Colin Cameron touches the Douglas Hayward-constructed hem of the great British actor, to learn which of his films Michael Caine considers masterpieces and which ones he only made to fund some of his residences. We know you as Sir Michael Caine, Oscar winner, but you began life as Maurice Joseph Micklewhite junior, which morphed into… … Keep Reading
Gustav Temple visits Master Hatter Jayesh Vaghela at Lock & Co to have his original Edwardian top hat restored. Where do you start when restoring an original Edwardian top hat such as mine?The first thing I do is give it a good clean, using plain old tap water. One of the main reasons for the… … Keep Reading
Sunday 16th June is the Day of the Dad, when fathers across the land emerge from whatever wooden building they spend the rest of the year hiding in, to be showered with gifts from their offspring. We’ve all seen that look on pater’s face when he unwraps the hoe you bought him from the garden… … Keep Reading
Over a hundred dapper chaps and chapettes sauntered sans purpose through London. On Sunday 5th May 2024, a crowd assembled at the junction of Piccadilly and Jermyn Street, London W1. Usually the only notable aspect of this corner is the life-size statue of the great dandy Beau Brummell, but on this day even the Beau… … Keep Reading
Gustav Temple and Alexander Larman sample the carnivorous delights of an elegantly art deco eaterie in London. What kind of a name is ‘Air’ for a street? one might ask, while meandering on the frontier between St James’s and Soho in search of a restaurant. Surely all streets contain air – although in this smog-filled… … Keep Reading
Gustav Temple meets the man who put ‘Chap’ into Hip Hop and called it ‘Chap Hop’. The full interview appears in CHAP Winter 23 I understand you’ve just finished your never-ending tour – or was it a never-beginning tour?I’m always effectively on tour, but every now and again you just bracket things – I’ve just… … Keep Reading
In an excerpt from CHAP Spring 24, Torquil Arbuthnot provides a chronology of the publication from 1999 to 2012. 1999 A chance meeting in the Portobello Road leads to the founding of The Chap magazine, when penniless artist Vic Darkwood chances upon boulevardier Gustav Temple’s market stall. Temple is selling “genuine” pieces of celebrity masonry,… … Keep Reading
The Chap will celebrate 25 years of publication with our grandest party ever on 12th October. There have been many ‘nights of a thousand waistcoats’ over the years, but 2024 is the year for the grandest chap party of all. This year we celebrate twenty-five years on magazine racks and doormats, and thus shall be… … Keep Reading
The Chap marks 25 years of publication with a special commemorative issue. This year – 2024 – will be the 25th year of publication for our humble organ. To mark this momentous occasion, we are publishing a special silver jubilee edition. Gracing the front cover is uber-Chap, suave gadabout and all-round-good egg David Niven, who… … Keep Reading
2024’s saunter sans purpose also marks 25 years of The Chap Magazine. This year sees two very special milestones for The Chap Magazine. We mark our Silver Jubilee, having first published in 1999, and we shall sally forth on the fourth Grand Flaneur Walk on Sunday 5th May 2024. Assembling as usual at midday beside… … Keep Reading
Gustav Temple enjoys the immersive nature of a new documentary about London’s notorious Scala Cinema. One of the memories that captures the essence of my mispent youth is of staggering out of the Scala Cinema at dawn, coming down from a cocktail of cheap speed and cornershop whisky, and bumping into a similarly dishevelled Shane… … Keep Reading
The new edition is spearheaded by chap-hop superstar Mr. B The Gentleman Rhymer. In his first full-length interview with The Chap, Mr. B expounds on his early years in the ghetto of East Cheam, Surrey, where he gained twin passions for British sitcoms such as Hancock’s Half Hour and rockabilly music, before being turned on… … Keep Reading