The topic of striped ties came up this week, both here (in our last post on William Ivey Long), and in our Facebook group. On the Long post, commenters drew the distinction between striped ties that run the original English way (high on the right, low on the left, when facing the wearer), and the …
With disappointment I am forced to announce that our khaki project is on indefinite hold. While still “in development” and not killed completely, our partner, I’m happy to announce, was Bills Khakis, which was excited to make a quality product. A sample had been created and was about to go into production when the company …
Are you a fan of long schoolboy scarves, the kind sold by J. Press, Smart Turnout and others, but your own school isn’t represented? Or maybe you’re the self-cultivated type who never even went to college. While there are some fashion scarves out there (such as the ones made by Rugby floating around eBay), let’s …
Beware Black Friday shopping — as in beware paying too much. Just about all the sponsors who keep this skull-and-bones ship afloat are offering a promotion of some kind, so if you haven’t clicked on their ads in a while, today would probably be the day. Also beware spending too much, and once again keep …
Here’s a fun diversion for your Tusday morning. A reader alerted me to the NPR game show “Ask Me Another,” which recently based an episode around the concept of “preppy” as sung to the Pharrell Williams hit “Happy.” See how fast you can get the answers. Head over here to give it a listen and …
Given that twilight is falling on trad — and has been since the fall of the heyday in ’67 — it’s always good to have as many options as possible, however much they may deviate from the archetype. This weekend our millennial fogey DCG informed me that he’d spied a swath of tweedy fabric amid …
Today saw the US opening of the new James Bond film “Spectre.” If you think you don’t have anything in common sartorially with the Savile Row-dressed spy, think again. Bond is known for enjoying both knit and grenadine ties, just like you probably do. Chris Sharp muses further. * * * There is something quaint …
The other day I was browsing at Brooks and went to try on a brown herringbone vest. I needed to see how it would look when paired with a patterned tweed jacket, like one I have at home, so I went to the sportcoat rack and grabbed something at random. What it was I had …
As I planned to spend this lazy Sunday strolling Fifth Avenue, I found myself feeling George Frazier-ish. That’s what I call it when I feel like wearing Ivy with a touch of elegant bon vivantism. I envisoned that well-known photo of Frazier with boutonniere, small-dot necktie, and arched fingers holding a cigarette. In case the name is unfamiliar, …
I can’t remember exactly what J. Press’ Shaggy Dog sweaters cost when this site was founded in 2008, but it was a lot less than the $245 they’re charging today: Even pricier, Ralph Lauren has some brushed lambswool and cashmere crewnecks this season at $265. At least there’s a bubble-gum pink option: At those prices, …
Brooks Brothers’ media relations department has confirmed a rumor posted by a commenter here that the company plans to discontinue the Own Make collection. A spokesperson issued the following statement to Ivy Style: Own Make was a small range and an even smaller part of the business sold in a handful of retail stores. We …
You probably heard the news yesterday that Ralph Lauren is stepping down as CEO from the company he founded (fear not, he will remain creative director). His successor comes from — are you ready for this? — Old Navy, so we’ll see if things start veering in a new direction. Speaking of the world of …
We’ve featured Hillflint here at Ivy Style before, and yesterday the rising start-up got some far bigger publicity: a post at Town & Country entitled “The brand that’s making heritage collegiate gear cool again.” Goes the story: “We founded Hillflint three years ago, just after we graduated college, because we wanted to make something for our …
Our sure-to-be-periodically-interrupted Professor Style Week has reminded me that in my biographical storytelling for Ivy Style I have dropped little clues to the identity of my alma mater. That school is the College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio. The name is either immediately known or not, something alumni secretly relish. Wooster is among a cadre …
Today Brooks Brothers sent out an email blast with a graphic emblazoned with the words “The Shirt We Love.” It’s fitting that the shirt features a straight collar, because Brooks’ iconic shirt for the past century — the buttondown — hasn’t been getting much love from the trad community recently. The latest purist to bemoan the …
There’s nothing trads hate more than accidentally becoming trendy for six months to three years. It’s a pretty silly notion, though. People who know you are well aware that you’re about as un-trendy as they come. On the other hand, I suppose it’s reasonable to feel a small anxiety that random strangers might look at you …
Last week’s post on the University Of The South was wildly popular, shattering the record for most-viewed post. It got me thinking that with so much heyday stuff on the site and so many fogeys in the comments section, we should strike a balance and feature more college students from today, not just ones from 60 years …
This week US News & World Report released its annual ranking of the best colleges in America, and Princeton once again is back on top, right along with their — alas now dismantled — sartorial legacy. In the last post, on Sewanee, a reader left a comment wondering if college students during the heyday were …
As a follow-up to our last post about Gant, here’s a wonderful meditation on the heyday of campus shops by G. Bruce Boyer. It’s an article he says the brand commissioned from him several years ago; the concept was “my favorite shirt,” and it was ultimately used for a brochure. Below are the highlights, which …