All Dressed Up, Nowhere To Go: The Self-Quarantine Selfie Thread
Keep sending in your photos!
Variety Pack
As time creeps to a standstill under the virus lockdown, I’ve taken to going through my email inbox. People have been sending me random Ivy stuff for over a decade, and there’s a lot I still haven’t gotten to. So going forward I’ll start mixing it in with the news. Cue the soundtrack, which comes …
Golden Years: Cash-Sale Mayhem
Each year J. Press, Brooks Brothers and many other menswear stalwarts launch their big summer sale, reminding me of the mayhem that would followed “cash sale” postcard mailings during the heyday of the Ivy League Look. In the area of Madison Avenue between 44th and 46th Streets — in front of Chipp, J. Press, Brooks …
Romance at Eastern Kentucky University, 1963
The French preppy blog Greensleeves To A Ground dug up a series of photos depicting couples at Eastern Kentucky University from 1963-1964. Plenty of chinos, penny loafers, collegiate haircuts, and third button on the back of shirt collars. Not to mention young couples gazing longingly into each other’s eyes at the most feverish “should we or …
Of Masks And Men
A few nights ago I realized that I should probably get a mask to wear when I go grocery shopping, so I looked online for something I could buy, but everything I found was either too expensive, sold out, or had a long wait time. The recent Ivy Style post about Kamakura’s oxford-cloth masks made …
Eternal Shoeshine Of The Spotless Kind
During the Covid-19 lockdown, the question arises for each of us: To dress properly, or not? To maintain one’s appearance, and deportment, and flair, or not? To continue to do what one does, what ones believe to be correct, even if no one else is looking? We all know the correct answer. Standards are to be maintained …
The Man In The Must-Iron Mask
Like many other Americans, I am willing to adopt whatever measures I can to stop the spread of COVID-19, and that includes wearing a face mask in public for the foreseeable future. Just so long as said mask is not black and not made from synthetic materials. Fortunately, Kamakura Shirts has announced that they are …
The Rise And Fall Of The Ivy League Look
In our last post, a comment was left asking me to speculate what if the heyday of the Ivy League Look had never happened, that it had remained the relatively closed, little-known aristocratic style that it was in the 1930s. Would this have been better or worse in the long run for preserving authentic …
American Legacy: A Q&A With Arnold Steiner
Arnold Steiner isn’t your typical fashion designer. He isn’t sickly thin, he doesn’t dress in black, and he rarely has a dour expression on his face. In fact he seems downright jolly, like that encouraging high school teacher that we all wish we had. Or like a dad who enjoys fatherhood because he finally gets …
Le Crocodile: How Lacoste Became The Preppy Polo of Choice
By 1980 it was crystal clear: “The sport shirt of choice is Lacoste,” declared The Official Preppy Handbook. “Only the all-cotton model will do, the one with cap sleeves with the ribbed edging, narrow collar and two-button placket (never buttoned).” How did a French shirt with a crocodile for a logo become the go-to preppy polo? …
Easter Blessings
This year the scene above is not allowed to take place because of the virus outbreak. Still, we may meditate upon it and note that its ultimate meaning can never be taken away. And we can also once again enjoy these words from contributor Charlottesville, which he originally wrote two years ago. * * * …
Take Ivy Illustrated
The May 2011 issue of Japanese mag Free & Easy carried these illustrations based on photos from “Take Ivy.” Despite the sedate outfit, the copy accompanying the image above is the same phrase on the cover of the magazine: “Bankara Ivy no susume,” or “In praise of roguish Ivy.” Perhaps Mr. Salaryman has a dark side. Breathe well …
News Roundup: Brooks At 202, The Ascot Face Mask, Weejuns, And The Captain
Brooks Brothers is 202 this month. The UK-based website Fashion United has “Ivy League” in its headline about the anniversary, but strangely no article. We’ll file it under Ivy Trendwatch anyway. In other Ivy brand news, J. Press is helping fight the virus. Kudos to them. And speaking of the virus, a member of Ivy’s …
The Blue And The White
Today’s announcement has us mourning that no matter what the election result in November, there will be no blue buttondowns in the White House. Long live the revolution.
Dressing As A Rhetorical Statement
If the Northeast is the pinnacle of old money, Ivy Leaguers, and powerful men of distinction, then Washington DC is a close second. Though our democracy could use a few more of distinction in that city it seems. The men are bred and trained in the New English tradition and migrate down to the swamp …
Riding It Out
Nothing’s worse than having to say “I told you so,” especially to yourself. It’s right up there with “Be careful what you wish for.” Back in December, which feels like another world, I’d just arrived in Newport after a decade in New York. It was the Christmas season, and I felt charmed, bedazzled, and filled …
In Praise of Rogue Ivy
Earlier this week, in the wake of coronavirus, I suggested that the current Ivy trend should shift towards what the Japanese call rugged Ivy. But they have another similar and creative twist on Ivy, called bankara, which was celebrated on the cover of Free & Easy magazine in May of 2011, when this post originally …
A Feeling Like No Other
Although I’m a young man, I’ve tried just about all the oxford-cloth buttondowns out there. They all have excellent qualities, and each has a character entirely its own. I truly do enjoy them all. But the more I explore new things, the more I long for the original: the Brooks Brothers buttondown polo shirt. We …
Sand Storm: In Praise of Tan Levi’s
As spring inches nearer, you may be considering wearing white denim (if only around the house). Or maybe not. In that case, consider a pair of tan jeans. They have the advantage of being a neutral basic like khakis, but more hearty, in case you end up in a wrestling match over the last roll of …