Distinguished gentlemen, the first month of 2020 is over and over the course of January Ivy Style featured no less than seven different contributors. Alas some of their articles were reposts, which is why today I’m putting the call out for fresh voices to contribute. I’ve spent 12 years at the helm here and I’d …
Founded in 1885 to provide carriage rides, tobacco and dry goods to the university community, the Yale Co-op was America’s second-oldest university store when it closed in 2000. The Yale Cooperative Corporation, called “Yale’s commercial alter ego” by the New York Times, was an insular institution. Yale alumni, faculty, students and employees could become members …
My journey in Tokyo began with a sales clerk from Beams’ Marunouchi Building telling me my size simply doesn’t exist in their store. To enthusiastic gaijin (foreigners) who make the pilgrimage to see the Japanese Trad/Ivy scene, this may come as an unfortunate dose of reality if you are of a stature and build outside the …
This week I met with someone close to Charlie Davidson, the founder of The Andover Shop who died recently at the age of 93. While cleaning out his apartment, the person found some 15 printouts of my 2008 article for Ralph Lauren Magazine. And not stashed in the same place, but rather scattered all about …
Yes, back in 2011 there was something called “rugged Ivy.” It still exists as a Platonic concept. Make use of it as you see fit. It’s actually the direction I’ve been headed since arriving in Newport. * * * A friend of mine works at the US office of Japanese men’s magazine Free & Easy, …
Last year, during Preppy Week, we examined some of the spoofs created by opportunistic cash-ins thanks to the success of “The Official Preppy Handbook.” But the preppy cash-grab went beyond mere words and drawings. To wit, a video game for the Atari console that allowed hoi polloi to sit in front of its TV sets …
Our last post was on an old-school Atlanta retailer, but there are new kids on the block in that city, too. Country Club Prep has been a loyal sponsor of Ivy Style since it first opened, and now, after steady growth for some six years, it’s moving its warehouse and having a huge sale to …
Atlanta’s H. Stockton belongs to that small cadre of independent menswear shops still in existence. It also belongs to that group of retailers that offered soft-shouldered clothing to a Southern clientele. Spokesman Glenn Au dug through the archives and sent along these images showing the store’s family (that’s Hamilton Stockton, Jr. above), sales associates, and …
In honor of Martin Luther King Day, we revisit this column from Richard Press, which originally ran in 2013 and was updated in 2018 with an extended version of the story and a new photo of his father, pictured later in life, standing in front of the very rack from which he was honored to …
Cary Grant was the number-one trending topic today on Twitter, which is pretty unusual given what usually trends on Twitter. Granted —pun intended — it’s his birthday, but still it’s reassuring to know he’s so fondly remembered, and for good reason. Here are some images of him wearing a buttondown collar in a variety of …
As Richard Press has written here, J. Press’ Princeton store didn’t last long after Pearl Harbor. It was still around in April of 1942, however, when Princeton held a wartime blackout. The idea was to practice turning off all lights so that if there were an enemy bomber, they wouldn’t have anything to aim at. …
There is little doubt that Mary Mccarthy’s short story “The Man in the Brooks Brothers Shirt” is now probably more famous for its punchy title — a dream for the Brooks Brother’s marketing team — than it is for the actual story. But it remains a classic part of the mystique of the Brooks Brothers …
Gentlemen, for the past six months I’ve alluded to my new project Traditional Man, run a banner for it in the ad tower, and put a fixed-position spot for it on the front page. However, I haven’t announced it in the form of a conventional blog post, so I’d like to beg your indulgence one …
A quick look back at this charming photo posted a decade ago, with dating customs that go even farther back. * * * London-based Ivy Style contributor Rebecca C. Tuite, currently at work on a book on the iconic Vassar Girl of the ’50s, posted this photo on her personal blog. The shot is from …
BEAMS’ Creative Director Nakamura Tatsuya introduces and educates the reader on the school of thought behind the classic jacket and pants combo. In Japanese fashion, this book guides the reader in tedious detail on navigating the waters of sportcoats and slacks. In the early pages of the guide, we find our sartorial professor dog, donning his …
Jazz and Ivy duel for the affections of Natalie Wood in “All the Fine Young Cannibals,” a largely forgotten melodrama released a half a century ago. The film has not been released on DVD, but there are used VHS copies floating about, and if you search the web you might find a digital version. “All …
Do fathers still take their sons to Brooks Brothers upon college graduation? Yes, some still do. Andrew Eastman recounts his own father-son outing under the Golden Fleece. It was my father who decided it was time for my first serious suit. I was 23 and had just graduated from Dartmouth. At some point before I’d …
My wonderful wife gave me a new blue oxford-cloth buttondown from Michael Spencer for Christmas, and I recently purchased my first “new-old” Brooks Brothers version in white. Sunday after church, I decided to compare and contrast those two along with a previously purchased Mercer & Sons version. All three shirts are sized 16 1/2 x …
I recently discovered the movie “White Squall,” directed by Ridley Scott and starring Jeff Bridges. Set in 1961, it’s a coming-of-age film crossed with maritime adventure. The story centers around a group of prep-school flunkies who get to redeem themselves in a kind of nautical reform school, doing their studies at sea while they learn sailing …