Tag: #IvyStyle

  • Visiting Crowley Vintage & Antiques

    This past weekend, Saturday to be exact, I made the pilgrimage to Crowley Vintage & Antiques in DUMBO, Brooklyn. I had to go to the REI Flagship store to exchange my hiking boots as they were half a size too small, pick up a daypack too, and since I was so far downtown, if I just went a few more stops on the F train, I could be in DUMBO. Crowley Vintage & Antiques is open to the public on the weekends now, so I thought what the hell, I’ll go check it out.

    Back in March, I wrote a blog about my interest in Ivy Style clothing, and that I followed @crowley_vintage on IG. At the time when I wrote the blog, I made a joke about the place being way out of my price range, but I still kept following Sean Crowley’s posts as I wanted to stop by his store one day. I think what I am fascinated by is the act of looking formal. We all have gone over a year being extremely casual, and even when I was working, which was in the arts – a notoriously idiosyncratic casually dressed industry – I preferred to dress for work in a tie and sportscoat.

    When I made it to DUMBO, I found the building easily; Getting to the shop took me a minute. Clearly, I took a wrong turn, and was forced to take an elevator to the third floor, but soon enough I found the shop which was located across from a staircase I somehow missed finding on the first floor.

    Crowley Vintage & Antiques was exactly how it is presented on IG. Not a very big shop, but organized very well so nothing feels overwhelming or random. I went looking for the Summer Madras shirts and sportscoats, which was an immaculate collection. Everything was a quality piece and in very good shape. I especially liked the collection of framed pictures, which I was very tempted to ask about. I didn’t, as I thought of this as a fact-finding mission. Though Sean greeted me as I came in, I didn’t converse with him, as I wanted to experience the shop for myself. I was in the shop for about thirty minutes, and I did enjoy myself. I have a feeling I will return when I need to add a better piece to my wardrobe, or if I have an event to attend, and want to have something special.

    As I walked out of the shop, I took the staircase down, which put me to the left of the exit/entrance of the building. (See, I took a wrong turn, that’s all.) As I was about to head out of the building, a guy walked in, looked left and right and then asked me, “Do you happen to know where Crowley Vintage is?”

    “Hang a left and up the stairs.” I said.

  • Dressing Up Ivy Style

    Of the many things I did this weekend, I spent a good amount of time online, “window” shopping for shirts. Like, the type of Oxford solid colored shirts that I would wear to work. You know, when I had a job. I would look at these shirts on sale at J Crew and UniQlo, and think about how nice it would be to put on nice clothes for a reason.

    In the past year of lock down, I have bought three pair of shoes (running shoes, low-top All-Stars, and moccasin slippers) one pair of jeans, and pajamas. That’s it. My wardrobe has been stuck in stasis; an atrophy of style.

    I dress up for my kid’s doctor appointments. Not that I am trying to impress anyone at the pediatrician’s office. It’s just nice to have a reason to tuck in a shirt.

    I know this is a big reason that I am following so many #ivystyle people on Instagram. I like reminding myself that there was a formal world out there. That I might have a need to look professional again, and I should keep an eye out for a good tweed jacket, and the ties that would match with it.

    In that regard, I have been following Sean Crowley’s IG @crowley_vintage. From what I can gather, Sean used to be a designer at Ralph Lauren, and now has a shop in DUMBO on Front Street, by appointment only. His shop looks like a wonderland of Ivy/Oxford inspired style. I would like to set an appointment and stop by, but Covid, and the fact that I have a good feeling that items on sale at this store are WWWWAAAAAYYYYYY out of my price range, make me hesitant. I don’t want to expose myself to the disease, and I don’t want to waste Sean’s time if I cannot purchase anything, as I am still unemployed.

  • Secret Fascination: Ivy League Style

    I have a secret fasciation that I use Instagram to indulge in; I follow several profiles that display clothing in the “Ivy League” style. I have also heard it called “Oxford Style” as well.

    It started a while ago when I was dressing as professional as possible for work. And when I say “professional” for work, it really started off by tucking in my button-down shirt with my jeans, and threw a tie on it all. Then I moved on to khaki pants, and sportscoats got added. I felt like I was recreating a “preppy look” from high school that grungy me used to hate, but for some reason, I started to enjoy.

    In the name of exploring, I started looking to Instagram for help. I follow #ivystyle, and also @navyblueblazer, @oxfordclothbuttondown, and @arnoldsteiner, and it’s fun, and makes me sort of miss a time when I had to put on a “uniform” to go to work.

    But, there was this thought in the back of my head that couldn’t shake; this is kind of a conservative way of dressing, and I’m a pretty liberal person, so what’s up with me? Why am I interested in tweed, and blazers? Crew neck sweaters, and button-down shirts. Argyle socks, and tartan ties. Khaki pants and anything from L.L. Bean. And anything that is colored navy. To be blunt, it’s pretty WASP-y.

    Is this happening to me because I had a kid and turned 40? Is this because I want to live in New England? Or am I just getting tired of t-shirts and jeans? I’m never giving up my All-Stars, though. That’s just who I am.

  • Working for an Alcoholic

    I had a plan this morning on what I was going to blog about. I follow several “Ivy Style” people and stores on Instagram, and I wanted to write about how this has turned into a small obsession with me as I am looking forward to the day when I can put on a shirt, tie and sportscoat and go to work again, or see a play, or just be out of the house.

    As I began to write about this subject, I thought back as to when I started dressing in this “Ivy Style.” It was back when I was the number two at a rehearsal studio, and my boss was an alcoholic. He would show up hours late, hungover, would miss meetings that I would have to take over, and when he did arrive, he would look disheveled and unkempt. When his alcoholism truly got out of hand, by which he was sitting in his office and drinking all day in view of clients, I decided that I needed to demonstrate to our customers that I was the responsible one, and I decided to accomplish this I would begin wearing a shirt and tie to work.  

    And when I thought about working in that studio and with my alcoholic boss, a wave of emotions dropped over me; shame, annoyance, a sort of passive aggressive futile resignment, and anger. So much anger erupted in me. Anger at the owner for ignoring the problem because his business was booming in spite of the supervisor’s dereliction. And anger at myself for putting up with it for so long. For putting up with a situation I hated being in, but couldn’t muster the courage to leave. Eventually I did quite that job, but only after a year of unrelenting stress.

    These ancient memories and emotion have washed over me, and my day has now been sidetracked. I tried for about an hour to return to my original blog topic, which maybe I will get to another day, but every time I started on it, I kept going back to that time in my life. Over and over again. I just gave up and put this out. Maybe to let it go, maybe to say that there is still something lingering there that I haven’t dealt with. But something is there, because why would I have such a strong reaction to that period in time from so long ago?