It's interesting to think about that a bit more. Scary was the impression but why? I had the feeling that I could get frogmarched to the door if I didn't treat the shop with respect. Regular customers drifted by for a chat, occasionally buying something, making it more like a club or home than a shop. Might sound stupid but that's it.

To open this up from the specific to the general what do you think the role of attitude is in your dress sense?

Are you even aware of wearing clothing with a certain attitude, whatever that attitude may be?

I think guys like Get Smart & Alex Roest have a lot of attitude in the best possible way. Wonder if they see it like that?

Mr. Grayson & that FNB chap who sometimes posts here have it going on in a different way. And then there's Mr. Poling & Phil -

All of them have very definite personal styles and a little bit more than that too to my eye.

The attitude could be one of wit or one of being relaxed with yourself & who you are. It could be edgy or it could be laid back. But whatever it is I think it gives an added spark to the wearer's presentation of self. It projects their personality just a bit more than the average guy.

Any thoughts, people?

J.

Last edited by Russell_Street (2008-03-24 03:11:07)

... And I'm only the tip of the Ice-berg on this stuff...

Ian at The Ivy Shop rejected BD Baggies shirts because they had a double row of stitching around the collar instead of a single line like Brooks, the great 'Toffeeman' informs.

When you're a purist, you're a purist.

Last edited by Voltaire's Bastard (2008-03-24 13:01:37)

The jazz aspect of this trad thing is about as annoying, IMVHO, as the pompous poses to be found, at AAAT. What is attitude really? One man's cool is another man's arrogance, to be sure.

At JS, I never encountered any attitude when I went in for weejun replenishings or tweed jackets.  Those guys (whoever they were) were always friendly.

Last edited by Admiral Cod (2008-03-24 15:16:07)

Great post, Russell St, so much so that I have to move on from being a lurker. I'm fascinated with attitude related to clothes and this topic has a lot of substance. I agree that Ivy is definitely a hard look in London and less so elsewhere (except maybe little pockets with mods and skin culture). One thing to keep in mind is the generation gap. For example skinheads in the sixties didn't have tattoos because a lot of their working class fathers had them. To look like your father is just uncool for kids. What's this got to with Ivy League? In continental Europe loads and loads of middle aged men wear easy care khakis and loafers because of their ease and they're still "proper" trousers and shoes, not sportswear. So a lot of the under 30s consider them to be totally uncool (less so in the Mediterranean countries, I think loafers have very little negative connotations in Spain & Italy). A lot of young Brits dislike loafers also because they're "Old man shoes".

The difference between "Old man" and Ivy Cool comes with the attitude and the way you wear the clothes. The simplest thing is the fit, if you choose well fitting clothes that flatter your physique, it's certainly is helluva lot easier to look cool. Add a bit of attitude and you've landed.

You must forgive me for talking of "Old man style", I'm just 30 myself. I wear clothes that a lot of my friends consider traditional and formal, they're wearing anything from hip hop to hippyish beatnik gear. I work in an office where I can dress as casually as I want, even Birckenstocks wouldn't be out of place. Most of my colleagues wear business casual or casual. I think my attire is far from formal. I don't think it's cool as such to rebel against the current dress norms, but I get great pleasure in wearing smart cardigans, blazers and brogues or loafers. I'm wearing fantastic gear but at the same time I'm NOT trying to out-dress anyone. There are people at work who wear smarter suits than me and my friends wear clothes with loads more street credibility, but still I think my attire is the best. By the way, the "hard" edge of Ivy really appeals to me, but not many sees my look as hard Also I have to point out that I don't wear Ivy League all the time, I try not to be a walking re-enactment.

Preppy look is definitely fashionable right now. For example in Stockholm, Sweden a lot of kids are wearing cardigans, short trousers and geeky specs. This is a cute look, not a hard one. Some fashion magazines have articles on Preppy/yuppie style at the moment, but they're all different from Ivy League, because they're all "Look at me" and not SERIOUS enough.

It's the funniest thing to be, being serious!