Glamour, Tweed, Interior Design, Fire and Brimstone all clamour for space in the new edition.
The new edition, CHAP Spring 25, gathers the glamorous, the bizarre, the occult and the stylish all under one immaculate banner. Captain of the Good Ship Chap is Dame Joan Collins, with a look back at some of the early gems of her grand career in film and television. We then meet Edward Tudor Pole, former Sex Pistol, frontman of Tenpole Tudor and erstwhile host of the Crystal Maze, who shares his tales of treading the boards with Rex Harrison, recording with Malcolm McLaren and doing Chrissie Hynde’s laundry.
Humphrey Bogart’s lifelong loyalty to Italian hat maker Borsalino is understood, with a visit to the new London branch to acquire a made-to-measure Fedora in Bogart style. Further sartorial features take a sadder note when we recall the wonders of menswear brand Old Town, who closed their doors earlier this year. A door, however, that is truly open to the curious aesthete is that of Viktor Wynd’s Museum of Curiosities, Fine Art and Unnatural History, through which we enter to examine the peculiar delights therein, which include an entire cabinet devoted to Sebastian Horsley.
How can a Chap or Chapette apply the grandeur and elegance of their wardrobe to the dwelling which they inhabit? Ben Irurzun, dandy contestant from last year’s Interior Design Masters on the BBC, shares the design secrets he gleaned from a combination of the work of Hollywood designers Billy Haines and Dorothy Draper and old issues of Practical Woodworker. And if exterior design is more your thing, then join us on a flaneur’s tour of Hong Kong’s stationery shops, Bruce Lee museums and vintage clothing emporia.
Last year marked The Chap’s silver jubilee, a celebration shared this year by Vivien of Holloway and Brighton’s Hotel Pelirocco. We marked the silver triumvirate by taking some of Vivien’s fifties frocks and shirts to the Diana Dors suite at the hotel, to photograph them under the watchful gaze of Diana’s portrait. Other sartorial insights in this edition include a visit to Savile Row tailor Redmayne 1860, where we learn the dark secrets of the trade from head cutter Thomas Mahon.
Further occult mysteries are revealed in the tale of the long-running Hellfire Club, which first opened its obscenely carved doors in London in 1718. We chart the club’s descent into infamy and the dissolute lords, ladies and gentlemen it took with it. Lesser known adherent to the dark arts was Sammy Davis Jr, whose fondness for the Church of Satan is revealed, along with the less surprising tale of Dean Martin’s relationships with alcohol and Frank Sinatra.
It may come as a surprise that Richard Burton was not born with that name, and he might never have come to our attention were it not for the patient mentoring of Philip Burton, whose nurturing of the young rebel’s acting talent is explored in a new film starring Toby Jones and Harry Lawtey. We review the film’s Wartime authenticity as well as the acting. Further WWII tales come in the form of a spin in a Spitfire simulator at Runway Flight Simulators by our transport correspondent, who happens to be the son-in-law of one of the lesser-known flying aces of the Second World War.
All this plus Am I Chap?, Vicar Spotting, Book reviews and Wilde Wit. CHAP Spring 25
