There’s just a handful of hours left until the prime-time debut of Donald Trump’s presidential reality show. He’ll be flanked by nine other White House hopefuls, including Jeb Bush, son of GHWB, who is pictured above in sack suit and striped watch band. The son is pictured below — in Brioni. Trump’s preferred suit, coincidentally. Enjoy the …
Summer 2015 will be remembered as the summer of outrage. On whichever line of Donald Trump’s combover you stand, each day brings some gaffe, injustice or felonious act about which to gripe bitterly to the enjoyment of your friends and followers on social media. And so within this spirit of antogonism and hyperbole that I …
Yesterday the evening news carried the story that frisbee — or “ultimate” as its practitioners call it — has been officially recognized by the Olympic Committee and is a candidate for future games. But did you know that frisbee is just as Ivy-preppy-trad a sport as squash? The pastime was popularized on the Princeton campus …
A couple of years ago we featured this post from James Kraus, whose most recent contribution was the write-up on Playboy’s architectural designs from the ’50s and ’60s (which actually ran on Masculine Interiors). Previously Kraus’ bachelor cookbook was only available on iPad, but it recently became available for iPhone thanks to the iOS …
“Lionhearted” actually means brave and valiant. But in the headline I like to think it’s a double-entendre expressing affection for big cats. After all, it’s August, the month of Leo. And there just aren’t many lions left out in the wild. But thanks to heraldry, the lion is a popular symbol on ties, slippers and athletic …
And you thought there were a lot of choices for oxford-cloth buttondowns? Now there’s another penny vying for your nickels. A few days ago I spied the recently released Charlie loafer from Jack Erwin when it started popping up on Google ads. I’d never heard of the company and sent a brief message of inquiry. …
“Mad Men” fans rejoice: tomorrow is your chance to get a souvenir from the show. The auction website Screenbid.com is putting up what looks like 1,000 props from the show, including wardrobe items. I took a look at nearly a dozen and most were from Brooks Brothers, which surprised me, since I’ve publically complained here that the …
Today an important chronicle of Internet Ivy — the “Ivy League style for today” thread at FNB’s Talk Ivy forum — has reached a milestone, surpassing 1,000 member posts. Going strong (or at least going) for seven years now, it contains outfits brilliant and bland, trolling and counter-trolling. In other words, pretty much like every other …
Lately there has been a number of posts in Tradsville, as well as on the outskirts, that you may have missed, so allow us to catch you up. First off is an interview with J. Press from “Billax,” elder statesman of Ivy at the blog Wearing The Ivy League Look Since 1958. J. Press vice …
Last week was market week here in New York, and by far the highlight of the MR show at Javits Center was the booth of recently relaunched heritage brand Duck Head. The owners thought very highly of their presentation, which included a truck and trailer, and they had reason to be: no one else had …
This post originally ran in February of 2009. This morning a member of our Facebook group posted a video of the song, which went up on YouTube a couple of years ago (and has only been seen 500 times since). It has been added below. We did a jazz post yesterday. This one’s for Squeeze. Give …
Speaking of trad in Japan, the latest issue of Ralph Lauren Magazine has a feature about the Japanese publication Free & Easy. (It’s not by me, though I’ll have a quasi-relevant story coming out soon). Writes Josh Peskowitz: Each issue is organized to explore one aspect of the Free & Easy canon. These themes repeat periodically. Three …
In September, 2010, I was watching my old cordovan oxfords get polished at Tokyo’s “shoeshine bar” Brift H, when a middle-aged man walked in and pulled out an original 1965 print of “Take Ivy.” The book had not only been autographed by all four authors, but also had a rare printing error. I leaned over …
Lately there’s been much talk about trigger warnings on college campuses. Some professors now feel pressured into putting cautions on centuries-old works of literature that include scenes that could be upsetting for an ever-growing list of reasons. I modestly propose a new category of trigger warning, as I represent a marginalized minority group especially vulnerable …
This week Allen Edmonds sent over some images from its archives. As promised, they’re being presented today as an antidote for those suffering from sartorial nausea due to yesterday’s post on footwear of the poncier variety. And now, thanks to AE, we get to learn about a late ’30s campus trend I’d never heard of: crepe-soled …
Today A Continuous Lean put up a post entitled “The Enduring Appeal of Ostentatious Loafers.” What does “ostentatious” refer to in this context? Why to bit loafers, Prince Albert slippers, and Belgian Shoes. Here’s the preppiest passage: … By the eighties the Gucci loafer came to represent the pretentious bravado of pastel wearing undesirables. From …
Recently a reader alerted us to a pair of deadstock pants for sale on Etsy. They’ve been scooped up, alas, but that needn’t stop us from examining them. The cotton-polyester trousers come from a Main Street clothier called The Washington Manfuacturing Company of Nashville, TN. It began making workwear and trademarked the name “Dee Cee” …
I’m going to start the week out by playing DJ. Below is a playlist with 50 tunes spanning the years 1954-1967. This is not a historic survey, but instead a far more personal selection. In general, these are songs I’ve been listening to for a long time. A couple are from my parents’ record …
I still stop by and bang golf balls on the third floor at Brooks whenever I’m passing through Midtown. Recently I spied two pairs of madras shorts that had a real heyday vibe, thanks to the color palettes of olive and burgundy. They certainly feel like they’d be more at home in the pages …