The Man Of ’52
Hey guys, flu got me. First time at my desk in 48 hours. Chew on this for a bit, courtesy of commentariat member Carmelo. — CC
Black History Month: Stanley Turrentine
Stanley Turrentine, the Pittsburgh-born tenor saxophonist known for a big soulful sound, lyrical delivery and erudite harmonic sense, was one of the few jazz instrumentalists to have crossover success as a popular artist. Known to play his black-lacquered Selmer tenor saxophone while his R&B star was in the ascendant, Turrentine’s sartorial presentation was always elegant …
An Almost Mystical Presence: Charlie Davidson On Chet Baker
This 2012 piece for The Rake features quotes from The Andover Shop’s Charlie Davidson. * * * Passive Form: Don’t be fooled by those pulse-slowing tunes: self-destructive jazz prodigy Chet Baker — the most stylish man ever to not give a hoot about clothing — was a man of sheer, energetic brass By Christian Chensvold …
I’m Here For You, Brother
Today I have a special message on what is a for me a dubiously special day. Exactly one year ago today a traumatic disruption fell into my life like a meteor. Although in retrospect it was a fairly small stone, at the time it was more than enough to shatter my world. I eventually realized that …
Putting The “nasty” In Dynasty
Politics is a dirty business, and people on Twitter can be nasty. Last night, after the State Of The Union address by President @#$%!&, the Democratic response came from a member of one of America’s greatest dynasties: Joe Kennedy III. Reaction on social media to this Kennedy kin was less than kind, and even major …
Daily Princetonian, 1964: GI Bill Students Spread New Ivy League Look, Killed Off Old One
Gentlemen, I just found out that photos and video of Richard Press’ talk at J. Press last week have been delayed and it will be a couple more weeks until they’re ready. So in the meantime, let’s do one more piece from Princeton before we give the Tigers a break. Apparently 1964 was a watershed …
Dateline 1964: Sloppy Dress, New Morality
Next up in our series of heyday-era reports from The Daily Princetonian is this piece called “Out of class, sloppy dress and a new morality,” also from 1964. It includes a topic dear to my own heart — or rather feet — namely the breakdown of social dancing, after centuries of waltzes, country reels, minuets, …
The New Ivy League Look, 1964
Richard Press’ event at the New York J. Press store on Wednesday was a delight. Photos and yes even video was taken, so stay tuned and I’ll post it just as soon as it’s ready. In the meantime, one of the gentlemen who came up to me to introduce himself was a Princeton student who …
Your Desert Island Jacket
Pictured is Andrew Bridier of Castaway Clothing, snapped at the menswear trade shows earlier this week here in New York. He’s wearing and holding two tartan jackets made for Castaway by the Hardwick factory in Tennessee. The words “castaway” and “jacket” set one to speculating. So if you were a castaway on a desert island, …
Cocktails & Laughter: Richard Press Event At J. Press 1/24; Space Limited, Reserve Now
Richard Press will be giving a talk at J. Press’ New York store next Wednesday evening. Listen to the great raconteur spin tales about the Ivy heyday, imbibe a drink, and mix with your fellow trads. I’ll be there with copies of my new mini-book “The Disengage,” for those unfortunate souls who don’t have one …
Slim Aarons, Chronicler Of Old Money And The Jet Set
Maybe it’s because I’m a photographer myself, maybe it’s because I’m from a town and work at a club which he photographed on multiple occasions, or maybe it’s because I, like anyone else, don’t mind looking at glossy pictures of “attractive people in attractive places doing attractive things” (his words, not mine), but I’ve always …
Out of Luck: The Rise and Fall of Peter Lawford
On the surface, Peter Lawford lived a charmed life. He enjoyed a successful career as an entertainer and leading man, married into one of the most high-profile families in American history, and was a member of the famed Rat Pack. Yet despite his success Lawford ultimately died a tragic figure. From the beginning, English-born Lawford …
Website Purge: Masculine Interiors And Golf Style
I’ve been streamlining and editing my life down beyond the usual necktie and hosiery purges. And one of the things I’ve come to realize is that I’ve got a couple of web projects that I don’t see myself returning to in the future, as much as I enjoyed doing them in the past. Chief among …
Gentlemen Of The Press
There are several bits of J. Press news to report. First off, a reporter — or what was once called, possibly ironically, a gentleman of the press — for the New York Times visited Squeeze’s new New York store. For those who think “The Gray Lady” is an old hag, there’s plenty to quibble about, …
Introducing The Ivy Style Heyday Belt: Grab One Of The Last Few Extras, Size 36
After months of teasing on Facebook and unveiled here in a sneak peek last week, we are pleased to unveil the latest Ivy Style product offering! As a follow-up to the Ivy Style Club Tie (of which there are about five left, grab yours here before they’re gone), we now pay tribute to Ivy history …
Brooks Brothers 200th Anniversary Runway Show At Pitti Uomo
Update: At 3 o’clock on Brooks sent out an email blast plugging the runway show with a link to this page on its website, which includes video of the event. * * * Brooks Brothers officially kicked off its 200th anniversary celebrations with a runway show yesterday in Florence, Italy. After all our years here …
Dream Team: Help A Reader Build The Ideal Trad Wardrobe
Recently a most unusual email landed at Ivy Style headquarters. Seems a new reader of the site has converted to trad and now wants to build an entire wardrobe and needs advice on what he should get. Naturally I had a few questions by way of clarification. He says by “entire” he pretty much means …
Main Street Ivy: The Sears Catalog, 1964
Sears called its Christmas catalog the “Wish Book.” It, along with other oversized glossy catalogs, came to American households every year heralding the Christmas buying season and giving children plenty of images to fantasize over. Studying them is a remembered rite of passage. In the days before gender neutrality, girls’ thoughts turned to Mrs. Beasley …
Main Street Warm-Up
This weekend Main Streets across the US are full of ice and snow. But here’s something to warm your heart in whatever town you call home. A delightfully random assortment of heyday-era “Main Street” magazine ads and fashion shoots was posted to Ivy Style’s Facebook group, which you’ll find below. Peruse the images and then …