Apologies BTW if this sounds like some kind of exam question.

Just wondering if anyone will step forward to challenge the prevailing orthodoxies.

John is highly democratic.  'Take a look round...  here if you need us...'  I think he liked people who were enthusiastic and asked questions.  But he never made any bones about catering to a wealthy customer.  Sometimes I could only afford socks or t-shirts.  Other times, well, I blew the budget. 

There are still quite a few of the older guys posting on here who might offer an opinion on what is not intended to be a contentious subject, just a topic of discussion and speculation.  Did the association with skinheads/suedeheads and the like damage the original Ivy vision?

As I commented in another forum, it is rare enough to sght someone dressed in an Ivy look in NYC, let alone London where there is probably as much chance of it as being struck by lightning. I’m dubious as to whether there was ever a golden age where Soho was populated with natural shoulder wearing denizens and the streets were filled with the clatter of Bass Weejuns.

it is very much a minority interest in the UK, I certainly never heard the term applied to clothing until I became aware of John Simons’s shop. Then I researched the term on the internet and there it was, mentioned on various clothing websites. There are many items in the shop that fall firmly outside the Ivy canon but you could pull together a very good Ivy outfit from the stuff on offer in there in one shopping session.

To return to the original question; it might be good if there were more retailers specialising in Ivy stuff, but the fact that there is only John Simons exemplifies that there isn’t a sufficient level of interest to sustain any more.

As has been said, if it wasn’t for John we wouldn’t be having the conversation.

I stood and looked properly in the window today about to pop in. Paul was right in front inside and was tapping on his phone, looked up then immediately went back to his phone. I was in white OCBD, tweed sack jacket, paraboots. You'd think he might show a flicker of interest in a potential customer. It was not busy. The phone may of been important but if so, do it in the back part. Feeling a touch 'dismissed', I didn't bother going in. Hey ho.

Sad that, AUS, but, as I predicted about a dozen years ago, the opening of Chiltern Street would not in the long run compensate for the closure of Russell Street.  There's an entire thread about it (probably not worth reviving, though).  Time marches on, waits for no man etc. and, as others sometimes say, it's better the shop exists than otherwise.  But I've no plans to visit London in the immediate future.  Truth to tell, aside from buying the odd trifle on Ebay, like the Woolrich shirt I just mentioned, my clothing needs are very few.  More interested in buying books on American art history and Finnish and Czech glass nowadays.

Wry grin...

I suppose the difference as you highlight above is that in the US the clothing was more for ‘Go’ then for ‘Show’? Functional. Comfortable. I suspect not viewed by the masses at the time as particularly aesthetically pleasing. Just clothes to go about your business.
Of course the UK doesn’t work like that. Back around that time clothes for your business would have been a dark suit and tie, or overalls? Maybe some old demob gear or hand knitted jumper etc. Anything other then that would have seemed very exotic and exiting wouldn’t it? Especially when associated with jazz and pop musicians. Nightlife etc.
I reckon in the UK, a lot of past and present Ivy fans would have served time as part of a wider youth culture. Mod, punk, skin/suede. The Soul scene. Those groups are kind of pre-programmed to want rules. Even on some small level. And a hierarchy of people, clothes or music. In truth we all know that Bean, Lands End, Sebago was/is absolutely fine. Very nice in fact. But there’s something in us over here that wants to ‘top up’ as you would say.
I don’t know if the Americans are that fussed about snobbery around clothes?
Certainly I couldn’t take part if I thought that if it isn’t from JS, or boom years Brooks, it isn’t Ivy. It’d be far too restrictive for my tastes.

This is really interesting. Like any great retailer I think John Simons has evolved to meet the needs of his customers. Sometime Ivy, Sometimes American, Always an interesting selection.

I only visited Russell Street a few times. I never saw it as Ivy it was more a place for American stuff. It had a great selection of shoes from loafers to boots and possibly the best array of deck shoes I'd ever seen. There were also some nice blousons and not just Harringtons. I also remember it stocking some good basics like plain t shirts and sweatshirts.

I never saw it as Ivy clothing it was simply an American take on what I was wearing from other stores at the time such as Wodehouse and Reiss.

Some of the stuff was amazing though. Jeff had this stunning pair of Duck Head chinos that to this day I've never seen the equivalent of. And as for the chocolate brown suede Cole Haan loafers.....