This image (another find by comment-leaver Carmelo in the Esquire archives), came with a date but no caption. So I decided to give it one for the headline above. It’s easy to think of penny loafers as a casual shoe since, in the grand footwear scheme of things, they are. But much of the charm …
Here’s a bit of trivia that makes for a fitting follow-up to Richard Press’ column about George HW Bush. In addition to being a Yale man, Bush also headed the CIA, and those two institutions are closely knit. Well, back in the 1950s, those Ivy-clad operatives learned special ways of tying the laces on their …
W. David Marx — who has contributed several pieces on Japanese Ivy for Ivy-Style.com — has hit the bullseye with his new book “Ametora” (that’s Japanese for “American Trad”). It’s a pioneering piece of research and a deftly handled narrative that traces the ups and downs, misunderstandings and mania for the Ivy League Look that …
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 …
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 …
What to wear with a rep tie and OCBD? How about a plaid tweed jacket and a windowpane vest? There were so many options during the Golden Age Of Ivy, even while there was a war going on. Cheers to Chris Sharp for spotting this 1942 illustration from the Esquire archives, which you can access …
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 …
Even though it’s the middle of football season, I watched a baseball movie this weekend. “Moneyball” stars Brad Pitt and is based on the true story of Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane, who found a way to build a winning team on a shoestring budget. The film also features Jonah Hill — anyone else …
An encore from Esquire in the year 1946 (head over here to access the archives for a mere $4.99 per month). According to the text, the student on the left has a tweed suit cut in “conventional three-button style and easy lines.” The other fellow “sticks to the regulation two-tone saddle-strap shoes, checked tweed jacket …
The war was over and the boys were already back in school. This is from the Esquire archives, which recently went online and can be accessed for a mere $4.99 per month. Ivy Style Facebook member and comment leaver “Carmelo” found this image from 1946, which features some of my favorite things: blue buttondown, grey …
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 …
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 …
And don’t fence me out, for that matter. Pictured above is Fence Club, one of Yale’s most exclusive, here in all its Old Boys’ Club glory/infamy in 1960. When the club closed in 1973, the Palm Beach Daily News wrote the following, highlighting one of the eternal truths when it comes to exclusivity. Still going …
The fall isssue of Lapham’s Quarterly features an excerpt from W. David Marx’s upcoming book “Ametora” on American style in Japan. Marx first wrote for Ivy Style in 2009 with the hugely popular article “The Miyuki-zoku: Japan’s First Ivy Rebels.” Pictured above is VAN JACKET founder Kensuke Ishizu, the man who brought Ivy to Japan. …
Yesterday on Twitter was #NationalOffendACollegeStudentDay. In its honor, we submit this photo.
This story was filed to the New York Observer for its website but was inexplicably “killed,” as they say in the newspaper business. My editor liked it, but apparently someone upstairs didn’t find it very compelling. There’s not much of a trad angle for you guys, save for the inclusion of G. Bruce Boyer and …
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 …
Yesterday an exhibit opened at the Northampton Unversity Gallery devoted to the Ivy League Look in the UK. Entitled “Craft To America, Style To Britain.” It was organized by Tim Walker and Tom Shaw (FNB Talk Ivy forum members) and is presented in partnership with the British Footwear Association. The exhibit features the usual English …