Articles by Christian

A Year In The Life

One year ago today I hit a golf ball for the first time. Since then I’ve hit 20,000 more. Every day for the past 365 days I’ve played golf, practiced it, watched it, read about it, or thought about it. When I haven’t been outdoors hitting balls, I’ve been rolling them across the purple putting


The Old Money Look: Vintage Ivy Market Heats Up

For those who like your Ivy kosher and don’t mind the smell of moth balls, check out vintage dealer HabuchiHuckaby on eBay. According to his seller profile: I am very fortunate to have an in with some of the Midwest’s best dressed, and sadly fleeting, old-timers. These were the guys who used to grace the


Walk Tall: JP Crickets’ Ivy League Velvet Slippers

When you go to an Ivy League school, or so I’ve heard, there’s a certain hierarchy of coolness in your attitude towards it. Coolest of all, of course, is having dropped out to do better things, like Mark Zuckerberg. Basically you’re so smart you don’t even need an Ivy League degree. Dropping out because you


Meet The Press: A Reader Q&A With Richard P.

Back in 2012 Richard Press volunteered to take reader questions, resulting in some interesting insight on the Ivy heyday. Ask him nicely and he might take some new questions. * * * Richard Press, Ivy Style’s “Golden Years” columnist, former president of J. Press, and grandson of Jacobi, will herein host a virtual question-and-answer session


Madras Season: Dexys Midnight Runners

When madras season officially opened on Memorial Day, we ran a post showing George HW Bush clad in a madras sportcoat in company that wasn’t exactly wearing the same (can you imagine Obama or Romney doing that in 2012?) Now that July 4th marks our deeper descent into madras, this time we show the fabric



Vanity Fare: Pocket Guide For The Rake

From the vanity files, for the latest issue of The Rake I was asked to empty my pockets for a section called Pocket Guide, which profiles what the world’s most irrepressibly elegant men [sic] carry in their pockets and on their person. Click here for a PDF of the layout. I donned duds by Haspel,


JP Gaul Talks Ivy

English Ivy guru and Weejun fetishist JP Gaul, co-author of “The Ivy Look” (see our review here), has written a piece for Yale University Press’ blog. YUP is the publisher of the upcoming book created in conjunction with the MFIT exhibit. While discussing his discovery of Ivy as a teenager in the ’80s, Gaul writes:


Ivy Style Exhibit Press Release

This afternoon the press release for the MFIT’s exhibit was sent out. Here it is in its entirety. — CC * * * The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) presents Ivy Style, an exhibition that celebrates one of the most enduring clothing styles of the 20th century. From its origins on the


Brooks Outfitted Gatsby Cast

Today Brooks Brothers announced that it was the official clothier of Baz Luhrmann’s “Great Gatsby” adaptation, which opens December 25. Under the direction of costume designer Catherine Martin, Brooks created more than 500 outfits for the male principals and extras. Women’s Wear Daily has an ungated feature on the collaboration complete with slideshow. Below is


First Article On MFIT’s Ivy Style Exhibit

Yesterday trade publication Apparel Magazine posted what I believe is the first article to appear on the upcoming “Ivy Style” exhibit at the Museum of the Fashion Institute of Technology. It’s the most detailed account yet on what you can expect in just a few short months. Here’s an excerpt: Ivy Style will present the


Clap Hands, Here Comes Charlie!

Charlie Davidson, the legendary 86-year-old proprietor of The Andover Shop, doesn’t often condescend to pose for the camera, but he acquiesced last week for my long-gestating profile in The Rake. Consider the shot above a sneak peek and expect the story sometime this summer. The headline, for those of you who don’t listen to music


John Updike, Style Icon

Recently GQ said John Updike was in as a style icon while Jack Kerouac was all washed up and played out. And last week the magazine’s web site put up a slideshow. No new images for you guys perhaps, but maybe for the younger and/or less literate out there. Remains to be seen if fashion


Bearded Sneaker-Wearing Brooklynites Take Over J. Press

News broke today that the brothers behind Ovadia & Sons have inked a deal with J. Press. The alarmist headline above was in jest, of course. While initial news on Twitter was that they were appointed creative directors, GQ says they are merely designing a special collection. “Our line will have a really cool, young


Zach Of Newton Street Vintage Joins Andover Shop

Erstwhile Ivy Style contributor Zachary DeLuca answered the recent want ad for The Andover Shop and was offered the job. Zach was able to negotiate his hours so he can continue his projects, including acting as a sales rep for a custom tailor and selling vintage Ivy duds through his business Newton Street Vintage. Zach


Preppy On Steroids: The Return Of Argyleculture

Yesterday Women’s Wear Daily reported that Russell Simmons is relaunching his clothing label Argyleculture, this time in partnership with the Joseph Abboud brand. Aimed at “urban graduates,” Simmons described the collection as “preppy on steroids.”


The John Cheever Centennial

Today would be the 100th birthday of John Cheever, who died in 1982. Two news reports you might want to check out are this one by the New York Daily News, and for an English perspective, this one from the Telegraph. I asked Bruce Boyer if he might have any particular insight on one of


Paul Fussell, 1924-2012

Paul Fussell, author of the mordantly hilarious “Class: A Guide Through The American Status System,” died Wednesday at the age of 88. “Class” includes an entire chapter devoted to the semiotics of dress, and he aims his wry wit at his own class as much as those above and below. Here’s an excerpt: Upper-middle clothes…


Image Drop: The Ivy Tumblrs

If you can’t get enough of images from the heyday of the Ivy League Look, there are several tumblr sites you need to check out. Above, The Weejun. Below, Traditional Natural Shoulder: And finally, The Ivy League Look: All great resources for documenting Ivy style from the past. — CC