In honor of the birthday of President George Washington (February 22), Ivy Style is pleased to repost this article from last year. We also invite you to read the essay from President George W. Bush for In Pursuit, a landmark initiative of More Perfect working to protect and renew our democracy as we approach the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
By Matthew Longcore
He is the Father of His Country, the American Cincinnatus, the American Fabius, the Sage of Mount Vernon.
George Washington – commander of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War and first President of the United States – was born on this day nearly three centuries ago – on February 22, 1732.
Washington is the namesake of our nation’s capital in the District of Columbia and also of an entire state in the Pacific Northwest. He is honored by having his likeness on the most widely used currency in international transactions as well as one a coin that can be used to feed a parking meter. Washington is omnipresent in American culture – a figure larger than life. All of which is ironic given his legendary modesty.
George Washington exemplified the code of the gentleman. The very definition of a country squire from the landed gentry, our first President was a member of one of the First Families of Virginia. Sociologist E. Digby Baltzell reminds readers that “Washington was one of the wealthiest men of his day.” Baltzell adds that Washington, who silently presided over meetings in Philadelphia to draft the United States Constitution, “was the very personification of aristocratic and class authority in this classic age of deferential democracy.”
Washington and Princeton
George Washington has an important historical connection to the Ivy League campus of Princeton University, known as the College of New Jersey in the 18th century. Princeton became a battleground during the American Revolution. Nassau Hall, the oldest building on campus, was ravaged by the occupying troops of both armies. The Battle of Princeton on January 2, 1777 was a major turning point in the war. British troops occupying Nassau Hall surrendered to General Washington. From June to November of 1783, Nassau Hall served as the nation’s capitol, housing the Continental Congress. News of the peace treaty with Great Britain was first received in Nassau Hall.
Washington became a generous donor to Princeton and the university has celebrated his birthday regularly. A painting by Charles Willson Peale titled “George Washington at the Battle of Princeton” was commissioned by the Trustees. Washington wrote of Princeton, “no college has turned out better scholars or more estimable characters than Nassau.”
Rules of Civility
As a schoolboy in Virginia, Washington famously wrote out a copy of the 110 Rules of Civility & Decent Behaviour In Company and Conversation. The rules originated with a manual for young gentlemen written by French Jesuits in 1595 titled Bienséance de la conversation entre les hommes. The rules were translated into English by Francis Hawkins and published in England around 1640.
These rules include some timeless wisdom which may resonate with Ivy Style readers today, particularly rules 51 and 52:
Rule No. 51
Wear not your Cloths, foul, unript or Dusty but See they be Brush’d once every day at least and take heed tha[t] you approach not to any Uncleaness.
Rule No. 52
In your Apparel be Modest and endeavour to accomodate Nature, rather than to procure Admiration keep to the Fashio[n] of your equals Such as are Civil and orderly with respect to Times and Places.
In his book titled Rules of Civility: The 110 Precepts That Guided Our First President in War and Peace, Richard Brookhiser (author of The Way of the WASP: How It Made America, and How It Can Save It, So to Speak) warns against being dismissive of these “rules” as nothing more than old fashioned etiquette.
“The rules address moral issues, but they address them indirectly,” according to Brookhiser. “They seek to form the inner man (or boy) by shaping the outer.”
Washington and Newport
Washington, the understated gentleman, appreciated fine clothing that was elegant but not flashy. He also liked to smell as good as he looked. His favorite fragrance was Number Six Eau de Perfume from Caswell-Massey. The scent profile is woodsy, like an 18th century gentleman.
In the 1760s and 1770s, Caswell-Massey founder Dr. William Hunter created a uniquely American fragrance: Number Six Eau de Parfum. Combining the citrus freshness of Farina’s Eau de Cologne with the rugged, animalic warmth of musk, civet, and ambergris, Number Six debuted in 1772. The scent embodied a bold, masculine identity that resonated with the emerging American spirit.
After Dr. Hunter’s passing in 1777, Number Six gained legendary status when George Washington purchased it during a visit to Newport, Rhode Island in 1781. Washington famously gifted the fragrance to the Marquis de Lafayette and wore it himself throughout his presidency. This association elevated Number Six as a symbol of refinement and marked America’s transition from a frontier to a global presence.
Each year on February 22nd the Rhode Island Society Sons of the Revolution recognize Washington’s birthday with a ceremony at the Houdon Statue on the south raised patio of the Redwood Library on Bellevue Avenue in Newport.
As we celebrate the legacy of our first President, perhaps we should add another item to the Rules of Civility:
A gentleman should look dignified, and should have a refined fragrance to match.
SOURCES
George Washington’s Mount Vernon: The Rules of Civility.
George Washington’s Rules of Civility: 110 Maxims Helped Shape and Guide America’s First President.
Rhode Island Society of the Sons of the Revolution. Washington’s Birthday (2025)
I wear C-M’s Number Six annually to our SR chapter’s George Washington’s Birthday Dinner, and will do so again tonight.
Is the SR the Sons of the Revolution?
Rule No. 51. “Wear not your Cloths foul, unript, or Dusty…” Unript? Double negative?
Reading this evening from 🇨🇦.
Thank you for this most informative read. It is indeed a contrast to your current incumbent.
Your first president believed in sharing power, and avoiding anything which concentrated power. He would not look kindly on the current occupant of the presidential office calling himself a “king”. Even in jest.
