Great knitwear and cords. On the pricy side. No free catalogue.
Never read much about them on here.
They kitted Miles out circa '59, yes?
Any fans?
love 'em.
don't own a thing 'cause i can't afford it but oh if i could!!
http://www.paulstuart.com/product_info.cfm?ProdID=2394&ProdCatId=1008&MainCatId=14&HEADERMENUID=1&SUBPRODCATID=0
i like those. they're similar to the loake eton which in suede i prefer to the weejun/sebago classic.
I've got a couple of jumpers - one cashmere, one Shetland - and a pair of baggy cords. Eye-watering pricewise, I agree, but worth a glance on Ebay?
I am a fan. I used to shop there when I lived nearby. Very pricey. I have found other less pricey alternatives. Also, not really pure Ivy. Seems more of a dandified updated look. Tony V wrote a great piece about their updated American silouette.
There's a definite European slant, Italy especially. No one I know knows them (if you follow me...), and I picked up one of their raincoats for £1.99 on Ebay UK. That's because, according to a reliable source, 'no one in England has heard of Paul Stuart'. I sold it on to a guy in Germany, who seemed pleased with it. Not been tempted by much, but I wear the cashmere jumper most weeks.
Deffo sounds like my kinda thing, been aware of the brand for some time but don't think I'll be able to find it anywhere in my country ? Should look into it methinks....
Well, it can be a problem. I admire the principle, wholly.
Last edited by Alex Roest (2009-04-11 02:22:19)
No, no, no... don't apologise... I love to see it going off at a tangent, and I'm sure others do, too... I admire your strength of character, believe me, having gone through the entire 'Do I look adorable?' schtick in my early years... Now I'm caught between a slouch and a hard case...
Is there a store in London?
I saw someone with a paul stuart bag today and wanted desperately to ask whether they'd just visited a store here but i was on a bus.
Mm... seems doubtful, adam. Maybe a tourist. Another reliable source tells me that, thirty and more years ago, they were regarded as less classy than Brooks; more on the Press level. I'd be inclined to give them a miss nowadays, on the grounds of cost and lack of Ivy credibility.
WHen I bought from there, quality was very good. I imagine it still is. I wouldn't get a suit from them because I pretty much have my one shop for suits, and they know how I like them. But Stuart was a sort of anglo-inspired American shop. A bit of elegance, maybe inflected with a sort of Upper East Side, or mid-town leisurely aesthetic. More "alive" than Brooks. I like dead, so I like Brooks. Or whatever Brooks once was. I'd say that in some ways, there's affinities between Andover and Stuart.
edit: my wife bought a pair of trousers there last fall. They were English-made, very nice. Sort of slimmed-down version of a Katherine hepburn trouser. I don't know when they started selling woman's stuff, but I think it was more popular than the Brooks woman's department which didn't grow very big until later, though they did have some women's stuff way way back. Just sparse -- maybe not even a department onto itself.
Last edited by Horace (2009-07-04 00:40:41)
We're talking about quite a long time ago, though, adam, when Brooks was still a New York-New England mainstay. As far as I'm aware their stores are in New York, Chicago and Tokyo; nowhere else. They do nice, very conservative repps - I have a couple: very William Buckley 'God and Man At Yale': dullness has its merits for the older Ivy dresser. I don't know: just try comparing vintage Brooks with Paul Stuart on Ebay - the simplest way to do it I should've thought - and see what conclusions you draw. Frankly, the navy blue cashmere jumper I had recently - Brooks - seems at least as classy as the maroon one I've had for a couple of years - Paul Stuart. But, for nice soft cashmere, nothing touches old Alan Paine!
It remains beyond me why so many those who claim an interest in this style of ours don't have those convo's with some of the American (or English) haberdashers of old, Brother Horace. Instead they just Google away & fill their heads with Wiki 'facts'... Lazy & dumb.
And there's also this horrible circular thing online of online people talking to online people, bloggers talking to bloggers. It all props itself up & it's all based on the most shakey of foundations.
Talk to the primary sources while we still have them - Never mind what second-hand, edited distillations of their words you can find on the blogs.
Showing a renewed interest, at least in their knitwear, after a couple of years or more of abstention. I like the connection that is made above with the Andover Shop. Beware, however, the 'tuxedo slippers' - and some outerwear unless you've got deep pockets.
http://thesuitroom.tumblr.com/post/12210686452/real-heritage
I was so happy when I found this jacket, because it bridged the things I love about Ivy with the things I like about Phineas Cole.
I was given a chambray bd from Paul Stuart's sale by a NY pal, similar material to GG's Mercer....
I always look at their offerings on Ebay. Always. Yet never swoop on anything. I've seen the very occasional shirt in a particular 'vintage' shop I go to. But the cashmere v-neck I had, though luxurious, did not last. A Shetland crew neck needed repairing in the shoulders. The cords were nice enough, though pleated. Yet I still look. One day, maybe...
I think I missed-out on the golden age of Paul Stuart as an Ivy destination.
When I visited it a few years ago it was very high end contemporary. Beautiful clothing that looked exceptionally well made but more European or RL purple label in style than Ivy.