In 1954, culture critic Russell Lynes published “The Tastemakers: The Shaping of American Popular Taste,” a lengthy meditation on the nature of taste, which Lynes believed had supplanted class as the new social hierarchy. Taste, Lynes argues, can be broken into three categories: Highbrow, Middlebrow and Lowbrow. Naturally the theory applies to clothing. A supplementary chart in …
Earlier this week the UK-based website Fashion United ran a piece entitled “The great prep revival a growth opportunity for menswear,” which introduces the term “remix” into the latest iteration of neo-prep. Ralph Lauren takes the opening of the piece, followed by Rowing Blazers, which is driving much of the publicity for the new prep-meets-streetwear trend. As …
Since prep school they told you the right schools, connections and career would bring the keys to the kingdom. They neglected to mention, however, that you’d be commuting to get there. The art of avoiding conversation: If you weren’t a smoker, you are now: By Stamford, this is the most crowded car: Let’s see: You …
J. Press has given Ivy Style a sneak peek at its new lookbook, which goes up on its website Thursday and is hitting snail mailboxes already. Here are some highlights.
The currents of change move slowly in menswear; there is always time, as TS Eliot put it, “to murder and create.” Adherence to this adage may result in innovation, but more often than not the target of “murder” and the object of creation are one and the same. In short, menswear does away with certain …
One day at my local thrift shop I came across the 1997 book “All American” by Tommy Hilfiger. It only has a few pictures worth presenting, which is fine, since it only cost a buck. So let’s jump in. In the shot below there’s great contrast between the formal and informal, as a pinned club collar …
A book on the relationship between clothing and power examines centuries-old European monarchs, maharajahs and tribal leaders, totalitarian dictators — and the Ivy League Look. “Power & Style: A World History of Politics and Dress,” by Dominique and Francois Gaulme, presents JFK as the centerpiece of its chapter on post-World War II American style and global …
The trade publication Sourcing Journal, for which I’ve written for in the past, put out a trend report last week noting the coming popularity of “New Ivy League.” Not surprising, it comes with an irreverent spin. Rather like an Ivy League education, symbols of wealth and prestige can be cool so long as they are …
Lately we’ve been posting about Princeton and the Joe College years of the late ’20s. Now we combine the two with images from a Charleston-themed retro party held at Princeton in 1949. Arriving fashionably late in dad’s coonskin coat: This pair of twinkletoes were winners of the dance contest. Imagine what the losers looked like. …
Frequent comment-leaver “Caustic Man” alerted me to this short video from the ’50s that serves as a nice follow-up to our last Joe College post. In it a group of high schoolers are asked about clothing, and one kids says how they try to ape the college boys. That may still go on today, though when …
In the ’80s it was the preppy look. A generation before that, the Ivy League Look. And a generation before that was the Joe College years. What they all had in common, besides some sartorial ingredients, was appeal to the broader masses, and in the case of the ’20s and ’30s, guys who’d never even …
Yes, it’s really happening: big media outlets are reporting on an Ivy League men’s fashion trend. What the clothes look like is a different story. The latest comes from the website Hypebeast and concerns the new lookbook from Japanese brand BEAMS Plus, with a headline about celebrating “Ivy League America.” There are three links in …
The scion of a distinguished literary family, Charles Van Doren — who turns 93 today — was a professor of English at Columbia when he became a contestant on the popular quiz show “Twenty One” in 1957. His youth, clean-cut looks, family background and spectacular winning streak made him an instant celebrity destined for 15 …
A Black Power activist in 1965 with striped tie, pinned club collar, and two-on-the-cuff. Plus damn cool goatee and shades. From the 1998 book “Men Of Color” by Lloyd Boston.
Before 1894, when Yale adopted its special shade of blue (hex triplet #0F4D92), its school color was green. Kind of like the freshmen pictured above at a welcoming ceremony, 1964. Now that they’re bulldogs, it’s time to start looking the part. First, a college sweater (1959): Then a proper jacket. Freshman getting a sermon on …
I’ve been thinking a lot about preservation lately. There are preservation societies throughout the country that work to save old buildings and keep various traditions alive, and I’m starting to see Ivy Style as having a similar function. Sure we cover current happenings in the world of trad clothing and contemporary culture, but we’ve also …
Princeton University dance, 1960. The school didn’t admit women until ’69 — except on nights like this. According to Fitzgerald, Princeton men are “lazy, good-looking and aristocratic.” Whatever they’ve got, the chicks sure dig it: At least until the boys start getting fresh. Easy, tiger: The next day, the girls decide those Harvard sissies and Yale …
Have you ever seen an outfit on a movie screen and it spoke to you? One of my favorite scenes is from “The American President.” The camera pans the POTUS’ closet and a row of white and light blue dress shirts, with minimal pastels and stripes, fills the screen. White and light blue are the …
It’s been a decade since John Updike died at the age of 76. While his status as a Great American Novelist is well known, his role as an icon of sartorial understatement is not. And so we present this homage to a master not only of English literature, but of dressing with quiet flair. Our …