Fitzgerald's Closet

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.

SNAP CRACKLE AND POPOVER

Yes its mid May! So very near that fabled time our hairy ancestors called summer. If they had a choice between going naked and these were available then, I’m sure they would be dancing round Stonehenge in JSA pop over shirts.

Available now from J. Simons, 46 Chiltern Street,W1U 7QR

Prices start from £89 

ALL WE ARE SAYING IS GIVE CHINOS A CHANCE

Like all good soldiers of fortune, I have been hitting the battlefield like a German railroad gun of late. Without going into the who’s, what’s and not forgetting the where’s, let’s just say after some not so fruitful endeavours, normal service will now be resumed. So, to fire off the rocket.. .
 
After the three years of rain in one day, the small glimpse of enthusiastic sun rays brought out every conceivable pair of chinos to behold. Feeling in somewhat of a ponderous state, I laid claim to a nearby bench and thought I would take a whimsical tour de force of this two legged military miracle and try to reach a conclusion of what makes the perfect chino and how to appreciate how wonderful they really are. 
 
The first problem we have to address is the reclamation and alteration of how a percentage of you readers perceive them. For like a coastal monastery they have been raped and pillaged by invaders who cannot communicate properly and walk around with snarling wild animals also. 
 
So let’s go back, let’s go back, let’s go way on way on back when (1846 in fact) during the height of Blighty’s colonial conquest where she was flexing her muscles in every continent worth its salt and Victoria’s thin red line was exactly that, red. Now of course the scarlet ensemble is a true testament to how a military man should look but when you’re dealing in hot, humid and very un-British climates, it can prove somewhat of a sticky situation (ho ho), especially as it makes the wearer a prime target to any sharp-shooter wanting to try his luck. It took the old grey matter of Sir Harry Lumsden, stationed in the Punjab to press down the button of sense by simply deciding that his pyjama trousers were far more comfortable than regulation issue; being lighter in weight and more roomy. To disguise the whiteness of his trousers, he dyed them a colour that would blend in with his surroundings creating a dust coloured camouflage. And as you would have it, the Hindu word for dust is khaki!

 

It doesn’t take Kafka to work out the advantages of this uniform in the desert and by 1848 all the Queen’s men serving in India were donning it, however Lumsden’s epiphany would not see active service as the official regulation uniform for British forces until 1884. 
 
Taking our lead, other countries jumped on the khaki bandwagon and before long every Tom, Dick and Pedro were decked out in this fabulous shade of dust. It was this battle wear craze that led America to adopt it for their own troops for the Spanish-American conflict of 1898; and here is where our little history lesson gains its point and purpose.
 
Following the conflict, one former Spanish colony that now flew the Stars & Stripes was the Philippines. Here they sold Chinese manufactured cotton khaki trousers based on the British khakis which in turn were sold on to stationed Americans. Being a former Spanish colony, the language was widely used there with many words entering the American dictionary. One such word was ‘chino’ which is Spanish for Chinese. In 1909, they became official US Army regulation standards. 
 
So, if we fiddle with the flux capacitor and McFly thirty six years later to the end of WW2, we find the millions of returning citizen soldiers to the US pre-equipped with their pair of 100% cotton twill wonder pants. And being somewhat attached and seeing the practicality/smart/casual and of course aesthetic appeal of chinos, they became staple wear across the US; most notably upon ex-serviceman returning to college.

Personally I first came in contact with them at 14 (that was in ‘95) at the time Mike D from the Beastie Boys was sporting them and he was ‘the man’ to me. I was also aware that they were a particular favourite slack of choice for South Central LA Hispanic gangs, usually worn with a vest and a Desert Eagle handgun poking out the back… also appealing to a young buck such as myself. Then, fourteen years later, I re-discovered the chino due to my emerging first dip into American fashion and now hold the same excitement and appreciation of them as I could imagine ex-service men do. Personally, a good example with all the right details is a direct link back through the military ages. Something oddballs as myself welcome! 

Everyone may seem to be wearing chinos; usually the worst sorts of people in things cheap, nasty and horrifically awful; from fashion victims to nouveau-preps to chavs with their elastic bottomed hybrid monstrosities (although technically not chinos in my eyes). 

