It's been a long time. I must admit I assumed this forum had disappeared a year or more ago.

Although it seems like another time that people posted on here, for all its faults, I was pleasantly surprised when I gave it a try today. For no obvious reason I thought I'd give it a final attempt to see if it still existed. In a funny way, I'm pleased it's all still here and after it went down there was no obvious other place I felt inclined to bother looking at, even if my love of the ivy look continues onwards.

I say this because I don't think this forum would be half the place it once was, were it not for the posts of the person I only really vaguely knew as Russell Street. I'm saddened to hear the news about David. I don't think I ever called him by his name. He was someone I barely knew beyond the odd phone call here and there, and the occasional message of where it might be possible to find trim cut khakis or button down shirts on a tight budget.

Not for me to comment on the many things he appeared to do to annoy people, but I would say in a funny sort of way, his enthusiasm for natural shoulder ivy league jackets certainly contributed in some kind of way for me to stick around ten years or more ago, and for that I can only be grateful. Funny how times slips away...

That's me. Might well stick around. Picked up a great natural shoulder herringbone tweed the other day which might be worthy of reviving the recent ivy finds thread.....there's still good stuff out there!

Lovely to hear from Colin. Yes, Jimmy/David became a pantomime villain, a perception which rather got in the way of his complex reality.

Thinking of those from Talk Ivy's Golden Age, who remembers Shamrock Monkey? - the plumber from Chicago who compiled detailed lists of the vast amounts of second-hand/vintage American threads he found in the city's thrift shops. He thought we were all mad, and he was right, but he liked us as well - 'those crazy Brits' etc...

Who was the pretty boy with the vintage TV who seemed to be perpetually pouting and wore great 60s seersucker and vintage eyeglass frames?

Staceyboy is on Instagram. And Johnny Topaz.

The Thin Repp, Zach from Cambridge, Mass, the king of vintage Ivy, has gone bonkers in California and seems to be perpetually in shorts making a peace sign. Again, on Instagram.

There are so many others...

chums,

I never knew if the guy was taking a load of shit or not.  I've been posting on here very infrequently -- and frankly became a little less interested with all the drama.  Or least some of it.  Perhaps I've always been somewhat gullible.  Old Russ mentioned to me that he was fucked up in a fairly bad way and having to take all kinds of medicine (some of it's quite serious).  I hadn't followed all of his personae.  I assumed it was a true.  But I also hear he had spoofed his own death before.  Who knows, who cares.

He had some good style contributions.  I came to disagree with him slightly on some of the old bashing of our mutual friend Harris.  I always thought Harris was right to introduce the socio-cultural aspects of American Ivy, Trad or what-you-you.  But Uncle Russ was also good at puncturing some of the outright bullshitting that occurred.  Or couldn't have occurred in the telling, once it was held up in the light.

But that's all ok.

It's not my fault. I blame the peyote. And i never know what to do with my hands.

Last edited by The Thin Repp (2021-09-21 10:02:15)

FB, IG.  It's all basically selfies or rather overworked images.  Still, whatever winds your watch.

Even ten years ago Ivy online was beginning to remind me of those boring evenings circa 1970 when my parents would show off their holiday slides.  There would be oohs and aahs, desultory conversation, then the cheese and biscuits would be handed round.  I always knew Facebook would be the kiss of death and the situation has become a good deal worse since then.  Does no-one care about words any longer?  Ideas?  No?  Frosty was a pretty good wordsmith in his day: full of bullshit naturally but also often informative and amusing.  Mind you, he was already travelling the FB highway.

I admit I can pass several weeks without remembering to log in to IG. Looking at good photos on my phone isn't that great due to their being so small.

Vive Le Forum.

Didn't get caught up in the drama, but TI was always of interest with him at the helm.

Ha! He was a piece of work. I recall the first time I met him he was 'entertaining' from a corner of John Simons. Amazingly, they indulged this egomaniac. He charmed us all. On the occasion I met him Woofboxer was there and he too went a bit weak in the knees in the company of this perfectly mannered, unusual, tweedy creature. He very much had that air - here I am, do pay visitations upon me, come rejoice at my bon mots. He conned us all, or played us... JS, PS, me, Woof, Andy from Belper, Phil Stedman, Kevin Rowland, Jason Jules etc etc. He cadged drinks and meals off us all. Shameless, witty and manipulative - the Oscar Wilde of Ivy.

I'm certainly not disputing your experiences TRS, but rather pointing out that they weren't universal. Of course, nobody is everyone's cup of tea.