Books

Ivy Style: Radical Conformists book

Ivy Style: Radical Conformists
Ivy Style: Radical Conformists
Note that I independently write and research everything in this article. But it may contain affiliate links.

Judging by the discussions we used to have on the forums, it’s obvious that a good number of you are interesting in the ivy league look, both past and present. Which means you are also likely to be interested in this Ivy Style: Radical Conformists book, which publishes soon via the Yale University Press.

I’ve just spotted it on the Amazon ‘coming soon’ pages, so the only details I have about the book are what’s listed on that page. It’s multi-authored book (Patricia Mears, G. Bruce Boyer, Christopher Breward, Christian Chensvold, Peter Mcneil and Masafumi Monden according to the write-up) and covers 224 pages. It is also a hardback release.

As for the content itself, it looks to be a pretty definitive history on the face of it. It focuses on menswear dating from the early 20th century through to the modern era, traces the main periods of the look – for example, the interwar years when classic items, such as tweed jackets and polo coats, were appropriated from the English man’s wardrobe and redesigned by pioneering American firms such as Brooks Brothers and J. Press for young men at elite East Coast colleges.

It then covers the 1945 to the late 1960s, when ivy staples were worn by students and jazz musicians, before heading to the modern era, looking at the revival of the look since the 1980s, taking in noted wearers of the look along the way (the Duke of Windsor, Steve McQueen, Paul Newman, and Miles Davis are mentioned), plus designers who have used the look for the current generation of buyers.

It sounds like an interesting read, but it would be be good to see any early reviews of this. If you want to take a chance, the book is on pre-order at Amazon ahead of the 1st October shelf date, with those pre-orders at £19.50 (compared to the £30 full price).

Find out more at the Amazon website

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