The Ivy League book
The Ivy League (published by Assouline) is Daniel Cappello’s in-depth profile of the 8 universities that make up the prestigious academic group. Himself a Harvard alumnus, Cappello provides valuable insight, particularly on his experiences at his alma mater. Overlooking the Harvard campus What becomes clear over the course of the book is that each university [...]
Ben L’Oncle Soul, London
Ben L’Oncle Soul, Koko, London 14.03.2012
Ronald Searle
The British artist and illustrator Ronald Searle died aged 91 on the 30th December 2011. Searle’s distinctive, scrawled style of illustration is instantly recognisable and is well known across the world, most famously seen in his St Trinian’s cartoon. St Trinians is set in a girl’s boarding school, based on Searle’s sister’s experiences at school [...]
Ben L’oncle Soul
This weekend past I went to see French soul sensation Ben L’oncle Soul and his band play at the Queen Elizabeth Halls on London’s Southbank. I first discovered Ben when he appeared on Jools Holland’s Later programme in October. Signed to Motown records, Ben sounds like a modern day Otis Redding or Wilson Pickett with [...]
A Privileged Life – review
Susanna Salk’s book ‘A Privileged Life – celebrating WASP style’ does exactly that. The lifestyle documented within has less to do with wealth or religion (as hinted by the acronym White Anglo Saxon Protestant) and more to do with a way of life that has been passed down through generations living on the East Coast [...]
Watercolour – Take Ivy
As a designer I spend much of my time drawing at work, but less of my time since my days at art school, painting. While once I had many free hours to work into layers upon layers of oil paint. Now I only have time for media which require less patience. Watercolour is one of [...]
Icons of Men’s Style – review
In contrast to the ever changing trends of women’s fashion, men tend to rely more on a small canon of iconic pieces, some may call them wardrobe staples, to dress throughout the year. In his new book Icons of Men’s Style, author Josh Sims charts the orgin and history of 52 iconic pieces. Divided into [...]
Take Ivy 8
The Sartorialist featured a photo of Shiro Itoh, in Florence this week, holding a book entitled ‘Take Ivy 8’. Apparently Itoh was involved in the original Take Ivy project and is now promoting this new take on the subject. Ivy Style’s early ‘review’ of the book doesn’t sound promising, implying the book’s photos are mainly [...]
Take Ivy – review
Take Ivy is a now legendary book which only became available in English translation in September 2010. The book is a study by four Japanese style enthusiasts, enamoured with the Ivy League universities of the US east coast. It is a wonderful snapshot in time – 1965 to be precise – which captures the spirit [...]
True Prep by Lisa Birnbach
True Prep by Lisa Birnbach is her follow-up to 80s offering The Official Preppy Handbook. It’s as silly and fun as the original, lighthearted and very tongue-in-cheek. She places the stereotypical 80s preps into the modern world including such minefields as technology and the web.
