It's because he was an Irish-Catholic Democrat who understood the look well enough to rub elbows with WASP Republicans; this was a big deal at the time. I suppose that's more toward American aspirational Ivy than the overseas cool look... Ivy for Everyone?

Last edited by katon (2012-01-09 17:34:35)

JFK's jowels are interesting too, very typical of the Desperate Dan steroids look. I recognise because my father had the same, who took steroids for fifteen years.

He never wore hats, because this accentuated this detail: a bloated look across the face.

Why should he like jazz?

Hepcat, this is starting to sound like the discourse terror you got from blogs like Ivy Style etc...

"If one likes the Ivy look, they also have to be crazy about college life, frat boy songs and have to share what someone might term WASP values or old money attitudes or you would have to defend the political interests of the establishment"...

Let#s at least pretend we#re different over here. Of course, I like jazz, too, but that#s not my point....


JFK had style. When he went to the White House Ivy Style moved in with him. He was soaked in that culture. Sorry, if that sounds vague. He had the great looks that made him the Ivy poster boy president.

Of course, his trademark style is a "deviation" or at least "variation" of the prototypical Ivy Look as represented by the Brooks #1 and its countless copies/variations from J.Press to all the little Boom Years makers and merchants...

Over here we are purists, we are not dogmatical.

He looks great in his suits and sportscoats as well as in his casual attire.

Carpu, Ivy Style is not only about the marketing/tailoring term for suits and sportscoats, it refers to various casual clothes, some of which even originated on the Continent. That was the point of the Marsh/Gaul books. Or one of the points... It wasn't an argumentative text. The points are made through pictures...

The so-called GTH look is just one manifestation. It's not that Ivy Style equals lobster pants. Don't get fooled by the clowns!

Not a bad idea!

Another interesting thing would be a book with apparel arts illustrations depicting natural shoulder style, Ivy adverts of all sorts and maybe some catalogue scans....

There might be a cult about certain "icons" here, but I think there's no bias towards either side of the political spectrum here.

Maybe? (Does that sound like Jimbo? A little bit.)

I might be deluded, though, and as a German I'm not qualified to talk in the name of this British dominated forum...

Someone still finds it amusing to have the paranoic mass-murderer Stalin as their avatar.  Perhaps we really should redress the balance with Hitler or even General Pinochet.  No?  This forum leans firmly to the left.  I was grateful to Patrick for defending the Tea Party a little bit last year.  Close down alternative channels of thought at your own peril.

Who knows?

Myth-making is a dangerous occupation.  Churchill lied consistently about the effectiveness of British tanks.  Truman lied about the decision-making that lay behind using the A-bombs on Japan.  Johnson probably lied about Tonkin.  With the Kennedy family, though, it was somehow different.  'Saint Jack'.  Fascinating, too, how so many English women still have a crush on Bill Clinton.