What have we lost? What would we like back?
What did we never acknowledge in the first place?
First, know your enemy.
Let them keep Timberland, The Gap and Hilfiger. They can even have Banana Republic.
Russell Athletic could come home, but it would have to be better than Ebay 'vintage'. Right now, though, it's slumming with fat, wheezing beer-bellies shuffling around in their slippers.
Smedley is a grey area. Same, now, with FP and Lacoste. We can win with Burberrys' - no WAG is going to want to look like a damaged parcel. I wouldn't mind having RL back; but kill the button-down, the logo and the sickly colour scheme.
They can have Gant more or less. Now.
The rugby shirt is top prep over the water. Speaks volumes. They must give up Brooks, but they can have Press.
Everything has to be made of wool, cotton or leather, and only in the USA, England, Scotland, Ireland, France or Italy. I've already reclaimed UCOB for myself: a nice yellow, summery polo shirt - thrifted.
It's only a game. But it should be taken seriously.
Did M&S ever really go away? I still like their lambswool v-necks during the autumn.
Oh for an Ivy Dunn & Co. !
Bring back Halrin & Linnet.
I'm working on working out how to spot Linnet made for J. Press items with a chum - More info when we have it -
I no longer get my lambswool knitwear from M and S, for I have discovered......... The Edinburgh Woolen Mill. Seriously, I got some lovely lambswool crew necks in there the other day for an extremely reasonable price. One, in oat meal, is now officially MY FAVOURITE JUMPER. Got some nice v-necks too.
Fruit of the Loom. Before it goes further down the clarts.
Mm, I've just ordered one of their plain grey cotton sweatshirts. I hope it'll be 100% cotton. I hope it'll be wearable. If not, Oxfam'll get it. They used to be so very, very good, didn't they? Greed ruins everything. Enough, the Africans say, is as good as a feast. A strange planet when the communists become the most exploitative of capitalists.
Seen this a.m. English made Fred Perry at £2.99. Large and in a sickly shade of green. Lacoste. Had a mild argument over whether it was genuine or not. A lot of it about here, worn by all the wrong people. Ditto Lauren. If it's snide/outsourced, though, who cares? Nice pair of size 12 English made Loakes: an American style suede brogue. If they'd been my size I'd have snapped them up.
Lots of cotton, I suspect, is more or less waste product disposed of as textiles.
I did - and it was 'vintage' on Ebay. Even USA-made is inexpensive, so why not? There's been nothing I've worn with greater pleasure in quite a while. Isn't that strange? A plain, heavy sweatshirt.
Funny - I saw some UCOB a few weeks ago. First time in a long time. But I only vaguely remember owning that shirt.
Again, on Ebay, this morning. A mid-grey, USA-made, zip-up, 100 cotton, canvas lined jacket. £12 post-free. I'll probably try it next spring (or around the house) with a Madras shirt and Levis. Simple, straightforward. It's all I really want nowadays.
Not 100 per cent cotton. But it isn't going back. Not at that price.
AFS,
Did you know Russell and Hugo Boss got together last year/this year. A whole range of expensive track wear was available. I saw it at HB on Regent Street and then Bicester Village.
I can't get my head around anyone paying big money for this type of clothing. Don't get me wrong I like a sweatshirt for knocking around the house or as an extra layer on a Sunday but would never pay a lot of money for something meant to be utilitarian. I appreciate there are a lot of chaps out there who love a heavy duty sweatshirt as part of their rugged Ivy look but I would rather spend that amount of money on an OCBD.
Beyond Retro’s website is very good for vintage Russell and Champion sweatshirts, mainly college sportwear but plain ones come up too. I have two or three, warm, comfortable and ideal for knocking around the house and doing chores. Tonight it’s Montana Western Bulldogs.
No, I hadn't heard about any kind of get-together. The three pieces together cost less than £40. They'll get worn a lot, until next spring at least. As you say, Alvey, completely utilitarian.
USA-made examples are still popping up on Ebay at very low prices. I wonder why.
Another just turned up in the post. Tracking them down on Ebay is still, I think, worthwhile. It looks as though manufacture moved from the USA to Mexico (not unlike Bean and Pendleton perhaps) before moving onto Central or South America (aside from Mexico) and then moving east. Oddly, I haven't yet noticed anything made in China. At least not yet.
They seem to run between the £5 and £10 mark.
I have upped my exercise activity and need to supplement my stock of 20th century Champion tee shirts in order to maintain an Ivy look at the gym. Today I spotted an eBay seller doing 3 for the price of 2. Diligent study showed the ones I picked out to have been made in Honduras and Nicaragua back in the days when sweatshops turned out good quality stuff. I like to track down lesser known college sports teams as opposed to buying tees or sweats with ‘NYC’ or ‘Harvard’ on them. My physio is fascinated by them and wants to know the detail of where, for example, Stepenac School is, so I have to look it up. l