There is a menswear phenomenon that seems to be taking hold more and more over the last two decades or so. Something that seems to mirror a wider phenomenon in American society and, I would suspect, many other places around the world. That is, the lurch toward privileging personal preference and personal comfort over all else. …
Today in 1818 Brooks Brothers opened its doors. Let that sink in for a bit. Two centuries ago. Had it never been founded, would the Ivy League Look have ever been created? Perhaps college men and Eastern Elites would have just dressed like Englishmen. The Ivy Style community is the company’s toughest critics, but I think …
Today there’s multiple news in the world of pink, and so we’re revisiting — and reworking — this post that originally ran in 2009. Back then we examined a LIFE Magazine piece from 1955, when the Ivy heyday was just getting started, that all but credited Brooks Brothers with inventing the color pink — at …
A couple of weeks ago I paid a visit to the “global headquarters” of Jack Carlson’s brand Rowing Blazers. As far as headquarters go, this Midtown Manhattan office is quite tiny. On the other hand, it is indeed global, as Carlson is forging connections and collaborations around the world. A world that he’s visited much …
This is a special sponsored post by the parties representing the sale of The Andover Shop, who hope to find a sympathetic and enthusiastic buyer through the audience of Ivy-Style.com. * * * With a heavy heart, the founders of men’s clothing emporium The Andover Shop, announce the business is for sale. The partners, both …
It’s not often that J. Press snags a mention in the New York Times, especially in a fashion context. But it did recently when the gentleman above was profiled and said he had just been shopping at Squeeze. It was part of a piece on stylish personae spied at the antiquarian book fair held at …
What to say about George Costanza? Everyone knows him. No one was supposed to like him, but somehow, we’ve all seemed to find a soft spot for him in our hearts. When thinking about the character from the ’90s hit TV sitcom “Seinfeld” (the so-called “show about nothing”), one typically thinks of him creating some …
Today we feature a special contribution. Fumio Adachi presently lives in the US, but in the 1960s worked in Japan at VAN Jac, the pioneering Japanese Ivy brand. Herein he shares some memories about where his team got their inspiration. * * * In our generation, when we were middle teenagers, it was more than …
Frugality and restraint are qualities that are admired in the world of traditional menswear, but may seem perplexing to those not in the know. For example, why does Prince Charles insist on wearing a Barbour jacket so tattered and threadbare when he could easily buy a closet full of them? Simply speaking, it is a …
Thursday brought the news that former UN Ambassador John Bolton will be replacing HR McMaster as National Security Adviser. Bolton’s best known for his hawkish foreign policy views and walrus mustache, but a less remarked-upon trait is his penchant for buttondown collars. Bolton appears to be sporting one in every photo that appears on Google, …
Our last post looked at a Main Street clothier during the Ivy heyday. Today we revisit an historic piece on the brand that started it all, and spread its look from Madison Avenue to Main Streets across the US. This document, originally posted in summer of 2013, helped cement 1954 as the starting date of …
If you can’t become an executive with an Ivy degree, perhaps you can with an Ivy League suit (after all, fake it till you make it, right?) This image was snapped by contributing writer Eric Twardzik; he found it on the wall of an independent menswear shop called Giblee’s in Danvers, MA. Glad to know …
Today is World Poetry Day, and since much of the East Coast is housebound from the snow storm, what better excuse to light the candles, pour some tea (or cognac) and enjoy some rhyming verse by Ivy Style’s founder Christian Chensvold and special correspondent G. Bruce Boyer. Both men studied English in college (Boyer even …
Last week we posted that neo-prep is back at Ralph Lauren. Today we journey back 40 years ago, when the brand was first beginning to stage lavish fantasy shoots done on location. These would reach their apex in the mid to late ’80s with, for example, 20-page ad narrative spreads in magazines such as Architectural …
As today is Sunday, it seems the ideal day to share something that concerns not just looking you best, but feeling it and acting it. And sometimes acting your best means you need to start play-acting it until you actually get there. Last month I announced that anyone out there struggling with the challenges of …
Ivy Style proudly brings back its famous Battle Of The Wits contest. The prize for this contest is nothing less than an ALL CAPS AND EXCLAMATION POINT-DESERVING CUSTOM SHIRT OF YOUR CHOICE BY MICHAEL SPENCER! Contest is open to those who don’t already own a shirt from Michael Spencer. To enter, simply use the leave-comment feature …
Four-and-a-half years ago, our erstwhile columnist The Millennial Fogey mused on the uncertain future of neo-prep. Well, fashion life cycles are pretty short these days, and I think we can say it’s back. I’m a bit biased when it comes to Ralph Lauren. They’re my longest running client, as I’ve written for their online magazine …
Yesterday Stephen Hawking left us for another world. In honor of his passing, we revisit this amazing photo from his college days that we ran last spring. * * * Today we take a trip to England, the country that gave us the blueprint for America’s universities and the raw materials for the Ivy League …
Evidently there’s a day for everything. Today is Alfred Hitchcock Day, and so we raise a toast to actor Anthony Perkins, who starred in Hitch’s 1960 film “Psycho.” Perkins, who’s appeared on Ivy Style several times before, showed that a tall, lanky man can still look great in sack suits and blousy buttondowns. You’d probably, …