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 …
… and what we’re fighting against: Top image from O’Connells. Bottom image (as in rock bottom) via Thom Browne.
This Life Magazine photo shoot is a bit of a mystery. First off, there’s no date, but it looks like the second half of the fifties. Next, it has evidently been mislabled “Miss Playgirl at Dartmouth.” Playboy began using the term “playmate” with the magazine’s second issue, making “playgirl” a typo. Playmate with Hef: Lucky …
In the spirit of the recent feature at Ralph Lauren Magazine, what’s the preppiest thing you own? For me, it’s probably a custom blazer from J. Press. That and Ivy-Style.com. You? — CC Image from Scot Meacham Wood.
The latest Ne0-Prep news comes via Ralph Lauren’s online magazine, which has several prep-themed feature stories in the latest issue. Writer Sean Hotchkiss has the requisite “rule-breaking” take on prep, as ever since the invention of rock-and-roll in 1954, everything in American pop culture must break rules instead of upholding them. Of course, it’s tough …
As this native Californian has learned after a decade on the East Coast, this is about the time of year when you start getting stir crazy for spring. So here’s a piece to get you even more in the mood. It’s a little shortie I did for the Rugby Ralph Lauren blog back in 2009, …
Level Up is a new category I launched last year to share my extracurricular writings on becoming a better man. My latest essay posted over the weekend and centers on a few traditional activities all but guaranteed to improve your sense of well-being: weightlifting and martial arts on one hand, and prayer and meditation on …
In 1954, culture critic Russell Lynes published “The Tastemakers: The Shaping of American Popular Taste,” a lengthy meditation on the nature of taste, which Lynes believed had supplanted class as the new social hierarchy. Taste, Lynes argues, can be broken into three categories: Highbrow, Middlebrow and Lowbrow. Naturally the theory applies to clothing. A supplementary chart in …
Earlier this week the UK-based website Fashion United ran a piece entitled “The great prep revival a growth opportunity for menswear,” which introduces the term “remix” into the latest iteration of neo-prep. Ralph Lauren takes the opening of the piece, followed by Rowing Blazers, which is driving much of the publicity for the new prep-meets-streetwear trend. As …
Since prep school they told you the right schools, connections and career would bring the keys to the kingdom. They neglected to mention, however, that you’d be commuting to get there. The art of avoiding conversation: If you weren’t a smoker, you are now: By Stamford, this is the most crowded car: Let’s see: You …
J. Press has given Ivy Style a sneak peek at its new lookbook, which goes up on its website Thursday and is hitting snail mailboxes already. Here are some highlights.
The currents of change move slowly in menswear; there is always time, as TS Eliot put it, “to murder and create.” Adherence to this adage may result in innovation, but more often than not the target of “murder” and the object of creation are one and the same. In short, menswear does away with certain …
One day at my local thrift shop I came across the 1997 book “All American” by Tommy Hilfiger. It only has a few pictures worth presenting, which is fine, since it only cost a buck. So let’s jump in. In the shot below there’s great contrast between the formal and informal, as a pinned club collar …
A book on the relationship between clothing and power examines centuries-old European monarchs, maharajahs and tribal leaders, totalitarian dictators — and the Ivy League Look. “Power & Style: A World History of Politics and Dress,” by Dominique and Francois Gaulme, presents JFK as the centerpiece of its chapter on post-World War II American style and global …
The trade publication Sourcing Journal, for which I’ve written for in the past, put out a trend report last week noting the coming popularity of “New Ivy League.” Not surprising, it comes with an irreverent spin. Rather like an Ivy League education, symbols of wealth and prestige can be cool so long as they are …