1990-present

Tradified

From The Editor

Matthew Longcore, Ph.D.  Editor and publisher Matthew Longcore completed his Ph.D. in Humanities at Salve Regina University. His doctoral dissertation is titled “Dreaming Spires: Collegiate Gothic Architecture on American Campuses.” Matthew is a graduate of Trinity College and holds master’s degrees from Fairfield University, Harvard University, and Yale University. As an undergraduate, he majored in

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From The Archives

A Different Kind Of Belgian Chocolate

And you thought bit loafers were polarizing? Precocious menswear buff Al Castiel III, a Boston University student spending his summer interning in New York in the Paul Stuart custom department, herein offers an ode to the dainty, delicate footwear specimen known as the Belgian Shoe. * * * Just off the corner of Park Avenue

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Al Diavolo! Brooks Sued Over Bankruptcy

The fall of Brooks Brothers wouldn’t be complete without a drawn-out denouement of ignominy. And so the $27 billion Del Vecchio family is being sued by a former Hong Kong investor (suggesting perhaps globalism just isn’t good for American companies). Reuters reports:  The billionaire Italian family that until recently owned Brooks Brothers has been accused



Willful Nostalgia

After yesterday’s post on George Will, a reader sent in this column on Brooks that the trad columnist wrote for the Washington Post back in 1997, when the appearance of buttondowns in odd colors were enough to spark fear of the end times. Will opens his lament with: Yes, yes, we have been told. Philosophers


How To Dye Easter Eggs With Old Neckties

Do not let this post mislead you, for the necktie is not dead but will rise again. Happy Easter, everyone. * * * Amid the egg hunts, chocolate bunnies and flower bonnets, how can the menswear aficionado add some style to Easter Sunday? How about dyeing Easter eggs, but with the unique twist of transfering


Memories Of Olden Days

I will try to write this without vulgarity and profanity. Partly because someone’s son might read this. Partly because, well, it is a gentlemen’s site. Lived off of Lands’ End buttondowns for most of my career, back when they made a wide variety. Wore Brooks blazers, suits, ties, accessories, and even one pair of wingtips,


The Golden Flush

Today the New York Times has a lengthy feature on the abandoned Brooks Brothers warehouse we posted about earlier this week, along with a summary of the present situation of the company. The Times writes: The office attire segment of retailing as a whole was battered last year as many Americans worked remotely, ditching entire


The Rituals, The Tradition… It’s All Gone

After a two-Manhattan lunch with the guys, I would occasionally go and sit with “my guy” at Brooks Brothers and go through swatches and order up a couple of MTM suits. One of the tailors, Sal, an impeccably-dressed Italian gentleman, would measure me. Pick-stitching, working sleeve buttons, pen-pocket, mid-break, no break, 1 5/8” cuffs, etc. At


Paint It Black

Yesterday I realized that Brooks Brothers is gone and it gave me a real sadness. A year ago this weekend, on a sunny day much like today, I took one of my nephews into Brooks Brothers and showed him around. I told him that one day I would buy him something there, when he was


Focusers: Distinctive, Classic Eyewear for the Discerning Gentleman

The following is a message from one of Ivy Style’s loyal sponsors. Focusers is renowned for premium quality tortoise shell, metal and rimless eyewear. We offer classic frame styles, from our Windsors frames based on Ben Franklin’s original metal ovals on through traditional Ivy League frames of the mid-twentieth century. Elegant gold and silver rimless


Smell Like A Man

Why do the prettiest girlfriends always end up being the worst relationships? Years ago I was involved with a striking beauty who was half-Norwegian and half-Chinese. I met her swing dancing, and for one of our first dates we went to a retro event held on the USS Hornet, an aircraft carrier museum located in