I’ve always had a love-hate relationship with color. You could say there are two archetypal 19th century dandies dueling in my closet: George “Beau” Brummell, the so-called father of modern costume, advocates in favor of a simple palette and elegant restraint, while on the other side is Count Alfred d’Orsay, the “butterfly dandy,” who was …
You don’t have to be a staunch supporter of our president to be capable of diagnosing Trump Derangement Syndrome. In fact, a couple of tolerant, level-headed guys were talking about it just the other day. And so today a story caught my eye that immediately made it roll. “I didn’t buy my dad a tie …
Hippy Ivy is back, and may be a recurring theme this summer so long as I can keep my tongue planted in cheek without getting a muscle cramp. So last weekend there was fine weather here in NYC, so I went into Central Park for some sunbathing, meditation/contemplation/reading, and of course bikini-watching. Then I made …
Do you have a clothing conundrum and can think of nothing better (and braver) than calling upon the collective wisdom of the Ivy Style commentariat? Use the contact button above to email your query to the editor. * * * Gentlemen, your sage advice is needed for hapless reader Mr. J, who can’t figure out …
Today is National Seersucker Day, aka Seersucker Thursday, but we’re going to flashback to another day of the week, namely Monday, when J. Press hosted a shindig for David Coggins, who has a new book out called “Men And Manners.” For the event, Squeeze’s own DCG was clad in a mint-green seersucker jacket made by …
We bring the run of khaki-themed posts to a close with info on a US-made brand doing khakis the old-fashioned way. Some of you may have received an email blast last week from O’Connell’s plugging pants that looked strangely familiar. Similar to another brand, except that the monosyllabic name behind them is Frank. I reached …
Contributing writer Christopher Sharp has buckled-down, hit the books, and put his nose to the grindstone in an effort to suss out once and for all the origins of the mid-’50s buckle-back chino trend. * * * During my formative years back in the Fifties, I was the kind of kid who was secure in …
We continue our khaki theme with some positive news about a young entrepreneur carrying the torch of classic clothes made in America. Gregg Donnelly, founder of trouser company Jack Donnelly, developed a solid following for several years before a random medical emergency put him in the hospital for three months, followed by even more recovery …
In “The Origins And History Of Consciousness” (which I’ve read twice over the past year and will need to read another dozen times to fully grasp), author Erich Neumann argues that each individual’s development mirrors the development of humanity itself. Likewise, I sometimes think that for a style omnivore like me, it was necessary to …
Evidently there’s a royal wedding today. I’ve been in a blissfully ignorant news blackout for the past month and only learned of it from two old Italian guys when I went out for gelato last night. So here’s a post pegged on the day’s big event. It shows the Duke Of Windsor — that other …
The recently deceased dandy author Tom Wolfe will be forever remembered for his signature white suits — as well as his purple prose. And in Tradsville, for still another colorful reason: his coining of the adjectival phrase “go-to-hell” to describe the trad/Ivy/preppy sub-genre of blinding, rainbow-colored leisure clothing, which, in the digital age, became part …
Last month we reported on signs of a neo-prep revival at Ralph Lauren. This weekend I visited the Rhinelander flagship and it was like taking a time machine, except that instead of arrival at a particular destination, one found onself floating in a timeless realm. The windows and inside mannequins all had the classic Polo …
An Ivy Style post last month forecasted a new wave of neo-prep on the horizon. More evidence has arrived in the form of two bold new takes on the boldest item in the Ivy universe, patchwork madras. Ralph Lauren is already offering a classic-fit patchwork madras popover this season, but has upped the ante significantly with …
Hertling USA, that long-time supplier of superb quality and effortless American style, is here to stay if Justin Christenson, Hertling’s CEO, has anything to say about it. Hertling’s supposed closure was reported and discussed widely on menswear blogs like Put This On and Styleforum.net, where the official Epaulet account claimed in February that Hertling was weeks away …
As I mentioned here somewhere recently, a couple weeks ago I attended a fashion presentation by Abercrombie & Fitch. Contributing writer Eric Twardzik, who was visiting from Boston, and I were excited to see the venue, which was The Explorers Club. The collection showed the brand returning to its shopping-mall-collegiate-prep roots, which I consider a …
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. …
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 …
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 …