IVY: THE LOOK THAT NEVER WENT AWAY
You may already be familiar with Jimmy Frost Mellor. Be it as a Menswear Consultant or perhaps from the often fascinating, extremely knowledgeable and mildly strange forum world of Talk Ivy (found inside the vaults of Film Noir Buff-http://www.filmnoirbuff.com/)
Whatever form or guise you may know him from it is true to say his knowledge of mid century American fashion is bar to none so with that in mind JFM has kindly penned this shopping guide to a practical, affordable and most importantly easily available Ivy outfit.
Get the Ivy look………..
Classic American ‘Ivy League’ style has provided a kind of bass line to my life. It’s always there in the background, sometimes coming forward to take a solo, but mainly just chugging along nicely keeping things interesting. It’s a style that can be as unobtrusive as you want it to be, letting you fly under the radar or stand out just as much as your mood dictates. Also it’s a look that never went away, despite people trying to unnecessarily re-brand it as ‘Preppy’ or ‘Trad’. The ‘Ivy League’ style has always been there - As fresh and relaxed as ever. For this Spring / Summer I’d recommend: A plain White crew neck T.shirt worn under a Madras buttondown. The contrast of the White T. with the vibrant colours of the Madras sets each item off perfectly. Landsend always have great inexpensive Madras shirts each year complete with timeless traditional American styling. I like this one especially just now, £35:
Over the top, just a plain cotton, undarted (plain fronted), ‘natural shouldered’ jacket - A jacket with minimal, if any, shoulder padding which conforms to the natural shoulders of the wearer. Other ‘Ivy details to look out for are a three button front which ‘rolls’ to a two button buttoning stance so the third, topmost, button lies within the curve of the lapel as you button the middle button. 1/4” topstitching around the lapel and the seams of the jacket are also very ‘Ivy’ along with patch pockets: Two patch and flap pockets below with an upper patch pocket on the chest. J. Keydge produce the best on the market today - £159 from John Simons, Chiltern Street, London (mail order available).

Trousers should be narrow, but not skinny, and sit on the natural waist. They should also end at a point midway around the ankle to stop them folding all over your loafers untidily. There are endless ‘Ivy’ options to chose from - Chinos, Cords, Jeans… Five pocket ‘Needle’ (fine) Cord or Bedford Cord (even finer) jeans are very popular just now and have been an ‘Ivy’ staple since forever. I really like the look of these Levis, but many other brands also produce them. The look is the important thing, not the label or the price tag:

Penny Loafers have to be the most ‘Ivy’ option when it comes to shoes - Especially in a deep cordovan coloured reddy-brown variously called ‘Oxblood’ or ‘Wine’. Beyond the Penny loafer are tassel loafers, beefroll loafers, fringe and buckle loafers, fringe and tassel loafers… A whole world of options opens up. I really like the original Bass Weejun loafer, but I’m going to recommend another old favourite instead - The Sebago Beefroll loafer also known as the Sebago ‘Classic’:
Hardwearing, classic American ‘Ivy League’ style easily available from most high streets - Russell and Bromley always have them in stock. Expect to pay around the £160 mark. And that’s it! No great mystery to the style. In fact most of the items are pretty ordinary, it’s only their very specific styling details that make them ‘Ivy’ rather than just any old checked shirt, cotton jacket, jeans & loafers. So enjoy ! Jimmy Frost Mellor.
















