Note: Post updated; scroll down to section marked Part Two. 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 Brothers for going on half a century. That’s interesting enough, but Davis’ story has a fascinating twist: he …
This image from the Japanese illustrator Hiroshi Watatani brings several things to mind. First there’s a formula you rarely see, and that’s a completely sober outfit — like this one in black, white and gray — combined with colorful socks. I’ll do a slight variation, wearing a solid tie plus rep-striped or motif socks, essentially transferring the patterns from …
A tour of Dartmouth College’s library in the 1950s, shown in the top video, sheds light on the school’s lifestyle and sartorial history. Male students seen hard at work wearing sweaters, flannels and thick trousers highlight two things: The lack of female students and a clear fashion sense unique to the college. Dartmouth did not …
I recently discovered this article about J. Press buried in the files on my computer. Richard Press sent it to me so long ago he doesn’t even remember it. He says he believes it’s from 1987 and a magazine called Success. Consider it successfully resurrected. — CC
In the summer of 1979 I traveled from my home in Louisiana to visit a girlfriend who was summering in Nantucket. She was working as someone’s nanny and sharing a home with about 20 similarly employed youths. The girlfriend thing turned out to be a disappointment, but Nantucket was something to remember. I had …
I really should be writing my dissertation now, but a combination of pristine Spring weather, study fatigue and an unashamed adoration for Clarks Wallabees has compelled me to write about “my kinda clothes” instead. Ever since Ivy Style threw these contrarian shoes in front of my headlights, I’ve been infatuated with their horrific silhouette. Wallabees …
Recently an interesting pair of loafers came on my radar. They’re made by TB Phelps of deer hide. I reached out to the company to find out more, and here’s what they said. The loafer model is called the Ventura and comes in chestnut, black and tan in sizes 8-13 including half sizes. It also …
Shot for Life Magazine by Alfred Eisenstaedt, the same photographer who brought us the wonderfully atmospheric shots of New Haven commuters. Top hats and morning coats by day, white dinner jackets at night.
Brooks Brothers made news in a rather dubious fashion this week. The magazine Garage ran a piece entitled “On the Enduring Bland Appeal of Brooks Brothers — and the Freaks Who Love It.” This is followed by the subhead “How has this brand been around for so long?” Quotes the piece: The titular man from …
We’ll let George Hamilton take a curtain call after yesterdays post. It is Spring Break for the college kids, after all, and yesterday on Twitter I shared the above image of what things were like — at least in the mythologized Hollywood version — before twerking contests and chugging beer from a callipygian vessel. The …
If George Hamilton’s long career in TV and film has taught us anything, it’s that cultural relevance depends almost exclusively on one’s ability to reinvent oneself. Known today primarily for his permanent tan and penchant for self-parody, it’s easy to forget that Hamilton began his career looking very much the part of a clean-cut collegiate …
This Esquire illustration was recently posted to Ivy’s Facebook group. It obviously has great visual appeal, but I found it especially interesting for the date: it was drawn in 1942. Now you can see the ’40s-era drape in the cut of the blazer and the trousers. And of course by the time the Ivy …
In 1954, after serving 44 months of a 10-year sentence, convicted perjurer and alleged Communist spy Alger Hiss set out to exonerate himself. Accusations against Hiss first surfaced in 1948, when Whittaker Chambers testified before the House Un-American Activities Committee that Hiss had acted as a courier for an underground Communist network operating in Washington …
Anton Miranda was featured here at Ivy Style in 2017 and is an active member of our Facebook group. A few days ago the resident of the Philippines published an essay about how he discovered Ivy and prep style — or rather how it discovered him. He writes: Through the years, my conviction for this …
Before his untimely death, few men of letters embodied the jazz-fueled cool of midcentury New York better than poet Frank O’Hara. The Whitman of the modern urban landscape, O’Hara captured the essence of the city, its multitudes, and its motions of constant speed punctuated with moments of stillness. Heavily influenced by Abstract Expressionism and jazz, his …
This week the venerable Goldman Sachs announced it is no longer requiring suits to be worn. Yet another end of an era. Above is a photo taken at a broker function in 1987 for the opening of a commercial office building in Reston, Virginia. The event was held for the firm I was with at …
This year marks the 60th anniversary of one of the greatest contributions by the state of Arkansas to the American way of life. In 1959, fraternity brothers at the University of Arkansas were suffering from a shortage of chairs. In protest, they took to “hunkering,” or squatting, or what you might call Ozark yoga. It’s …
Most of the traditional tailors and clothiers have contributed some signature piece or look to the canon. Henry Poole gave us the dinner jacket in 1865. In the late 1800s, Cordings pioneered the covert coat and tattsersall shirts. Haspel introduced seersucker suits around 1909, and Brooks Brothers’ contributions are almost too many to list – …
Paul Winston’s bold suit linings are so famous, many clients select the fabric for the lining before the fabric for the suit itself. Vivid linings are just one of the signature styles of Winston, the renowned tailor who began working for his father Sidney’s New York-based clothing company Chipp in 1961. Chipp soon became renowned …