In The Clearing Stands A Boxer
For the trad who can’t get enough rep stripe in his life, there are these striped boxer shorts from Sleepy Jones.
New Name For A New Era
Starting tomorrow there will be a major change around here. Your browser will redirect you from Ivy-Style.com to our new home at Ivy-Aesthetic.com. After ridiculing the term for years, I’ve finally decided to embrace it. I believe the extra syllables of “aesthetic” will give this website a more contemporary identity, as well as confer upon …
The Swelled Edge, A Quarter-Inch Of Distinction
Ivy-style tweed sports jackets and suits are often distinguished by detailed quarter-inch stitching from the edge of the lapels down the front of the jacket. This distinctive feature is usually echoed by lapped seams that run across the shoulder, down the back seam, and around the pocket flaps. But how did it get there? Everyone …
Critics Have Beef With Brooks Steakhouse Plan
A couple years ago, when a guy at Brooks first mentioned they were considering a restaurant next door to the Madison Avenue Flagship, I thought it was a great idea. I still do. I mean, assuming there’s a bar, won’t it be the ultimate place to have a drink among fellow trads? And for guys …
Golden Years: The Tables Down At Mory’s
Last week I spoke at “the dear old Temple Bar we love so well.” Mory’s, founded in 1863, moved from “the place where Louis dwelled” of “Whiffenpoof Song” fame to its currently shabby chic colonial quarters on York Street in 1912. Originally a private club, townies were never allowed on the premises unless they were …
Room For Squares: Kamakura’s Handkerchiefs & Neckties
We’ll conclude the recent batch of Kamakura-versus-Brooks discussion (aka the “buttondown showdown”) with a couple of photos snapped yesterday in the Madison Avenue store. The shop may be small, but it still has room for some newly arrived pocket squares and wool neckties, in addition to all the shirts.
That Damned Brooks Brothers Shirt
Recently the comments section has been lively with discussion about Brooks Brothers shirts. Obsessing over them is practically an institution; as early as the mid-’60s George Frazier was writing, “What the hell’s happening to the roll on Brooks Brothers buttondowns?” There’s a reason men get so worked up about them: they have strong attachments to …
This Day In 1959
…. the Guggenheim Museum opened. One year later William Claxton took the above photo of jazz saxophonist John Coltrane. A previous Ivy Style tribute to Coltrane (and the Claxton photo shoot) is here, while a post on striped sportcoats is here. As for posts on buttondown-collared shirts, Mr. Erik J. has weighed in on the …
Sperry Revamps Gold Cup Collection
Sperry Top-Sider recently announced it has revamped its collection of shoes and accessories called Gold Cup. Quality is promised to be higher, and of course prices are about double the usual, with boat shoes priced at $150. For that you get, in the company’s words, “premium hand-sewn leather uppers, butter-soft deerskin lining, and Sperry’s patented …
Channel Japan On Kamakura Shirts
This morning Kamakura Shirts alerted us to this recently produced, 11-minute, English-language TV profile of the company. It’s very interesting for its business and manufacturing insight, and if you’ve already become a fan of Kamakura, I think you’ll enjoy learning more about the great value and attention to detail that goes into its shirts. — …
The Color Of Money: Return Of The Dark Green Shaggy Dog
Yesterday J. Press sent out an email blast about its famous Shaggy Dog, everyone’s favorite Ivy sweater. The mailer neglected to mention, however, that the sweater is back in this dark green color that had been unavailable for a long time, according to a source at the company. It’s a fitting hue, since you’ll …
Free & Easy’s Updated Ivy Issue
The latest issue of Japanese magazine Free & Easy is called “The Updated Ivy” issue and features scads of pages of every imaginable wacky twist on trad classics. In fact, one passage explicitly states that Tokyo Ivy is a lot “crazier” than New York Ivy.
Overheard
Golden Years: Richard Press To Speak At Mory’s
Golden Flank: Brooks To Open Steakhouse, Press To Move
As speculated a couple of years ago, Brooks Brothers announced today that it plans to open a restaurant in the space on 44th Street that previously housed its women’s collection. The news was broken today in a New York Post exclusive: Brooks Brothers, the “Makers and Merchants” of fine American suits and ties since 1818, …
Trad In Unexpected Places: Bloomie’s x Harris Tweed
In New York, when you pop in somewhere to use the restroom you never know what serendipity awaits. I don’t mean in the restroom itself, but the establishment you’re in. You might run into an old acquaintance, or make a new one. In my case recently, I’d popped into Bloomingdale’s and while exiting the men’s …
Blast From The Past: The Space Invaders Argyle Sock
In 1980, the only thing hotter than the best-selling “Official Preppy Handbook” was blasting aliens at the local arcade. Though they appealed to different demographics, three decades later the worlds of prepdom and video games have been combined in the form of Soxfords’ Space Invaders argyle sock, ideal for those who grew up in the …
Natural Selection: Guess The Shoulder Maker
This beautifully rounded, unpadded shoulder is from the current collection of a well known menswear retailer. Can you guess who?
Six And One-Eighth: The Natural Shoulder’s Golden Ratio
Is there a mathematical formula for the natural shoulder? Indeed, there just might be. The discovery came about on Monday when Richard Press and I had lunch together and then sauntered over to J. Press. I told him some new fall sportcoats looked distinctly different from recent Press offerings. The shoulder was more natural, the …