Clothes

Ivy Notes S1 E11 – A Follow Up

Emails came in (thank you ALL) in large volume about the Ralph Lauren initiative with Morehouse and Spelman. First, thank god and finally. Second, I need a deeper understanding of the way that WWD handles the subject. Here is a typical headline of the coverage:       In contrast, WWD starts with the line,



A Consideration Of The Pocket Square.

We are still struggling to get the world back in ties.  It isn’t as hard as it was a year ago, two years ago, but the battle is far from over.  I got sent articles (plural) yesterday (and thank you) about working denim into your office portfolio.   I have done you the service of reprinting


Ivy Notes S1 E8

First, the WOCBD review is working out.  Next up is Eagle.  If you have not heard of Eagle, they are a line Macy’s carries.   There are plenty of readers here who know the business better than I, maybe you can get us some history of the brand.   On the Victor post we got into a


The Victor Besnard WOCBD Review

Editor’s Note: There were some questions about sleeve length and measurement here. For a guide on how to measure shirts and convert between European and American measuring, Mr. Bresnard published this piece. From his email response to me this morning: “I have noticed that Americans measure sleeves differently than Europeans. We measure from the top


J. Press Spring 2022 Book & Einstein’s Block Theory

“The distinction between past, present and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion.”  – Albert Einstein Einstein and J. Press are both… pretty Ivy.  In his theory of General Relativity Einstein submits that there really is no past, present and future.   J. Press’s Spring Book is an exhibit thereof.   You can check it out here.


Dylan Arnold Will Make You Look Better In Your W(hatever)OCBD

Editor’s Note:  Dylan Arnold is a certified fitness trainer, and when I say certified, I mean elitely so.  Not sure elitely is a word.  You can read his credentials in the article.  He will be offering up tips and nutrition advice, and will answer questions in his column here.   You can email me any questions,



Ivy Notes S1 E7

Editor’s Note:  Happy Monday – back from a short staycation here on my side.    First, from our friend James Taylor at Waterhollow Tweed, a brief history of the classic LL. Bean Chamois Shirt. Introduced by L.L. Bean in 1927 after L.L. Bean himself had worn the prototypes while hunting the Maine woods the Chamois


Ivy Notes S1-E6

Uniqlo has a navy blazer out that was brought to my attention from Jakob in an email.  You can check it out here.  Jakob wrote: To my admittedly novice eye for Ivy, it looks like this checks most of the boxes for the ideal Navy Blazer: sack-cut, undarted, swell stitching, patch pockets, and even brass


Goodbye To Landau

Editor’s Note:  This article is by James Taylor of Waterhollow Tweed fame.  If you are in the FB group you know him and his wares.  If you are not, you are missing out.  He offers one of a kind Ivy items, every so often.  You can see his listings in the group.  And you should. 


P.J. O’Rourke – An Ivy Icon

“Seriousness is stupidity sent to college.” – P.J. O’Rourke Out my window this morning are trees shedding snow.  In Bedford we are three inches deep but it is already starting to warm.  Today will be in the mid 40’s.  The trees will shake the snow the way a dog shakes the rain. You get to




Another Perspective On “Easy Pants”

Thank you for posting the article yesterday.  I have this to say about Easy Pants. I wore a drawstring to the office too – when I taught meditation at a temple. Am I the only one aghast at the notion, in this article and the other I cited,  that men have put on pounds working




What’s Dry Cleaning?

In Pompeii around 79 somebody urinated, somebody else took the ammonia out, and dry cleaning was born.  Why?  Because they were wearing a lot of wool (seems like a heavy fabric to me when you are beneath a volcano) and wool shrinks in water.  Imagine you take a week or whatever to weave your Pompeiian


Oy Vea

It’s Sunday afternoon, I am at the desk, and reading this person Vea.  Who wrote some really nasty stuff.  So I emailed them, to see if there was a way to find a middle ground for productive communication.  You will never guess what I got back.   I am leaving the comments up because, well