I'm with ya on the yooms.  How about some pennies a la Weejuns or Barries?  That's a suit screaming for some pennies if you ask me.  Or maybe even some desert boots or playboys?

Ahhhh... Grace.  That's just a beautiful image.  If I could only convince Mrs. WM to dress like that.  Much to my dismay, she absolutely hates pennies.

i have little buttons on my shirt collars

can i join this club ?

I fucking love all this - even filling in the blanks.  Never can get enough.  Although the two Johns, S and G, are my Ivy gods - living - one who is no longer with us, Jeff, late of Russell Street, continues to intrigue me.  I'd more or less given up on Ralphie when I walked into the shop and Jeff kind of flipped it for me.  And so I keep going back.  Like their stuff best when no logo, though. 
I still owe John S a fish and chip supper from late summer 2012.  He fell and hurt himself around then.  Paul had just become a proud parent. 
Hank, your input always came from the heart.  Don't underestimate yourself.

A classic thread from yesteryear which will still entertain some (possibly many).  I find it absorbing still. 
Every time I imagine my interest is waning, I hark back to a thread like this.

Hank, like Alex Roest, was just great, just great.  Still is in fact.

There was also this Coltrane photograph on the old website:

http://images.artnet.com/artwork_images/424415352/196243.jpg

https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/t31.0-8/10269285_706449792726531_7010485231837646882_o.jpg

https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpf1/v/t1.0-9/s720x720/1959505_706449766059867_6491987583238105696_n.jpg?oh=639c076afc1b153e9831e49d17631ebd&oe=55626FC8&__gda__=1428261711_c64d5910e41945327b6175ca97d8d799

Along with text of "Madras Memories" that was on the JS FB page last year, I guess. Hmm, or do I confuse it with John Simons' for LE? No that wasn't there, was it? At least not with that hideous Union Jack Jacket. IIRC, there was no mod stereotype stuff on that page:

https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/s720x720/1534994_700721463299364_437516408294375266_n.jpg?oh=3b4913e306fc9bfff25c5417aba5ba7f&oe=552379E8&__gda__=1429243143_7021d2f15369c700be78f7bad46ca94d
https://scontent-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/1017006_700721509966026_1151455108948260824_n.jpg?oh=2a59f3dbd369a0470a902c0c3405c6cd&oe=556CF3B4


"Our Shoes" would definitely mention loafers and brogues, and I think that there were cut out pictures of Bass Weejuns and Florsheim Imperial Longwings or some Plain Toe Bluchers. The Playboy style Chukka Boots ?  la Steve McQueen in Bullitt were mentioned, as well, with a cut out pic of the Sanders Hi-Tops in snuff suede. "Parlez vous francais?" and the Paraboot Michaels were also featured.

"Our suits and shirts" was another section. It mentioned that there were always cotton and corduroy suits in navy, tan and olive, depending on the season, as well as seersuckers and herringbone tweeds, and sometimes dogtooth and Prince-of-Wales-checks. Shirts were button down and plain point in a wide range of materials from Oxford to Madras and from a wide variety of Makers. I think it also mentioned Pendleton board shirts and shirt jackets in muted checks and solids, or maybe Woolrich. I also remember that the Russell Street shop used to stock BD Baggies and Hartford along with other brands, but I don't remember if that was on the page.

There were some more pictures in the Harrington and Baracuta sections. Elvis, Hemingway, Sinatra, McQueen etc...

http://static.guim.co.uk/Guardian/culture/gallery/2008/jul/16/lecorbusier/576LCwithdoors-1499.jpg

There were lots of specials like that "architects special", and there was a bit about summer and winter collections and certain one-offs.

"Tribute to the Italian Male" had a few nice shots from the Sartorialist.

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l59ah0FtXu1qcpfnuo1_500.jpg



This or something similar was on the community noticeboard, too, the famous Macchiato Man rules:

Maybe for the newbies we should explain the context:

There was a piece on the old JS page by a macchiato man who wrote about what he had learned at John Simons by observing and talking to the older customers. He mentioned rules, but of course, this was different from all the iGent rules you read on the net. I forgot his exact words, but it was something like this:




"When I was a young lad working at John Simons, these rules filtered down to me:

The natural shoulder line is most important. Hook vent, flap and patch pockets, three buttons, two on the cuff, as many raised seams and welted edges as possible and no darts represents the ideal, but most important is the natural shoulder. The Anderson & Sheppard shoulder line is god.

Shoes only in black or brown.

Shirts blue or candy stripes, white if feeling outlandish, pink if on drugs.

Knitwear best in navy or grey.

Chinos should be flat fronted and high rise.

Chet Baker was our Beatles."



I think it was something like this. I've probably forgotten half of it, and of course the original macchiato man text was better, but that's how I remember it.

Great website it used to be, if not from a technical point of view, but I don't know much about websites anyway....

It's a shame it's all gone. There was a wonderful intervierw with John Simons and lots of other good stuff. Sometimes surprisingly beyond Ivy. A tribute to the Italian male and his sense of dress with a few nice photos from the sartorialist, sharp dressers in Africa, old flyers from Graham Marsh, pictures of actors from Steve McQueen to Tab Hunter, musicians from John Coltrane to Chet Baker, architects and designers....
http://forums.filmnoirbuff.com/viewtopic.php?id=7523&p=1

I cannot find that Bryan Forbes in a corduroy suit photo that is mentioned in this thread. I've searched on the net many times, probably it was a scan. Maybe, you can post it on the new blog, John? It would be highly appreciated.

These photos were there, too:

http://www.seydoukeitaphotographer.com/images/seydou-keita-biography.jpg

http://www.seydoukeitaphotographer.com/en/biography/

http://d2oadd98wnjs7n.I'm being a wanker at the monet/medias/750168/pictures/full/20130410140221-Sidibedancing.jpg?1365627747

Or was it on the Syllabus, the last one?

Anyway, I'm pretty glad that I was able to retrieve most of the stuff. And I can assure you that it's nothing to do with the documentary that's being made. That is Jason Jules' project. I've nothing to do with it but I'm looking forward to the movie, despite and not because of all that hype.

http://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/style/articles/2014-02/11/watch-john-simons-ivy-shop-menswear-film-by-jason-jules

Last edited by Hard Bop Hank (2022-07-23 02:11:09)

Unable to see any of the archive photo's HBH, but it doesn't really matter I enjoyed re-reading the thread.

It is pretty simple: Just use the link from the old orange website which is hidden in this thread somewhere and use it on waybackmachine…

Tried both of the above on Way Back Machine, and it tells me : No URL has been captured for this URL prefix.