Latin expression: De gustibus non est disputandum. There are several nuanced translations of the phrase, …
By Matthew Longcore Brooks Brothers, America’s oldest retailer, is celebrating the milestone 125th anniversary of the iconic button-down collar shirt – known today as the “Original Polo® Button-Down” – with a special campaign. The campaign features nine individuals including Lisa Birnbach, author of The Official Preppy Handbook. In 1900, Brooks Brothers changed the course of …
Interview with Constantine Valhouli, author of Miles, Chet, Ralph & Charlie: An oral history of The Andover Shop Miles, Chet, Ralph & Charlie: An oral history of The Andover Shop chronicles how The Andover Shop, an iconic clothier in Harvard Square, became an unexpected literary and jazz salon in the 1950s. At its center stood its …
By Dan Covell Devotees of this space might recall pieces from last year written by my brother and me about the power of the Brooks Brothers brand in the Ivy Style universe. I was reminded of this again as I continued my research into Ivy League football souvenir programs at a recent revisit to the …
Note: Back by popular demand, the Tom Davis interview with Christian Chensvold was first published on March 25, 2019. To see the original post with comments PLEASE CLICK HERE. When I first arrived in New York, I was told about an old guard legend named Tom Davis, who had been running the custom shirt program at Brooks …
By Tammy Thornton Hinckley David Mamet, in his Masterclass on storytelling, casually mentioned Stoic philosophy. He referred to the ancient thinkers as “the porch guys” and encouraged aspiring writers to “only aspire to the things you can award yourself.” It was an unassuming yet impactful nudge toward Stoicism, which neither my friend and business partner, …
By Matthew Longcore Look smart, feel smart, be smart…the superpowers of dressing well. It’s empirically true that clothes really do make the man or woman. The scientific evidence of this is something called enclothed cognition which was first revealed in the July 2012 issue of The Journal of Experimental Psychology by Hajo Adam and Adam …
By Matthew Longcore In an article for Princeton Magazine titled Princeton’s Fondly Remembered Establishments (Winter 2024), Anne Levin recollects about “Landau, the ‘Ivy Style’ woolen shop that closed in 2021 after 66 years on Nassau Street.” The article also mentions “The English Shop, The Prep Shop, and Langrock on Nassau Street sold preppy men’s clothing …
By Matthew Longcore In an article titled The Way of the WASP: The Darien Sport Shop, Darien, Connecticut, Muffy Aldrich of Salt Water New England describes the Darien Sport Shop as follows: “The suits and more formal items were in one area, with skis and lacrosse sticks in another, and a lot of pink and …
By Matthew Longcore Last week, Equipage Etiquette had the privilege of teaching an etiquette and networking workshop to the lightweight crew team at Yale University. We gathered in the stunning Bass Library, a beautifully designed underground space. The group consisted mainly of first- and second-year students, many of whom are currently navigating the competitive process …
By Matthew Longcore Steeped in history, the seaside New England city of Newport, Rhode Island was founded in 1639 and is well-known for its vast array of Colonial and Gilded Age architecture. The White Horse Tavern, built in 1652, is one of the oldest taverns in the United States. The Redwood Library and Athenaeum, founded …
By Matthew Longcore In her latest article, Muffy Aldrich from Salt Water New England lists New England’s Preppiest Towns, Villages, and Enclaves. I grew up in Westport, Connecticut and my grandparents lived on Prospect Road in the Green’s Farms section of town, a place on Muffy’s list. You may also know this area as the …
The Big Three Yale University 1923 Shawl Collar Sweater The Yale Football team has won 27 National Championships since they began competing in 1872. Walter Camp, the “Father of American Football” was a Yale alumnus and coach. Camp attended Hopkins School and graduated from Yale College in 1880. At Yale he was a member of …
Today, Ralph Lauren received the Presidential Medal of Freedom—the nation’s highest civilian honor. As the first fashion designer to receive the honor, Mr. Lauren received this award recognizing his contributions to American style, culture, and society for more than six decades. The Official Preppy Handbook Fan Club owes everything to Ralph Lauren. I collected Polo …
By Matthew Longcore The Great Gatsby is my favorite novel. While no film adaptation can ever live up to the writing quality of F. Scott Fitzgerald, the 1974 version starring Robert Redford and the 2013 version starring Leonardo DiCaprio each have great clothes. Ralph Lauren was the fashion consultant for the 1974 film and Brooks Brothers …
Merry Christmas from Ivy Style editor Matthew Longcore J. Press Brown/Olive Herringbone Sport Coat Polo Ralph Lauren Blue Oxford Cloth Button Down Shirt Brooks Brothers Navy-Red Silk Knit Striped Tie Archer Rust Corduroy Pants G.H. Bass Navy Pasadena Suede Bucks
By Matthew Longcore In 1989, when I was a high school junior, one of my favorite movies of all time made its debut on the silver screen. Dead Poets Society is set in 1959 at Welton Academy, a fictional boarding school, and was filmed at St. Andrew’s School, an Episcopal boarding school in Delaware. The …
By Dan Covell The end of every calendar year leads many to list-making: The top films of the year, the top books, the top eateries, etc. A group of friends and I, self-dubbed the “Fantastic Four,” met at Jimmy’s, a terrific cigar bar/restaurant in New Jersey and got a jump on this exercise to discuss …