Last year, during Preppy Week, we examined some of the spoofs created by opportunistic cash-ins thanks to the success of “The Official Preppy Handbook.” But the preppy cash-grab went beyond mere words and drawings. To wit, a video game for the Atari console that allowed hoi polloi to sit in front of its TV sets …
Our last post was on an old-school Atlanta retailer, but there are new kids on the block in that city, too. Country Club Prep has been a loyal sponsor of Ivy Style since it first opened, and now, after steady growth for some six years, it’s moving its warehouse and having a huge sale to …
Atlanta’s H. Stockton belongs to that small cadre of independent menswear shops still in existence. It also belongs to that group of retailers that offered soft-shouldered clothing to a Southern clientele. Spokesman Glenn Au dug through the archives and sent along these images showing the store’s family (that’s Hamilton Stockton, Jr. above), sales associates, and …
In honor of Martin Luther King Day, we revisit this column from Richard Press, which originally ran in 2013 and was updated in 2018 with an extended version of the story and a new photo of his father, pictured later in life, standing in front of the very rack from which he was honored to …
Cary Grant was the number-one trending topic today on Twitter, which is pretty unusual given what usually trends on Twitter. Granted —pun intended — it’s his birthday, but still it’s reassuring to know he’s so fondly remembered, and for good reason. Here are some images of him wearing a buttondown collar in a variety of …
As Richard Press has written here, J. Press’ Princeton store didn’t last long after Pearl Harbor. It was still around in April of 1942, however, when Princeton held a wartime blackout. The idea was to practice turning off all lights so that if there were an enemy bomber, they wouldn’t have anything to aim at. …
There is little doubt that Mary Mccarthy’s short story “The Man in the Brooks Brothers Shirt” is now probably more famous for its punchy title — a dream for the Brooks Brother’s marketing team — than it is for the actual story. But it remains a classic part of the mystique of the Brooks Brothers …
Gentlemen, for the past six months I’ve alluded to my new project Traditional Man, run a banner for it in the ad tower, and put a fixed-position spot for it on the front page. However, I haven’t announced it in the form of a conventional blog post, so I’d like to beg your indulgence one …
A quick look back at this charming photo posted a decade ago, with dating customs that go even farther back. * * * London-based Ivy Style contributor Rebecca C. Tuite, currently at work on a book on the iconic Vassar Girl of the ’50s, posted this photo on her personal blog. The shot is from …
BEAMS’ Creative Director Nakamura Tatsuya introduces and educates the reader on the school of thought behind the classic jacket and pants combo. In Japanese fashion, this book guides the reader in tedious detail on navigating the waters of sportcoats and slacks. In the early pages of the guide, we find our sartorial professor dog, donning his …
Jazz and Ivy duel for the affections of Natalie Wood in “All the Fine Young Cannibals,” a largely forgotten melodrama released a half a century ago. The film has not been released on DVD, but there are used VHS copies floating about, and if you search the web you might find a digital version. “All …
Do fathers still take their sons to Brooks Brothers upon college graduation? Yes, some still do. Andrew Eastman recounts his own father-son outing under the Golden Fleece. It was my father who decided it was time for my first serious suit. I was 23 and had just graduated from Dartmouth. At some point before I’d …
My wonderful wife gave me a new blue oxford-cloth buttondown from Michael Spencer for Christmas, and I recently purchased my first “new-old” Brooks Brothers version in white. Sunday after church, I decided to compare and contrast those two along with a previously purchased Mercer & Sons version. All three shirts are sized 16 1/2 x …
I recently discovered the movie “White Squall,” directed by Ridley Scott and starring Jeff Bridges. Set in 1961, it’s a coming-of-age film crossed with maritime adventure. The story centers around a group of prep-school flunkies who get to redeem themselves in a kind of nautical reform school, doing their studies at sea while they learn sailing …
Gentlemen, thank you so much for your patience during the past two months. Throughout November was the storm and stress of wrapping up life in New York, and most of December involved being bewitched by the magic of Newport at Christmastime while living in a construction disaster zone and a nightmare landlord. I also had …
Times Square, New Year’s Eve, 1964.
Here’s an amusing year-end and rear-end piece of ass-tounding entertainment from Ivy Style’s salad days. * * * Harvard’s financial troubles have been well publicized. The university also made news several months ago when it was announced that it had licensed its name for a contemporary fashion collection called Harvard Yard, and was criticized for …
Once again, as we wind down 2019, we take a look at some of the more obscure posts from our early years. This one, from the fall of ’09, features a trouser alas no longer offered by LL Bean, though perhaps there are others out there. * * * Of all the background characters in …
We continue our 2019 year-end wrapup with a revisit of this 2009 post based on the five-year anniversary of “trad” on the Internet. * * * Five years ago today a man who goes under the username Harris posted these immortal words on the Ask Andy About Clothes forum: I live in the Northeastern US …