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#1 2009-07-26 07:58:04
- One Trick Pony
- Member
- Posts: 530
Brass tacks
Kingstonian is of the opinion that M&S shirts are not worth having. I'd reckon K knows his onions. I quite like the look of them but know nothing of the quality.
If I'm reading the information correctly, Ian Strachan held out against having outsourced goods at the Ivy Shop. Now: better an English made M&S or Lewin (for instance) than Far Eastern Brooks, Haggar or RL? Knitwear doesn't seem to present quite the same problem: the Anglo-Ivy crossover seems quite clear here: Shetland, Irish. I love my Robert Bruce/Andrew McRae wool and alpaca cardigans, and my vintage imported Alan Paine cashmere, but Hodgson would do. Is it mainly golf wear? I recently bought a Brooks Shetland crew neck - Argyle but subdued - only to have my wife tell me I look like a golfer! I don't mind at all looking like a golfer, but I don't want to look like a Girls Ball games casual of 25 years ago.
Shoes? Vintage again for me: wingtips. My Weejuns are the newer kind. Okay, but I probably wouldn't buy another pair. They're a workhorse shoe for me. But English made Loakes still seem easily and cheaply available, so is that going to be the way forward? (My Jarman and AE should last until I fall off the twig).
No, it's shirts that really bug me. I've gone back to looking for American-made RL, a habit I thought I'd kicked a few years ago, so it just goes to show.
This is sad, but I'd love a detailed list of what the Ivy Shop sold (even if Ian Strachan wouldn't have worn it).
#2 2009-07-26 08:11:52
- Taylor McIntyre
- Son of Ivy...
- Posts: 342
Re: Brass tacks
What year?
Rainy days are good for catching IS as he won't be in the garden!
Best -
#5 2009-07-26 08:38:31
- One Trick Pony
- Member
- Posts: 530
Re: Brass tacks
How about, say, 1985 or thereabouts? Quite random and out of a bloody hat obviously. What I'm interested in is, did they have to stock English or continental stuff because the US was drying up?
#7 2009-07-26 10:51:12
- Staceyboy
- Ivy Archivist
- Posts: 936
Re: Brass tacks
This is superb stuff gentlemen. There's so much I'd love to know about the day to day life of the shop. Though never a part of it I'm curious as to the effect of the late 70's Mod revival on the shop. Did the more knowing young punters inundate the premises for genuine American gear? A whole new clientele through the doors, some to stay loyal; others to drift away. What I'm getting at I guess is how much of a renaissance the shop experienced - if, of course, it did at all. Perhaps its 'late' high water mark came a little later with the early/mid 80's obsession for Wayfarers, Levi's and Weejuns and all things in their slipstream.
Staceyboy
Last edited by Staceyboy (2009-07-26 10:53:10)
http://thetownoutside.tumblr.com
#8 2009-07-27 01:15:48
- Taylor McIntyre
- Son of Ivy...
- Posts: 342
Re: Brass tacks
I shall enquire.
Other funny things have increased interest in The American Look over here from time to time: Happy Days, Grease, crap like that. Lots of little mini peaks on the graph.
I would suggest though that the J. Simons shop really took over far more than The Ivy Shop from '81 onwards. Location and market positioning would have seen to that. Lots of old Anglo Ivyists I've spoken to called Richmond 'the middle of nowhere' and commented that there was 'nothing there' apart from The Ivy.
It was a schlep to get there. Who needed it?
The Brewer Street Squire Shop was a far better location (Soho) - Opened in late '68 it recognised the decline in Richmond's hip status as a location. Richmond has been hip in '65 when The Ivy opened, but all that 'Eel Pie' stuff was nothing by the time The Squire Shop opened. Things had moved on.
Covent Garden in '81 was also a perfect location for what was going on at the time. I'd link a lot of that 80's Americana in London produced advertising to the fact that Covent Garden was awash with admen, designers & creatives of all sorts. John's was local to them and the style appealed. Ripples in a pond. Maybe?
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#9 2009-07-27 01:47:52
- Taylor McIntyre
- Son of Ivy...
- Posts: 342
Re: Brass tacks
Last edited by Russell_Street (2009-07-27 01:49:31)
#10 2009-07-27 02:11:34
- One Trick Pony
- Member
- Posts: 530
Re: Brass tacks
Makes you wonder why all those devotees drifted away. Marriage, babies and mortgages? You find 'enormous success', you expand, then you contract and finally you disappear. Wasn't that the Stephens/Carnaby pattern, too?
#11 2009-07-27 02:14:16
- Taylor McIntyre
- Son of Ivy...
- Posts: 342
Re: Brass tacks
Fashion?
- Yes, very similar to the Stephens' pattern although he was much more 'boom & bust' over a short period. JS has lasted far longer.
#20 2009-07-27 04:37:23
- Taylor McIntyre
- Son of Ivy...
- Posts: 342
Re: Brass tacks
Absolutely - & Timberland really took off at the Ivy. Check the close down pics.