You have to remember the real deal are a true classic and shouldn’t be treated as a staple for morons……….a real pair should be given the respect and a sly salute to the wonder that they truly are! 

Details to be aware of

Chino cloth should always be a medium to heavy cotton twill

Slim cut, square cut or the ultra – square cut WW2/Korean War are the ideal fits

Always flat fronted, right sided slit pocket with additional 5 – pocket design

Cinch back (if you can find a good pair) are highly desirable and add that extra sprinkle of Americana

Best sticking with all the shades of khaki i.e. British, taupe, olive, caramel, tan. Coloured chinos are a no no

To give yourself a fighting chance the rule of thumb is the more military looking the better

YOU CAN’T WIN ‘EM ALL

Emaciated?

Underfed?

Moi?

EXHIBIT 3

I am particularity pleased with this Truval Career Club shirt. I have been after one for a while and as you can imagine my boogaloo has always had something missing from it. Hopefully this sage number will bring out more of a hip fling.

EXHIBIT 2

The second recently purchased jacket unfortunatly has no makers label.

But condition again is flawless, notched lapels, 3/2 roll, un darted front in a fantastic Glen plaid flannel

Photos by Chris@styleStash

EXHIBIT 1

Made by Jack Krawcheck in Charlotte, SC - who (after a rather effort less web search by myself) ceased trading in 1995 after over 50 years. This slack is obviously a youths jacket but fits me fine..sleeves had to be lengthened 2” but luckily ample material was lurking in hem for the job. The  best thing is that the condition is flawless, so much so I don’t think it has ever been worn.

Here is the sellers original description which I couldn’t have made more alluring if I tried

Stunning check plaid flannel 3/2 roll sport coat in Olive, Black , & Tan with bright Purple & Blue secondary colors. Too finely woven to be considered a tweed(in my opinion) and very soft, possibly lambswool.

Notched lapel. 3 button front closure with lapel rolled for two button…2 1/2” lapel, when 3rd button is fastened..lapel is 2 1/4”. Swelled edging all around, even on the back. Two buttons per cuff. Jetted hip pockets with 2 flaps. Single center ‘hooked’ tail vent. Half lined in Brownish Gold satin, sleeves in Ivory satin. Satin banding on all fabric edges, typical of the 50’s.

 Photos by Chris@Style Stash

THE JOY OF ETS

I have to be honest with you all. I suffer from the condition known as ‘lackofnaturalshoulder’ in the jacket department. A terrible weakness that until of late has been rather hard to treat and caused all sorts of despicable feelings and self loathing. My symptoms are mainly chest and shoulder irregularities, in other words being a 37” chest. When this is your lot you are confined to a paradoxical no-man’s land where one side is a tad too small and the other is far too big. So for quite some time when cruising through the apocalyptic wasteland that is eBay, looking for the miracle of a vtg jacket/blazer/sport coat that firstly has all the correct details but will actually fit is something of an enigma. To be perfectly honest this has been a case of the Muddy Waters to me, I feel less of a man. My upper body has thrown a sartorial spanner in the works to the point where I envy the 38’ers and above.

Now persistence is key to anything (as my school master used to chant) and it is this persistent endless searching that lead me to Etsy not so long ago. Now for those that have not experienced the joys of Ets, it is an online market place for individual sellers specialising in vintage and handmade goods. The real beauty is that all items are at a fix price which removes the evils of eBay bidding and the dastardly tricksters that are breeding like rabbits there. Imagine a place where the auction sniper has been located and destroyed and you don’t have to sit up all night waiting for that timer to reach 10 seconds: pure euphoria. I should coco. The other USP is that 90% of sellers are located in the USA and are so far a joy to deal with.

So, after many a disparaging evening on eBay locating nothing, I have unearthed some absolute corkers. The feeling this has bestowed on me is similar to when you walk out of the confessional. You feel brand new revitalised and completely optimistic about everything.

So here are a few choice cuts of this months hunt.

IVY FOR THE YOUNG’UNS

I was thinking of collecting these sort of Ivy style kids pattern kits at one point. That was until I was told that it was going beyond my normal eccentricities by a friend. Point being, one day in the future when I am mature and sensible enough to begin producing, Mrs Fitz would have a wealth of Americana wear to make for them.

SHOE HORN? YES I HAVE IT