Have you ever seen an outfit on a movie screen and it spoke to you? One of my favorite scenes is from “The American President.” The camera pans the POTUS’ closet and a row of white and light blue dress shirts, with minimal pastels and stripes, fills the screen. White and light blue are the …
It’s been a decade since John Updike died at the age of 76. While his status as a Great American Novelist is well known, his role as an icon of sartorial understatement is not. And so we present this homage to a master not only of English literature, but of dressing with quiet flair. Our …
Just a reminder to keep your Internet dial tuned to the Richard “Dick” Press’ column “Threading The Needle” over on the J. Press website. The above image was sent out yesterday. No surprise Richard is the centerpiece of the photo among his classmates.
It’s long been said that Yankee frugality dictates that men hang on to their clothes, repair them as necessary, and pass them on to their progeny. Somehow I got hold of one when the owner wasn’t looking. It bears witness to the values of Ivy style: quality, smartness, practicality, longevity, thrift, stability. Custom made in …
As many readers here know, The Andover Shop was recently acquired by several long-time customers who wanted to see the beloved store continue (and, upon closing, received a firm but smiling admonition from co-founder Charlie Davidson, “Well, it’s yours now. Don’t fuck it up”). As they prepare for the arrival of spring and summer merchandise, …
See these Ivy frat boys? Elvis uses his fists to wipe the smug looks off their faces. After seeming to romanticize fraternity life in a recent post, let’s balance the scales by romanticizing fraternity jerks who get punched out by a greaser from the wrong side of the tracks. Such a greaser is played by Elvis …
You’re probably so desperate for a nice spring day that you would be willing to don pink and green and prance in public in exchange for one balmy day. According to the new Lands’ End spring preview catalog, the notorious preppy combo of pink and green might make a comeback. Time wil tell. — CC …
College fraternities of the past offered male bonding in a stylish setting. The photo above, plus the two below, are from Northwestern University in Evanston, IL, 1949. Dig Joe College here in newsboy cap and varsity sweater: The chap in the bottom center providing the smoky atmosphere reminds us that for 400 years it was …
We have one more passing to report, although I was unable to find much information. Perhaps this post will attract some comments from readers who knew the man. Frank Reilly was president of Brooks Brothers during the preppy ’80s, and retired shortly after the Marks & Spencer takeover. He died last October at the age …
Richard Yates was one of those guys who adopted the Ivy look early in life and never let go of it. Whether due to good taste, lack of imagination, or being too impecunious to afford new clothes, Yates’ perennial style was described by Dan Wakefield (author of “New York in the Fifties”) as follows: Yates …
The Ivies are not the same, including when it comes to matters of style. In 2008 Slate posted an article analyzing Fitzgerald’s heroes and whether they went to Harvard, Yale or Princeton. Fitzgerald has Amory Blaine, hero of “This Side of Paradise,” his first novel, offer the following assessment of the three schools: I want to go …
Our next tribute to the recently deceased is Jack Bogle, founder of the investment firm The Vanguard Group and a member of the class of 1951 at Princeton, the influence of which can be seen most evidently in his harircut. Head over here for the Wall Street Journal’s obit. — CC
There was a time (1954, for example, as in these two LIFE Magazine photos) when you could visit J. Press in New Haven and have an old gent like this help you pick out a jacket. He may have been on commission, but he probably knew what looked good on you. You might even bump …
We have several recent passings to catch up on, and the first is prominent Harvard sociologist Nathan Glazer. Glazer burst on the scene in 1950 “The Lonely Crowd” and continued to study and publish on the subjects of the American melting pot and multiculturalism. Here is an obituary in Tablet, and a 2016 profile in National …
Political operative and clotheshorse Roger Stone was arrested this morning in the Mueller investigation. His coat did not lie flat against the back of his neck, possibly caused by posture issues due to a tattoo of Richard Nixon on his back. His lawyer plans to mount the negligent collar defense. In spring 2017 contributing writer …
G. Bruce Boyer gave Ivy Style permission to digitize this chapter from his 1985 book “Elegance.” It is based on an article that originally appeared in the May 1981 issue of Town & Country. Brooks Brothers By G. Bruce Boyer When it phased out its custom tailoring department, the story was carried on the front …
Are you a Japanophile, or just like to brush up on your knowledge of world history? Well earlier this season online retailer Bodega ran a lengthy piece on “ametora,” or American Trad in Japan. What’s helpful about it is that it provides a nice cursory overview of Japan’s gradual opening to Western cultural (and sartorial) …
It is said that the winners get to write the history books. One of the now-official effects of the social upheaval of the 1960s was that young people broke down the oppressive conformity of society, including rigid and unimaginative clothes. The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit (played by Gregory Peck, above, in the film of …
What are these young men doing to the buttondowned man in center? They’re blowing smoke in his face as way of training him to keep cool during civil rights protests. The 1960 photo comes from a Time/LIFE piece you can find here. Best wishes to everyone on this MLK Day. — CC