'Desert boots on feet, perhaps.'

Wow. On feet, eh?

Is that a tip from Ian Strachan or JS?

Mm, a grey shirt I do not like the sound of.  Grey knitwear, grey sport coat, overcoat, flannels, possibly even cords.  But not a shirt or shoes.

Nor red, now I come to think about it.

Today I am mostly modelling Jake's red chambray on Instagram. Feast your eyes Ivyists!

https://www.instagram.com/p/CVN-48SMsDQ/?utm_medium=share_sheet

A pinkish red, and I'm a pink shirt fanatic, so right up my street. I love it, in fact.

Didn't Chens take you down many years ago for wearing a tie and a jacket lapel of different widths?

Yes he did. What a cocksucker he was. Having rubbed a natural shoulder or two with dear old Bruce Boyer and Richard 'The Rug' Press I think Chensvold started to believe he was some kind of arbiter of taste, an Ivy Beau Brummel. Remarkable the lengths he went to in an attempt to score points against 'the English fanatics''. Frosty Mellor must have driven him to the point of some kind of breakdown, so personal and vindictive were his attacks on people he'd never met. I also think he envied the edge we had as outsiders with our own weird take on it all. He thought we idolised America and all wanted to be American. He really didn't have a clue about British humour, British class or British popular culture. A big chin, a pipe and a polo coat - that's how I'll always think of dear old Christian, the Norse God.

In all honesty though, a wider tie would look superb with those lapels.

I love wide(ish) ties and have some killers in my collection. (That never get worn.)

I don't think the new IS guy is malicious like Chens occasionally was. But he knows less about ivy, dresses a lot more badly than Chens ever did and doesn't take criticism kindly. Overall, then, Chens was better, in that at least he had a readable and, in recent years, reasonably good website, plus he never banned Jake, Woof or me from the IS FB page.

At the same time, I doubt the new guy would criticise a British book about ivy, purely on the grounds of its being British. Although I can imagine him failing to report on it.

Last edited by Yuca (2021-10-19 17:43:05)

You're a northern soul man, right?

'I'm just a drifter, I go from place to place . . .'

Haven't heard that in years.

Last edited by Yuca (2021-10-19 17:50:12)

I never really got it, that Frosty/Chensvold rift.  Nor did I much care.  I thought the review of the Marsh/Gaul book a little mean-spirited perhaps, but that's another story.
Perhaps Christian cared too much about what others thought.  You should dress/act/think for yourself.  Anyone who cares to visit me at home won't exactly find me 'Ivy-ied up', if you'll pardon the expression.  They'll find me in the cardigan my cat sharpens her claws on. 
With reference to 'Ivy in England', for me it has to begin and end with John Simons and our Gibson.  It's my only experience.  I recognise - and salute - the London Jewish input.  Those chaps may not have wanted to be Americans but did they not look to NYC as some kind of beacon?  Ironic that a small shop in Covent Garden should exert such a magic spell - and I'm glad I never made that pilgrimage to Brooks Brothers only to be disappointed. 
Maybe NYC is best off resting in my circa 1962 imagination.

Most people who wore some of the Ivy look in UK (via local brands) would not of known they were doing it is my guess.

I distinctly remember that Ivy based look by Dexys back in 84 for the Don't Stand Me Down album and thinking WTF?  I was 16 and in the tail end of Mod but secretly engaged in electronic music early House etc too, listening to Psych and VU etc. I wore loads of cheap repro-Mod Ivy without knowing what it's origins were from about 82 onwards. I was vintage+Carnaby St stuff like most.

I had a huge row only a few years ago with someone who should know better who though all Mod influences came from Italy and just could not understand Ivy or the USA style. I bought them a copy of The Ivy Look!

Last edited by An Unseen Scene (2021-10-20 07:53:11)