Quick note, if you didn’t see the ad:
The J. Press Warehouse sale is paused for now. I will let you know when it is back up. JB
Clothes
Gregg Donnelly (JackDonnelly.com) And His Two Year Khaki Tour
Editor’s Note: In reading the comments, JackDonnelly.com kept coming up. Here’s the origin story, it has a few links to the website in it. In fact, here’s another. They are a few days away from a restock of some of their categories. I will stay in touch with them and let you know, but check …
Slow Your Beefroll – An 11,000 Word Argument For The Sockless
Well, if pictures are worth a thousand words each. Ok, let me head off a few errant comments before they are posted. (1) Boat shoes are leather. (2) Sneakers are justifiable as exhibits because they tend to be tighter, you tend to walk more …
The Jay Butler Loafer – Standing Corrected.
It is MIGHTY hard to not wear socks with loafers and not veer too prep. No knock against prep, but if you are moving the needle in the Ivy direction and you want to wear loafers and no socks, you probably default to the traditional penny loafer, with its unfortunately named beefroll, wide slot for …
Ivy Notes S1 E15 – Cha Cha Cha Cha Changes
Editor’s Note – The Jay Butler Penny Loafer review was supposed to post today, but it has rained here in Bedford for the last maybe 213 days straight, and I couldn’t get the pictures I wanted to show you of them. Today is supposed to be nice, so fingers crossed. It is written, I just …
Ivy Notes S1 E15
Before I forget, Jay Butler is running 15% off the entire site today. Famous for the bit loafer, they do a great penny loafer too, belts, etc. My impression after wearing the bit loafers and the penny loafers is that everything Jay Butler sells is worth more than you pay for it. And the owner …
The Andover Shop WOCBD – a tailor’s Oxford
The Andover WOCBD is what would happen if a 70 year old master tailor took four years off and went to Columbia in the 50’s, came home and said, “I can do that.” The shirt belongs in your rotation, for sure. At $145 it is in the same conversation as Press and Mercer in terms …
Flusser Part Two – A Reflection On Style
Read through the comments yesterday, and while this is throwing the editorial calendar a little bit out of whack, it got so interesting I thought the conversation should continue. If you disagree, go back to the Andover Shop post, and apply for a job. They are really hiring, fyi. To submit your candidacy, please contact Tucker …
The Andover Shop WOCBD Review Is Coming Thursday, But Here, If You Work There, You Can Probably Save On Shipping.
The Cambridge and Andover locations of The Andover Shop are looking for seasoned full and part-time sales associates. This is a unique opportunity to work for one of America’s oldest and most distinguished haberdashers. With 70 years of history behind it, The Andover Shop has served as a steward of classic American style for generations. Successful candidates should …
Clothes And The Man by Alan Flusser – A Technical Manual
I went to a Christian undergrad when Gospel Rock was starting, and it was so mediocre. The spirit (small s) was right, but the execution was horrific. All the good rock musicians were making real money. But. Because Christian Rock was a small niche, anything that anybody put out was immediately canonized (I did that …
The Joseph A Bank WOCDB Review, or, If You’re Gonna Do It Do It Right, or, Affordable Cardboard
You may notice that for this WOCBD review I am not posting pictures of myself. There are two reasons. First, I hate pictures of myself. But more importantly, any random shot you have seen of me in the last few years, including my profile shot on the site, has me in a JAB WOCBD. And …
The Mountain & Sackett Regimental Tie Review
By now, you know that you can preorder the getting-famous Black Watch Regimental Tie here. And save 10%. On one of the best made ties you will ever own. Why best made? I am glad you asked. All M&S ties are made in America. Family owned and operated business, third generation, two guys who love …
You Too Can Own The True Style (G. Bruce Boyer) Tie… Made In America By These Guys
So I review True Style, by G. Bruce Boyer, which is for my money the only book you can start a wardrobe library with. The link one more time to buy it is here. And I wind up finding Mountain & Sackett, two guys running a third generation family business making fantastic ties right here …
If Ivy And Covid Had A Baby
Thanks again to the amazing Tom for sending me an article from Bloomberg by Max Berlinger this week about what is happening, somewhat disturbingly, to custom clothes. The gist of the article is (it’s a paywall and we don’t link paywalls anymore) is that… A 2022 forecast from personal-styling service Stitch Fix found that half …
Ivy Notes S1 E14
P.J. O’Rourke and I were not friends other than online, but I was going back over my emails when it dawned on me that P.J. O’Rourke is the Father of Degage. Exhibit A Exhibit B Exhibit C I am loving Bruce Boyer’s work on music, and the playlists are doing well. I did see …
Ivy Notes S1 E12 – Chipp Off The Old Block
Alright man, look. In various professional capacities over the years, I have had to write funny for money. My brief to my divorce attorney was both hilarious and ultimately economical. I have punched up scripts (a godawful project I couldn’t finish, it was written by an actor, a REAL actor, who should REALLY act. He …
The State Of Southern Ivy
Editor’s Note: We are especially proud of this piece. First, any time that someone tries out Ivy in part because of what they experience here, we are doing at least part of our job. Second, I love to hear from people who weren’t born into Ivy (actually we were all born naked, right?). Over at …
True Style by G. Bruce Boyer: Entertainment, Persuasion, and making Style a Fine Art
I taught guitar for years. When I did, I started everyone out with a classical, nylon string guitar, no more than $100. In the beginning neither you or your hands know anything, and you must learn and practice the fundamentals. I used to say to people who brought me guitars they were thinking about buying: …
Lord Have Mercer. The WOCBD Review.
David Mercer is simply a great, great guy. And has the bona fides: “Not being a math major, I figure it’s always safer to say I was born in 1946. My Mercer&Sons designs and manufactures shirts and boxer shorts. I was fortunate to enjoy a classical secondary education and studied the liberal arts and …