I could hardly believe it, but there it was right in front of me: a grainy newspaper photo of a group of happy haberdashers under a sign in Old English script that read “The Trad Shop.” How could this be? The general consensus in the natural-shoulder enthusiast community is that the word “trad” refers roughly …
Ralph Lauren’s fall collection just went up online and is full of the very items we’ve been discussing lately. OK, we haven’t been discussing three-piece suits lately, but we’ve got a piece on vests coming up soon.
I’ll confess to popping the collars on all my overcoats, including my raincoat, most of the time. Not for preppy reasons: I just can’t seem to shake that 19th century influence. Zach of Newton Street vintage recently posted about popped polos — polo coats, that is — which got us thinking about finally mentioning there’s …
We received a message from Beckett Simonon, a shoe company that launched in 2012, touting its new collection of shoes atimed at the budget-conscious guy who still wants quality. The shoes, which are made in India, feature Goodyear-welt construction, a durable manufacturing process associated with shoes priced much higher. Here’s an extract from the company’s …
Update: The final hours of J. Press at Madison and 47th were rather subdued, which allowed Richard Press to have a long chat with Onward Kashiyama management. The company says it is very actively looking for suitable locations both in New York and New Haven, and is acutely aware of the tremendous value of the …
This morning I received some spring shopping email blasts. One suggesting that if I buy shorts spring will come sooner I found a little crass. It’s January 15. That’s just a few weeks since Christmas, when we were bombarded by calls to spend, not to mention all the hoopla over the end-of-year sales. But …
Those in search of a happy medium between the colorful exuberance of Neo-Prep and the stoicism of full-cut traditionalism might find encouragement in Club Monaco’s new line of undarted sportcoats, designed and presented with both youthfulness and restraint. Released within the brand’s domestically-produced capsule collection, Club Monaco’s sack jackets bring the 3/2 roll and the …
Happy 2014 from Ivy Style, and let’s get back to business and ring in the new year with a laugh. You may have heard that Esquire has launched a TV network, and from what a colleague tells me who’s already been in a pitch session, they’re not exactly looking for highbrow content. In this clip, …
Of the infinite cultural things that could stand as shorthand for the victory of the lowest-common-denominator across middle-class American culture, one of my favorites is the attire worn for the “Jeopardy!” college tournament. Whether from the most elite and expensive college or a big state school (yes, I’m a living example that sometimes smart guys, …
This week a new start-up called The Hardy North debuted. Founded by three Cornell grads, the brand offers American-made sweaters in school colors and with the year of the institution’s founding on the back. Says a spokesperson: All the products are made of 100% superfine merino wool that is sourced, sheared, spun, organically dyed, and …
Recently a portion of the MFIT’s “Ivy Style” exhibit was brought to Japan for display at Tokyo’s Isetan department store. Last week museum deputy director Patricia Mears posted a write-up on her trip to Japan to oversee the installation. Here are some highlights: Although the run was only a week long, the buzz surrounding the …
Isn’t there some miracle diet that promises to burn fat while you sleep, so you can ostensibly wake up weighing less than when you went to sleep, without having to do anything except dream about donuts? Now there’s another way to wake up slim. This morning J. Crew sent an email touting slim-fit lounge pants …
Paul Winston has had to clone himself in order to keep up with the sudden demand for his value-priced neckties. Look closely in the photo above and you can see there are three of him taking phone orders. Earlier this week Paul Winston finally got around to putting up an ecommerce site for his wonderful …
Those who can’t get enough of brushed Shetlands should thank Derek at Die, Workwear! who just tweeted about some Scottish-made ones from Norse Projects, a brand definitely under our radar. The specs (especially the fully fashioned sleeve) are compelling: Made in limited numbers for Norse – Regular fit made from 100% Virgin lambswool – Unique …
Recently an email sent by an Emory University student to his fraternity brothers telling them they were badly dressed made national news. Well it’s about time someone took them to task.
As our exploration of “cool Ivy” continues, assistant editor Chris Sharp examines this Stanley Blacker advertisement, which is held in special reverence in the jazzier corners of Tradsville. * * * This Stanley Blacker advertisement is from 1965 and features an American blazer being offered at a British store. When it appeared on the Film …
Answer: only as cool as the guy wearing it. Cigarettes and sunglasses help. Here’s a sampling of images we’ve run over the past five years. — CC
In last month’s issue of GQ, the magazine managed to twice make an assertion that puzzled us here in Tradsville: namely, that a buttondown-collared shirt is not a dress shirt. The first instance occurs in question-and-answer format in Glenn O’Brien’s “Style Guy” column: Most of my dress shirts are buttondown- collar oxfords, but I recently …
Without preppy style — not to mention other WASP values — to act as a guiding beacon over mainstream American culture, bad things happen. People are chronically rude and selfish. They don’t exercise. They’re suckers for false, gaudy dreck. They become obsessed with celebrities and long to become one on reality TV. And their pants …