The Ivy Shop was a bit more English than J.Simons primarily due to its location
The Ivy Shop Windsor definitely had it's English elements. As TRS said Viyella shirts BD & non BD, but also chunky English brogues by either Grenson or Loake (can't remember possibly both).
Windsor is a big tourist attraction, and back in the 80's you would see American & Japanese tourists in there. The Americans funnily enough liked the English traditional brogue, Tattersall style shirts and also the Scottish and Irish knitwear that they sold. I'm sure if IS had stocked Barbour they would've flown out the shop.
I remember, back in the 70s, Americans digging Cadburys' chocolate. Hershey bars etc. were still a rarity in England. My father would bring me candy back from his Stateside trips (partly accounting for the current state of my gnashers).
A dozen or so years ago, in a small town in Brittany I stayed in, a shop on the high street was specialising in 'Celtic' goods: everything from whisky to knitwear.
There are Irish-themed bars in Paris.
I started off with Loake, moved onto Grenson. Found them simply too 'English' when indulging in full-on Ivy.
One perennial favourite of mine is the silk paisley scarf. I still occasional wear a Tootal one. For me it has a connection with the English gent, smartly dressed Italian men in Rome, Petticoat Lane barrow boys, my Grandfathers and Uncles, 1960s (and 1980s?) Mods and John Simons. I know JS sold them but are they Ivy and did Americans ever wear them?
I wonder if Tootal scarves (and 'Sammy' and 'Duggie') are something of a 'grey area'.
Our old poster The Beatnik was something of a devotee and he wasn't exactly 'Ivy League'. Nor was he a 'Mod'.
But, like Kangol, the name has become 'iconic' (ugh).
You'd go into shops like 'Celia's' in Nottingham and there'd be baskets with scarves in them. Usually cheap. Tootal would sometimes appear.
Not sure if they ever found American buyers, though. I'll look into that.
Tootal
Kangol
Like Fred Perry, 'iconic' names: crossover, at least in the UK and Europe.
Any others from the 60s that spring to mind?
JS used to wear a nice green scarf at Russell Street; had Kangol advertising in the window he picked up at a boot sale somewhere.
Spoiled for many by the likes of Oasis getting onto it.
KingstonIan might well have something interesting to say on this subject.
My Total scarf is 100% silk but I think many were rayon
I have a made in USA Kangol flat cap but I don't think of it as Ivy. Perhaps another grey (gray) area?
I had a couple of USA-made Kangol. I'd like to know more of their story. These were green plaid.
Kangol hats I think of Samuel L. Jackson or various USA hip hop or rap artists. Not Ivy in my eyes but a cross over from UK to USA?
And I wear my Kangol like a 'peeky blinder' and not back to front, logo showing, Samuel L. Jackson. One logo I don't mind.
Just referring, on another thread, to a DW posters interest in Nik Cohn's 'Gentlemen' book.
It reminds me, slightly, of that odd period when teenage boys fancied looking like city gents, thus showing how clueless they were. Where I grew up, we didn't know a city gent from a railway porter. Yet we blinked over the covers of those lurid NEL paperbacks at hard nuts wearing Crombies with big shoes and coloured socks. Who led that 'style'? One tried to imitate it on little money - not successfully. We mixed in 'Ruperts' with snide Crombies and shoes with wedges. Bad.