Would-Be President’s Day
Can you spot the presidential hopeful?
Forty-Fourth Street Salvage
According to the seller unloading it on eBay, this J. Press sign was salvaged from the 44th Street store when the company moved to Madison Avenue. It was originally listed for $2,500, but, as it didn’t have any takers, was relisted yesterday with an opening bid of $499 and buy-it-now of $700. — CC
Funny Valentine: Brooks, Chipp & Press Daphne Garters
On this Valentine’s Day, we’ll honor the occasion with an example of the humor — in this case, mildly bawdy — that has always played a role in the Ivy League Look. Case in point, the above vintage suspenders with matching sock garters from J. Press. They’re currently for sale on Etsy, where the seller …
Split Personality: J. Press & York Street Spring 2014
J. Press sent out a mailer today introducing its new spring items. It’s business-as-usual with the main brand — for better or worse. The jacket above looks straight from a vintage catalog. Tough to tell what the shoulders are like, however, without in-person inspection. But certainly what you’re most interested in, you anonymous hate-reading snarkers, …
Box Office Weekend: Maladies And Monuments Men
You’ve probably seen the recent trailers for “Monuments Men,” in which George Clooney and Matt Damon play a special unit during World War II assigned with recovering works of art stolen by the Nazis. The movie opened this weekend, though the rating at Rotten Tomatoes is rather low. If anyone’s seen it, let us know. …
Cornell’s Trad Shop: A Surprising Discovery Of Historical Precedent
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 …
Philip Seymour Hoffman, 1967-2014
Philip Seymour Hoffman, who plays the WASPy Ivy jerk Freddie Miles in “The Talented Mr. Ripley,” was found dead today of an apparent drug overdose. I’d been out all afternoon and heard the news while shooting the breeze at the neighborhood wine shop. “Ripley” is one of my favorite movies. I watch it at least …
Taking Sides: Vintage Ivy League Football Programs
To counter the over-the-top commercialization of the Super Bowl, I thought we’d take a look at football from an angle more related to culture than commerce. These football programs come from the shop Collectable Ivy and boast some great concept art. The one above, from 1930, is my favorite.
Ralph Lauren Fall 2014
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.
Are We Having Fun Yet? Chens On Golf For WSJ
By now you’re all familiar with my learning golf on Brooks Brothers’s simulator. In fact, when comment-leaver “woofboxer” was visiting New York recently, he knew right where to find me. Apparently I’m one of a diminishing number of adults inclined to take up the sport later in life. Golf has lost 5 million players over …
The Popped Polo (Coat, That Is)
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 …
A Wing And A Pair: Beckett Simonon’s Budget-Conscious, Welted Longwing
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 …
Corpore Sano: The Preppiest Sport Is Also The Healthiest
On Monday night I was invited by the brand Boast to spectate at the squash Tournament of Champions, currently underway in Vanderbilt Hall at Grand Central Terminal. Coming from a Cali-plebian background, I’d never seen the sport played before. I was very intrigued, though, as for a few years I nursed an intense badminton obsession, …
News Roundup: WASPs, Prepdom, Maine, And What Yalies Do After Graduation
We’re finally catching up with some news items of the past few weeks. First up is Grailed.com, “a marketplace for buying and selling preowned high-end menswear.” It was recently launched by class of 2013 Yale grad Arun Gupta, who tells us he spent much time at J. Press. In an email Gupta explained the business …
De-Pressing: Goodbye Gathering For J. Press At Madison & 47th
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 …
Battle Of The Hoodies
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 …
There’s A Reason They’re Called Loafers
Why are they called loafers? Obviously because they’re for loafing. It’s not exactly a shoe that screams ruthless ambition, is it? No wonder they were embraced so wholeheartedly by college students in the days before meritocracy. This is a shoe for guys so lazy they can’t be bothered to tie laces. The cartoon was recently …
After Century In New York, J. Press To Lay Off Staff, Close Store For One Year
Onward Kashiyama, owner of the J. Press brand, has informed Ivy-Style.com that it has been unable to find a new Manhattan location for the store currently located at Madison Avenue and 47th Street, and will be closing New York retail operations on January 18. J. Press will be forced to lay off the sales staff, …
Revamped Website For Cable Car Clothiers
We segue from Charleston’s Ben Silver to another trad outpost far from the Northeast, this time San Francisco’s Cable Car Clothiers. Founded in 1939, the store has managed to survive the city’s transition from traditional stronghold (in such neighborhoods as Nob Hill and Pacific Heights), to beatnik and hippie haven, and finally dot-com hotbed. It’s …