Welcome Message from Ivy Style’s New Editor And Publisher, Matthew Longcore

Dear Friends,

Today marks the beginning of a new chapter for Ivy Style and for me personally as I take the reins of this wonderful project. I have been a fan of Ivy Style since its earliest days under the pioneering leadership of founder Christian Chensvold. More recently, I have enjoyed following this page as it has been led with grace and dignity by John Burton. Christian created something extraordinary, and John did an exceptional job of continuing the tradition while adding his own twist. Needless to say, I have big shoes to fill, and I am excited for the challenge.

Some of you may already be familiar with me from the Preppy Handbook Fan Club, which I founded several years ago. I started the club for fans of the bestselling book The Official Preppy Handbook, a classic published in 1980 that continues to inspire and entertain readers over 40 years later. Ivy and Preppy are clearly closely aligned, and perhaps best understood a Venn diagram. Ivy, of course, predates Preppy by a bit – but the interrelated aspects are significant. Among other things, this page will continue to explore the Ivy-Preppy overlap in terms of clothing and lifestyle.

A little background information:

I grew up in a very Ivy family. Both of my parents and my maternal grandparents attended Brown University, along with several other relatives. My grandfather went to Harvard Business School and later settled in Westport, Connecticut – the town where I grew up. I was born in Ithaca, New York when my dad was a student in the MBA program at Cornell.

The idyllic Westport of my youth had a formative impact on my life. The well-heeled coastal town is just one hour from New York City and has beautiful homes and neighborhoods, excellent schools and theatre, lovely beaches, and direct access to Long Island Sound. I grew up enjoying memorable summers sailing on my grandfather’s boat.

In the late 80s, after The Official Preppy Handbook had become a well-established bestseller, I picked up a copy of the book. From reading the humorous introduction, I knew I had discovered the book for me: “In a true democracy everyone can be upper class and live in Connecticut. It’s only fair.” The book would later inform my college selection process. I loved the description of Trinity College as one of the top 20 preppy colleges: “Uniformly Preppier, students here embody good-looking, devil-may-care-ism.” I visited the beautiful Trinity campus with its Collegiate Gothic architecture and my decision was made. My reflections on college life were later recalled in a piece I wrote titled Trinity’s Preppy Culture Defined.

During my time at Trinity, I studied abroad at Oxford University in the ethereal and romantic place that Victorian poet Matthew Arnold described as “that sweet city with her dreaming spires.” Oxford became my definition of paradise and remains so to this day. As I write this today, I have just returned from a weeklong visit to London, which included a nostalgic daytrip to my beloved Oxford.

After Trinity, I became the proverbial perpetual student. I went to graduate school four times – for master’s degrees at Fairfield, Harvard, and Yale – followed by doctoral studies at Salve Regina University in Newport, Rhode Island. Newport is another of my favorite places, and the Ph.D. program in Humanities at Salve is ideally suited to my interest in architectural history and historic preservation. I am writing my dissertation on Collegiate Gothic architecture in the United States, a style inspired by Oxbridge. The idea for this topic developed along my own journey through the campuses of Trinity, Oxford, and Yale.

My affiliations include Cedar Point Yacht Club, Minuteman Yacht Club, 12 Metre Yacht Club, Lancaster Tennis & Yacht Club, Trinity Club of Fairfield County, Yale Association of Rhode Island, the Mory’s Association, the Preservation Society of Newport County, and the Social Register Association.

I work for an anthropological research organization based at Yale University, and I teach anthropology at the University of Connecticut, where I am also the faculty advisor for the UConn Stamford Anthropology Society. In my free time, I enjoy sailing from CPYC on my boat, Swift.

I look forward to continuing the legacy of Ivy Style and welcome input from readers and contributors.

Onward and upward!

Cheers,

Matthew