During the Eisenhower years, Manhattan was an island of social, economic and cultural equanimity. The legal drinking age was 18, the bars stayed open until four in the morning, and the Biltmore Hotel advertised special student rates for Seven Sisters and Ivy Leaguers. Here are some memories from those days of my misspent youth. The …
Last month a salesman from Langrock named Frank Mennella left a comment on G. Bruce Boyer’s post about the legendary Princeton clothier. Ivy Style followed up and asked for further recollections from Mr. Menella, and the comment and his subsequent email have been combined below with minor edits. * * * I just read this …
Today we honor those who’ve made the ultimate sacrifice for their country. It’s also the unofficial start of summer, and therefore the start of madras season. Pictured above is a shot of 25 people, only one of whom is wearing madras, the man who would become known as our preppiest prez. Happy Memorial Day.
If you were off on Spring Break or spending the winter in Palm Beach, Princeton’s clothiers of the 1940s had just the clothes you needed, including plenty of seersucker. While not graphically interesting, these ads include interesting copy revealing what was popular with students at the time.
In honor of the mostly official start of summer, here’s my 2010 article on madras for The Rake. * * * American Indian: Madras, named for the Indian city where it originated, remains a distinctly yankee summer staple By Christian Chensvold The Rake, issue 10 Though Brooks Brothers and Chipp were just across the street …
H.I.S Inc. may be the missing link between workwear and Ivy-styled clothing. The company was originally founded as Honesdale manufacturing in 1923 by Henry I. Siegel. It specialized in workwear, including denim, and was a contract manufacturer for JC Penny and Montgomery Ward. The firm was headquartered in New York with manufacturing facilities in Tennessee. …
Well as things stand at the moment, we certainly have difficult circumstances, so the challenge is the clean living. The quote originates from Peter Meaden, one of those unusual characters that the postwar boom in the UK produced. At the dawn of Modernism, Meaden was in on the ground floor and was involved in the …
The chaps at the Fine & Dandy Shop blog dug up these images from the 1956 Princeton yearbook. Say, is that Dickie Greenleaf’s graduating class? Above, the glee club. If being in the glee club isn’t quite as masculine as being on the football team, at least it’s better than being a cheerleader: Next, summer …
“Playboy’s Penthouse” was Hugh Hefner’s variety show from the early days of his budding Playboy empire. Episodes were taped in a party atmosphere that brought together a cross section of fashionable society (the kind of crowd seen in our post “A Swellegant, Elegant Party“), and adult music (jazz, vocalists) that’s a far cry from the musical …
The sun is setting on the Golden Fleece, as least as far as domestic manufacturing goes. Recently Brooks Brothers announced it will close its Garland, NC shirt factory. Now an anonymous source has revealed that the company will close its other two American factories, the Southwick tailored clothing factory in Haverhill, MA, and the New …
Over the past couple of years I’ve shared my outside self-improvement articles here under the category Level Up. I’ve just published a new one pegged on the coronavirus. It’s for the Nob Hill Gazette, the San Francisco luxury and society magazine. I hope it helps you all navigate the constantly shiftings sands of this situation, …
The infamous green OCBD donned by Miles Davis with a puzzled expression on the front of the “Milestones” album has eluded clotheshorses for decades. The photo referenced is often of course the album cover. When looking at the photos from the photo shoot, however, we are provided with much greater picture quality. The shirt in these …
Brooks Brothers is shutting down its Garland, NC shirt factory, where its iconic oxford-cloth buttondowns are presently made. Local media reports: Brooks Brothers is shutting down its shirt factory in Garland, a move that will eliminate nearly 150 jobs in the small Sampson County town where the clothing maker is the largest employer. Brooks Brothers …
In 2009, The Rake asked me to write a little tribute to Miles Davis, who got hip to the Ivy League Look in 1954, right when the look was taking off across America. I just found out that the magazine has reprinted the story this month. I’m not sure whether it’s in the print issue, …
Today is World Cocktail Day which, according to Wikipedia, is “a global celebration of cocktails … [marking] the publication date of the first definition of a cocktail on May 13 in 1806.” The word “cocktail,” to my mind at least, conjures up images of city lights, Nick and Nora Charles, and cosmopolitan urbanity, the preface to a …
A quick look back at a clever GTH pant from almost a decade ago, which should get you looking forward to summer. Oh, and these need to be brought back into production. * * * The Gant show yesterday was my lone fashion week event. Twenty minutes every six months is just about right for …
Kenton Nelson grew up during the 1950s and ’60s. He started his career as an illustrator and graphic designer before launching a painting career at age 40. He works a ten-hour day, every day, in his studio in Pasadena, California. Nelson describes his style as “narrative idealism.” Nelson’s influences include the work of the WPA artists of …
For Yale men, Barrie Ltd. was shoe headquarters since the Isaacs brothers opened their narrow slot of a store attached to J. Press in 1934. Bob and Barry Isaacs always had their shoes made specially for them and sold under their Barrie Ltd. private label, which afforded them very competitive pricing for students and faculty. …
I received an email this morning from a WASPy old relic who’s gotten quite hirsute under quarantine and frankly doesn’t give a damn. He calls it going “Saxon.” You see it in the movies. Danger strikes. Characters get imprisoned, marooned, forced to migrate, drawn into epic battles. No time, inclination nor ability to groom oneself …