James Brown III: LIFE Magazine’s Face Of Ivy, 1954

This article from Christopher Sharp was originally posted by Christian Chensvold on September 12, 2014.  The name James M. Brown III may not be familiar to you, but every trad web surfer knows his face, the face of an undergraduate of 60 years ago. Brown is pictured above in a shot from LIFE Magazine’s 1954

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Tradified

From The Editor

Matthew Longcore, Ph.D.  Editor and publisher Matthew Longcore completed his Ph.D. in Humanities at Salve Regina University. His doctoral dissertation is titled “Dreaming Spires: Collegiate Gothic Architecture on American Campuses.” Matthew is a graduate of Trinity College and holds master’s degrees from Fairfield University, Harvard University, and Yale University. As an undergraduate, he majored in

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From The Archives

Clothes Mad: The English Ivy Obsession

Next up from the Ivy Style archives is this lively piece which originally ran in October of 2010. “Sussed” is one of those British slang terms that suggests maybe we really are divided by a common language. It is often used by fans of the Ivy League Look in England — finding its cognate in

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What’s In A Name? Heritage Brands

By Matthew Longcore What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. – William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet In celebration of our nation’s 250th anniversary, let’s take a look at the stories behind the names of American heritage brands. A memorable name is an important part


Gilded Age Fashion interview with author Elizabeth L. Block, PhD

By Isobel Harte Isobel Harte is an Ivy Style contributor who has written about pearls and cardigans. For all of us who are captivated by the clothing in period dramas such as Downton Abbey or The Gilded Age, art and culture historian Elizabeth L. Block, PhD, just published a book titled Gilded Age Fashion: More


America 250 Giveaway

Ivy Style and the Preppy Handbook Fan Club have teamed up with our friends at Brooks Brothers, The Andover Shop, Castaway Nantucket, and Blue Door Vibes for an America 250 Giveaway. To enter the giveaway, visit the Ivy Style page on Instagram. The winner will receive a fantastic collection of items including: BROOKS BROTHERS Limited-Edition


A Treasure Trove In Lancaster

By Matthew Longcore Father’s Day is this weekend and I am visiting my dad in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Lancaster is a beautiful place. My dad calls it “God’s country” and with good reason. The bucolic region has miles of lush farmland. The downtown area is surprisingly hip, a center for arts and culture with fine restaurants,


Protestant Deformation: Neurotic WASPs, 1990

Christopher Sharp presents this swan song of ’80s prepdom from the January 1990 issue of M Magazine, a post that originally ran on Ivy Style in July of 2009. In keeping with the neurotic WASP theme, the scans were taken at a self-consciously nonchalant angle. * * * I’ve had this magazine for almost 20


Trinity’s Preppy Culture Defined

by Matthew Longcore, Trinity class of ’94 This article originally appeared in the December 7, 2010 issue of The Trinity Tripod. It is official: Trinity is the preppiest college in New England. This proclamation was made by none other than Lisa Birnbach, author of the 1980 tongue-in-cheek bestseller The Official Preppy Handbook and co-author (with Chip


Madras Giveaway

Ivy Style and the Preppy Handbook Fan Club have teamed up with our friends at Brooks Brothers, Davey’s, Original Madras Company, and St Johns Fragrance Company for a Madras Giveaway. To enter the giveaway, visit the Ivy Style page on Instagram. The winner will receive a fantastic collection of items including: BROOKS BROTHERS No. 1


Ivy Style Father’s Day Gift Guide

By Matthew Longcore Father’s Day is an important day on the Ivy Style calendar. Many of us learned about classic men’s style from our fathers. My dad is an Ivy League guy. He attended Brown University as an undergraduate and Cornell University for his MBA. I was born in Ithaca, New York when my dad


Cable Car Clothiers

In 1980, The Official Preppy Handbook included Cable Car Clothiers, a San Franciso haberdashery in its “Where To Shop” guide. The store is described as follows: “San Francisco’s British Goods Store since 1939.” Cable Car’s clothing selection and the store’s ads use of such terms as “handsome,” “classic,” and “superior fit” are dead giveaways that


Ponderings of Prep

By Matthew Moskowski Ivy Style contributing writer Matthew Moskowski is a student at The Catholic University of America.  Matthew is enthused with bringing prep to campus. He is studying business management and philosophy and is an active member of the campus community. Matthew serves as Vice President of the Student Body, Vice President of the