http://www.ballyhoovintage.com/72/72211.html

Again in Cord but a different cut.

http://joehawkinsisonthelooseagain.blogspot.com/2008/01/mods-ivy-league-and-working-class.html

"After the 2nd World War a whole new-world literally opened up before peoples eyes. As rationing was phased out many products and influences entered the nation's senses. Most of these came from across the pond and nothing was more influential than clothing. In Soho the jazz bars would be full of American sounds and by the end of the fifties the clothes were also American. This was an East American cool that was based on the clothes that formed the Ivy League look from the influential colleges in America. Button-down shirts, penny loafers, wing-tip brogues and flat fronted chino trousers.


As the 50's became the 60's the sharp young lads around the cities of Britain began to appropriate this look but added Traditional English and European looks to it as well as the Jamaican rude boy look that the newly arrived immigrants had brought with them. By 1965 this was becoming a much sought after look and a lad from the East End of London called John Simons opened 'The Ivy Shop' on Richmond Hill. A shop that is, arguably, the most important menswear shop in Britain ever. Here he took the imported American clothes along with all the European and Jamaican influences and his tailoring skill and created the proper Modernist look. This wasn't the cartoon Carnaby Street mod that can be seen in Quadrophenia. There were no mirrors, rabbit tails and patches here. It was simple quality clothing. In 1969 he invented the Harrington Jacket that was a variation on the golf jacket that Ryan O'Neal's character Rodney Harrington wore in the then popular soap opera Peyton Place. That jacket is still a staple item in many a lad's wardrobe. "

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=197267017

"In brief I am a 29 year man originating from the rolling hills of Surrey with a passionate interest in music, especially Hard Bop Jazz. Ivy League Clothes, tailoring and all things Mod. I work in the remnants of what is the Music Industry in London and can often be found outside Bar Italia in Soho drinking coffee."

Sounds like a plan!

"The Influential Factor", Graham Lentz, GEL Publishing, 2002.

John Simons recalls The Squire Shop:

"We didn't bring in the Baracuta Harrington until 1967, exactly the same time as Payton Place was on TV. Harrington was the name of they wre known by over here, but they were always known as Baracutas in the United States. We noticed the character from Peyton Place, Rodney Harrington was wearing them and we started calling them the 'Rodney Harrington jacket' and that eventually got shortened to Harrington. Now it's become a generic name for that style, or even any zipper style of jacket.

We had the Squire shop in Brewer Street at that time. Stuart Malloy, the manager of Jones and Quincy's, a shop in Covent Garden, started with me as well. He was a mate from Bristol I met in the West End. He helped build the Squire Shop. It was an old butchers before we moved in. We created this kind of baronial hall with all these Ivy League clothes in there.

We sold Truval Korea Club shirts. Ben Sherman bought Korea Club shirts from us. I think that's how he started. He was an American who had a shirt factory in Brighton. We pre-dated him and what he was doing at the time.

We'd get a lot of black guy's coming to The Squire Shop. They were into button downs, brogues and plain caps. They called brogues and plaincaps 'blockbusters' and loafers were known  as 'de canoes'.

There was quite a time when West Indian guys were into the Ivy look. They all queued up on Saturdays for brogues and if you didn't have their size, they'd take a different size!!

We kept with the Ivy League look. A Modern Jazz look. The customers were younger than us, what I would describe as Suedeheads. Wearing authentic button downs, short-ish college boy haircut, quite hard guys, but not really hard. They were smart though.

We were unique. No one had done what we had done. The look worked well. It could be manipulated to produce something else. I think it mutated into the Skinhead look.The early Skinheads were really smart. The ones who wore the cheaper end - the later Jaytex look - they weren't very smart.

I've never stocked or sold a Jaytex nor a Ben Sherman in my life. We only sold the authentic item.
The Squire Shop opened in '69. It closed about 1980 or sometime around then. I sold my interest in the shops, but I created them and opened them."

The first raincoats sold at The Ivy Shop were John Simons' own designs under the 'Albany' label, as were the first shirts sold there. People forget that JS was a designer before he was ever a shop owner...
The raincoats, like the shirts, were made up in Walthamstow (I think) and had button-down 'Peter Pan' (rounded point) collars.

Now here's a story:

Imagine it's the Spring of 1990 & I'm on the Piccadilly line heading up towards Soho up from Knightsbridge. I've got another job interview because I'm always looking for the next move & I've just got married, but I'm still a bit pissed because it's 2PM & my lunch hasn't worn off yet...

Sitting across from me on the tube is this Asian Guy in a Camel Hair, 3/4 length, button-down Peter Pan collar overcoat with his hair buzzed down to millimeters and the kind of profile you see in all the best Egyptian art. White plain point shirt, Navy Silk thick & richly woven tie... I still remember that tie...

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/46/Nefertiti_30-01-2006.jpg

Yeah, he's Gay... And there's nothing 'Ginger' about me, but the guy had looks, I'll grant him that. Lovely engaging smile too... Fair enough.

So he hits on me because I can't take my eyes of his coat and he thinks that it's him that I've fallen deeply in love with at first glance  not his schmutter... And we chat for a bit, but I have this job interview to go to & I am deep, deep, deep in debt after the 80's & all my trips to the US so I can't go for a drink with the cat like he wants to & talk about clothes because I'm already 25 & I need to earn some money now & get my finger out because I've pissed away my life so far & I really need to change or I will surely sink and who wants to do that at 25?

... So I went to the interview & I got the job, but it turned out to be shit & so I walked away after a bit, and I never saw the cat in the BD collared overcoat again. But more to the point I never saw that overcoat again.

Life, eh?

If I could go back I'd have spent that afternoon with that cat in Soho getting royally pissed & chatting about clothes... And we might still even be mates today.

Regrets? Yeah, I've had a few...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEbgB6X6S5c

Jim.

Ginger Beer - Queer.

I've never seen a BD collar overcoat before or since - never seen a BD collar raincoat either come to that.
Brooks had a BD collar Harrington-esque zipper jacket a couple of years back.

Not from London, but from yesterday down by the sea - Lacostes were everywhere on girls & boys alike. Also lots of new dark denim 501's on the chaps (Girls were in ultra short skirts & very flat shoes). Even old buggers were wearing Lacostes.
No Chinos spotted at all. It was all denim on those who were hip & not wearing shorts or Jams.
Hair was still Beckham-esque & trainers were all snowy white - Various brands, but having no knowledge or interest I paid no attention.

Back at the car park at 6pm some cats were stripping off their Jams, but keeping on their Lacostes on to wear under various dark suits for the evening drinking & then clubbing.

http://www.davidbeckham.com/blog/

http://www.lacoste.com/gbr/main.html?dinsight=1904&kwsl=12510000

- Nothing at all to do with Ivy, but more NeoPrep maybe. Preppy style being subverted.

J.

FP is a very good example of what you mean...

Sussed!

j.

Last edited by Alex Roest (2008-06-11 08:21:06)