No matter where you’re from, I wish all your readers well. We all believe and stand for something that transends borders. Cheers.
Nice to see you quoting Brookhiser.
Richard Brookhiser writes of George Washington:
“His life still has the power to inspire anyone who studies it.”
I was pleased to see that quote from Brookhiser mentioned here:
https://www.timesobserver.com/opinion/our-opinion/2025/02/other-voices-trump-could-learn-from-washington/
Chat – are wooden teeth ivy?
Yes when made of fine mahogany.
Great information shared.. really enjoyed reading this post thank you author for sharing this post .. appreciated
As a lifelong (admittedly obsessive) student of his life, I’ll suggest that his stoicism, chastened idealism, self discipline, and reserve were his most notable qualities. He was pessimistic about our republic’s prospects (long term) and more of a frowning Calvinist about human nature than any of the Founders (save perhaps John Witherspoon). He spoke rarely and gently (many suspect a murmur or even a whisper), refused to suffer fools and buffoons (he would condemn “Go To Hell” clothing), and had zero tolerance for frivolity. A traditionalist about rites and ceremony, but worried about excesses related to religion (he refused Holy Communion) and regal pomp. His quiet stare was fierce and spoke volumes; his principles were inspired by a Southern surveyor-farmer’s desire for peace — not a warrior’s zeal for battle. A businessman and diplomat, his distaste for partisanship was matched only by his contempt for monarchy. A complex, multi-layered man, the truth is he didn’t hold many in high regard: even Hamilton and Lafayette received reprimands. Bound by a profound sense of duty (above all else), he also prioritized the quite intentional acquisition and building of personal wealth. Above all, a serious and practical man. His judgments of every chief executive who followed were (& would have been) harsh. The 20th century bunch were especially lacking, with the exceptions of Eisenhower and G.H.W. Bush. He would ask piercing questions about the “military industrial complex,” and his evaluations of modern-day capitalism, including banking and commerce, would be interesting, to say the least. He would chuckle about the mythology and legend-propagating that surround (follow)him. Were he to return as he was, he would be wearing vintage ELJO’s.
“Although he was surrounded by officers and citizens, it was impossible to mistake for a moment his majestic figure and deportment; nor was he less distinguished by the noble affability of his manner.”
This morning I was out and about with my top down wearing an Eljo’s gimme cap, and although I went to the west coast instead of The University, I wore a navy tie with orange bar stripes, also from Eljo’s. Those were also Norfolk Academy colors.
S.E. – Thank you for your observations and insights about our nation’s first President. George Washington was a devout and lifelong member of the Anglican Church (later the Protestant Episcopal Church), baptized as an infant and serving as a vestryman and churchwarden. Of the Founding Fathers, John Witherspoon fits the Calvinist description far better than George Washington. Witherspoon, a Scottish-American Presbyterian minister, served as president of the College of New Jersey (later Princeton University) and was the only clergyman to sign the Declaration of Independence. The fictional portrayal of George Washington by David Bowditch Morse in the HBO miniseries John Adams truly captures the first President’s legendary modesty and understated demeanor.
Yes, true enough about Washington’s Anglicanism. That said, early Anglicanism was thoroughly Calvinist (Cranmer was heavily influenced by Calvin’s theology) and, relative to later developments, “low church.” Following a few readings of Fears of a Setting Sun,’ I concluded that Washington’s pessimism was even more “Calvinist” than that of Puritan John Adams and Presbyterian clergyman (Princeton president) John Witherspoon. His later-in-life outlook was rather bleak. Madison was the most optimistic about America’s long-term prospects. The English Reformation broadly and generally was Calvinist in spirit and content. Calvin favored a presbyterian (elder-based) polity, but didn’t reject episcopal (bishop-based) polity. Aside: the Chernow biography of Washington is very good, but both Flexner and Ellis deserve commendations. I applaud James MacGregor Burns’ efforts, as well.
Very nice tribute to the father of our country. And here is another Ivy connection, from the Washington Post: “The nation’s first president paved the way for the navy blazer and khaki pants.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2026/02/19/george-washington-fashion-blazer-khaki/
Thank you, Charlottesville. Chloe Chapin, the author of the article in the Washington Post, holds a Ph.D. in American Studies from Harvard University, and master’s degrees in history (Harvard), fashion and textile studies (Fashion Institute of Technology), and costume design (Yale School of Drama). Her first book, Suitable: The Sartorial Revolution and the Fashioning of Modern Men, comes out with Oxford University Press in June 2026. I will reach out to Chloe for an Ivy Style feature.
Wonderful idea, Matthew. I hope your recovery is going well.
Wonderful post. But must we allow the political comment from north of the border? I don’t come here for political opinions. They are everywhere else.
Yeah, and there are also many of us who did not come to this site to read people complaining that political opinions from non-Americans should be censored.
Amendment: I’ll venture a guess that Washington would be intrigued by the uniquely Japanese Traditionalist take on American style, and, further, reckon that he would own suits and shirts by Caid and Kamakura (custom). And maybe a bit of Beams.
True about Witherspoon’s Scottish Presbyterianism; this noted, I’ll contend Washington’s steadfast pessimism was Calvinist in spirit. The Anglicanism with which he was familiar was low church and Cranmerish — the English Reformation, including 39 Articles, was Calvinist.