In 1941, Count Basie release “Harvard Blues,” which opens with the following immortal lines: I wear Brooks clothes and white shoes all the time I wear Brooks clothes and white shoes all the time Get three “Cs,” a “D” and think checks from home sublime The lyrics were written by George Frazier, close pal of …
A couple of weeks ago we posted a collection of vintage Dexter advertisements, and now here’s an interesting follow up. In 1968, as the Ivy League Look was plummeting in popularity, the shoe that would cement itself as a preppy staple in the 1970s was gradually garnering greater attention. The above ad is from The …
Despite the assertion that college men are the best dressed in America — a statement made by Apparel Arts or some such in the 1930s — in general men dress better as they age. Their tastes refine, they’ve got more money to spend, and most of all they’ve put in practice — about 10,000 hours …
In 2010, Ari Samsky wrote an essay for Splice Today called “Prep To Death.” I was alerted to the piece a couple of years later, in the first iteration of this post, which we shall revisit now in light of what may have changed since then, and what may remain the same. Here were my …
In 1950, when I was 12 years old, Grandpa Press took me to Brooks Brothers for my Bar Mitzvah suit. He brought it back to J. Press for alterations and the first thing he did was rip off the Brooks Brothers label and replace it with one of ours. Grandpa Press’ dismemberment of a Brooks …
Dressing The Part From “The English Gentleman Is Dead: Long Live The English Gentleman!” By Douglas Sutherland, 1992 In the second half of the 20th century it is true that the English Gentleman has had to shed something of his country image and assume the trappings of an urban life. This does not, however, mean …
As a follow-up to our last post on “Main Street” Ivy brands from the heyday, herein a reader reminisces on one from more recent times. * * * I’m hoping readers will enjoy a little bit of nostalgia via the Spring 1995 catalog from Huntington Clothiers, the last one I have. Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, …
The “Main Street” Ivy brands that flickered briefly during the heyday often touted their wares as “authentic natural shoulder fashions,” as if one were buying an ethos along with a jacket cut. Of course, among the original arbiters of the Ivy League Look, the natural shoulder was an expression of values and culture. But because they …
If you hold a mirror up to your computer screen, you’ll see that the gent being measured for a jacket is at the venerable clothier Chipp, as seen in this illustration from the company’s 1965 catalog. Ivy Style asked Paul Winston, son of the Chipp founders, for any insight on the drawing, and he replied, “The …
Rugged types love herringbone so much they wear it everywhere!
Today I begin my journey home after being away for 20 years, and am doing it by train. It should prove quite an experience. In 2008 I did a piece for Ralph Lauren Magazine on chartering vintage railcars, and while I won’t be heading out west in quite that style, I will be in a …
The 1965 Dexter ad above looks rather like a penny loafer graveyard, which is really where the Venetian loafers below belong. Such a ghastly shoe, like a face with the eyes, nose and mouth missing. Of course, others likely feel that way about the bit loafers in the final image.
Junior’s, the one-man Philadelphia haberdashery founded by Glenn Au in 2020, has marked the new year by debuting its made-to-order shirt program online. Presently, two fabrics are offered: a heavyweight blue oxford cloth priced at $165, and a highly limited tan-and-white university stripe at $185. Those still smarting over Brooks Brothers’ retreat from North Carolina …
Shortly after arriving in New York I developed a men’s style column at The Huffington Post which lasted for a short time. This article on the rules of dress is still up on the site and I think is worth revisiting at a moment in time when standards of dress are in grave danger. (You …
Professor David Caplan’s recent articles were met with a warm reception, and so Ivy Style is honored to kick off the new year with a regular column for the tweedy professor. Aptly entitled Office Hours, Caplan will use it to continue exploring the intersection between traditional clothing and American culture past and present. * * …
Faithful reader “Old School” alerted us to this piece in the New York Review of Books by a former disciple of the great author. It discloses Cheever’s shoe size: Blue-and-white-striped Brooks Brothers shirt, unpressed khakis. John Cheever wore size-six Weejuns. (You know? I’ve always wanted to write that! For its interior rhymes, for its being …
This issue of the late Japanese magazine Free & Easy, which frequently celebrated “Dad’s Style,” showing that respect for one’s elders still exists in some parts of the world, featured an interesting sweater from J. Press Japan with embroidered sheep and shears. The Ivy-prep canon includes critter pants, ties, shorts and sportcoats, but sweaters such as …
Two years ago, in January 2019, I wrote an essay for the San Francisco society magazine The Nob Hill Gazette. It’s entitled “This Year Of Grace,” a reference to the city’s iconic Grace Cathedral, as well as a play by Noel Coward. So much has changed since then that it’s worth sharing again on this …
In 1963 Frank Sinatra had a hit with the song “It Was A Very Good Year,” in which the narrator sings about life at 17, 35, and finally “the autumn of my years.” If you played the game of life correctly this year, you should be closing it out a stronger and wiser man with …