Our Summer 2018 edition, issue 96, is available to purchase online now and will be on magazine racks on 17th May. It is no small claim to make that it is probably the best-ever edition of The Chap, but no previous issue has so comprehensively gathered together so many vital strands of this thing they call “anarcho-dandyism”. First of all, we have an interview with comedy legend and all-round loveable Chap Michael Palin, whom that other loveable Chap Mr. B the Gentleman Rhymer met to discuss Monty Python, travel attire, Ripping Yarns and The Death of Stalin. Other features include a delve into sharp-suited style tribe the Hep Cats, plus a profile of their female icon Juliette Greco.
We also profile Patrick Leigh Fermor and his life among the artists of Greece, where he laid his hat after helping liberate Crete from the Nazis in 1943. At the other end of the sartorial spectrum we have a tribute to the flamboyant creation of Jason King, whose alter-ego Peter Wyngarde passed away earlier this year. Sartorial features include a fashion photo shoot at Mr. Fogg’s Residence in Mayfair with several eccentric dandies. Tweed on Film looks at the changing styles of tweed jackets in films, from James Bond in Goldfinger to Clint Eastwood in Dirty Harry. How to dress for a voyage across the Atlantic on a Cunard Liner, should the occasion arise, is addressed in great detail. We also review the splendid new book by Lance Richardson on Tommy Nutter’s stellar career, House of Nutter, as well as meeting Will Self’s erstwhile amanuensis.
It is Oscar Wilde season all over the world, and we have spoken to the key players in this sudden revival of the great wit’s oeuvre, including Freddie Fox and Rupert Everett, whose excellent film The Happy Prince comes out in June. We also review a new restoration of the Dam Busters coming out on the same date as this issue. Other literary features are Drinking with Philip Larkin, and playing chess with Joe Jaques, whose family invented its modern version, along with croquet, Ludo, Snakes and Ladders and Ping Pong.
All this plus Shooting the Cuffs, Koy Clothing, Rowing Blazers, a review of Simpson’s in the Strand and our new antiques column from market-roving peacocks Gosbee & Minns, makes this possibly the most splendid edition of our mighty organ ever.
The Chap issue 96, out on 17/05/2018 Available now from here