Altho' Simons mentioned Austins, I wonder how much of his decision to open his own shop was influenced by working for Austins. After all it had been trading successfully for a number of years before The Ivy Shop opened and demonstrated that there was a demand for Ivy League clothing, at least in London. I started going there in 1961 and felt no need to traipse out to Richmond when I could get what I wanted in the West End.

I think that Austins has been somewhat left out of the history of the style in this country when it  should be hailed as being important for leading the way, including opening the door for John Simons. This is not to denigrate his role or importance,  just setting the record straight.

By the way, I thought Elms was dreadful as an interviewer. Interrupting, going off at tangents, bigging up his own role, laughing uproariously at his own jokes. All the things an interviewer should not do.

As a ps, I thought Simons came across very well. I've always perceived him as a rather pushy salesman on the odd occasions I've been in the shops but I warmed to him, particularly given the previous paragraph.

Davids in Charing Cross Road, just a few doors up from Dobell's.

The first place in London, I believe, to sell Levis as they were then. Not 501s or any other number, just shrink to fit Levis

"but I'm sure if they could be bothered to sit and think about it they would recognise it as American influenced or even 'preppy' if they had heard of such a term." 

They can't. Theres no point.

Just like Americans can't be asred to wonder where loafers come from in the first place. There comes a cut off point for these things and I think the saying America's influence on dress cut off point is about 1965, roughly. It didn't have a more popular or as popular influence on mods as the Italian fashion of the day, not matter how much some people might like to think otherwise. And for sure it didn't hold as much sway in the world of fashion as Swinging London. Just because its a niche for a few doesn't mean it was super popular in general and selling using Amercian marketing to sell European garments back to Europeans doesn't mean they wouldn't have wore them anyway. Your reading to much into a small niche market. Mainly I suspect because your interested only in Ivy and only read historical fashion articles about that subject.

Doesn't surprise me your confused by that statement WM. Not one bit.

I like Elms (and his BBC show) although I can see how his quirks rub people up the wrong way.  His outfit in the video was dreadful though - black shoes with ?chinos - especially for someone who prides himself on his appearance and who had presumably made a special effort, as not only was he doing an interview about clothes but also being filmed.

For me, Ivy is essentially a good old classic all-American look, regardless of the fact that I know about the trans-Atlantic back and forth as it's been rehashed on here endlessly over the years, and whether or not anyone else in the world recognizes it as such.  However, I'm not under any delusion that Ivy holds any weight in the collective style consciousness of people in the U.S. or elsewhere for that matter, outside of us obsessives.  If I saw the guy in Italy dressed in head-to-toe "Ivy" - natural shoulder sack, flat front trousers, button-down, loafers, etc. - I wouldn't immediately assume that he has any knowledge of the fact that he's essentially wearing what we term "Ivy" style.

Maybe Soggs is just stirring the pot.  He's saying we're a forum comprised of a few sad throw backs that are hung up on Ivy.  As if!!  The internet is a big place.  It's a shame that those of us that choose to live in our parents' basements and have zero desire to get real jobs and interact in the real can't get on here and spend all of our time talking about outdated men's clothing.

The broader point being that Ivy is just this idea that only retains salience amongst a very concentrated gaggle of geeks.  And while being outdated stylistically, we also tend to overstate it as a quintessentially American cultural export.  I mean, whatever.  I'm fine with all that.