Another member of Ivy League Look royalty who lived and worked through the heyday has left us. Elliot Gant (pictured above on left), who along with his brother and father ran Gant of New Haven, died on March 12 in Boston at the age of 89. On Friday The New York Times ran a lengthy …
Last week Jesse Thorn put up an interview with Bruce Boyer for his podcast show called “Bullseye.” You’ll find it on this page under the date March 8, and Boyer comes in around the 39 minute mark. — CC
Today Charlie Davidson of The Andover Shop turns 90, and a young acolyte recounts how the legendary clothier continues to inspire. * * * When I was in high school I read Christian Chensvold’s article for The Rake on Charlie Davidson and The Andover Shop and knew I needed to visit the legendary haberdashery as …
Legendary tennis commentator Bud Collins died yesterday at the age of 86. Five years ago, when I visited Charlie Davidson of The Andover Shop, I had lunch with Bud and Charlie. The two were close friends, and for years Charlie had made Bud’s signature go-to-hell pants. As you can see from these photos, Collins was …
You probably remember a few years ago, back when Ralph Lauren Rugby was still alive, and neo-preps were wearing collar pins with buttondown collars. The buttons were not fastened, and had sometimes been removed, but those of the old guard found the look an incorrigible affectation. I recall going into the New York J. Press …
I’ve been vaguely aware that Kiel James Patrick had developed a huge social media following. Sometime last year when Town & Country listed him and now-wife Sarah Vickers as one of the preppiest couples in history, I immediately tweeted my disbelief at Kiel. There he was, right alongside JFK and Jackie! It seems like just …
Our recent post on William Ivey Long led some presumably blue-shirted commenters to say they were reconsidering white. Above is another compelling case for white by another show-biz gentleman named William. Actor Holden is pictured in a LIFE Magazine photo shoot from 1954. Sometimes a white buttondown is all you need. Except for the times …
When I was in college, I worked part-time tutoring foreign students in English. One Japanese guy became kind of a pal, and during a conversation one day he said, “The way it works is that America comes up with an idea and Japanese make it better.” I was only 20 at the time and this …
Ellsworthy Kelly, surely one of the last of a generation of artists who combined abstract art with blue buttondowns worn unironically, has died at the age of 92. There’s plenty of news coverage here, while below is an interview from his later years:
In the current climate, one half expects to one day see Santa Claus come out of a re-education camp gaunt, clean shaven, fully repentant and vowing never to pick up his sooty clay cutty. But thankfully Christmas still offers free range and a delightful annual tradition to that endangered species known as the pipe smoker. …
For some, navy blazers, white shirts and rep ties are the perfect costume — costume in the dictionary sense, that is. Namely, “a style of dress… especially that peculiar to a nation, region, group, or historical period.” So it should come as no surprise that a costumer would appreciate this costume. Pictured is stage and …
A reader notified me that one of the old trad/collegiate guard has passed. Robert ER Huntley was longtime president of Washington & Lee University. There’s a video slideshow of him here, and the memorial service is streaming live right now. — CC
Recently a unapologetically philistine reader left a comment saying he much prefered the world of finance to the subject of art history. Robin Williams’ character in “Dead Poets Society” has a speech about that kind of thing. But here’s some art I think all of us can appreciate: the work of Japanese illustrator Akira Sorimachi …
Gentle readers (ha!), I have some news to share. I’ve been writing op-eds and essays for my entire career — in fact my first professional publication was a piece of social commentary in my local daily. I’ve always felt like a columnist by temperament, and in the present volatile climate we live in, I figured …
Last night Kamakura Shirts held a party celebrating the opening of its second New York store, located Downtown at Brookfield Place. The party was held at an event space in SoHo and was far more packed than these photos may suggest. And yet the crowd all seemed to be part of a family that Kamakura …
You probably heard the news last night that actor and politician Fred Thompson has died. I went searching for photos, and while he wasn’t the tradliest of guys, I found this great one with buttondown and pipe. While most men cut their teeth on acting before turning to the role of politican, Thompson did the …
Ivy Style contributor Rebecca C. Tuite, author of the book “Seven Sisters Style: The All-American Preppy Look,” was married last week and made the New York Times weddings pages. Congrats!
Daniel Patrick Moynihan came up in the comments section last week, and as he was an academic as well as politician, he fits the bill for our Professor Style Week. For a tradly guy you’ll see a far-reaching embrace of the genre, including straight as well as buttondown collars, desert boots, double-breasted seersucker, olive poplin, …
On Thursday night a book launch party was held for G. Bruce Boyer and “True Style.” The event took place at The Armoury and brought out a plethora of Boyer groupies and menswear personalities. Here’s Boyer with Alan Flusser, that other great menswear author, and who was clad in sneakers and sweats (perhaps from just playing …