‘Never Brown in Town’ goes the golden sartorial rule, but as we all know, ‘Town’ only refers to London, leaving vast swathes of the country, and indeed other countries, in which to wear the clothing of the country is entirely appropriate. If there is not at least one garment made of tweed in your outfit,… … Keep Reading
Michael Trubshawe’s entrance into the life of David Niven was as sensational as any of Niven’s stage or film entrances. Niven was stationed in Malta with the Highland Light Infantry between 1929 and 1931 as a very young officer. His reception by the other officers had been rather frosty – one refusing to speak to… … Keep Reading
Upon receiving an invitation to visit the famed Captain Fawcett factory of all things hirsute in Norfolk, my first concerns were sartorial. Would such a visit require the donning of white coats, plastic sunglasses and special safety equipment and, most importantly, would I be permitted to smoke my pipe? I buried these deep concerns for… … Keep Reading
2019 was a significant year for The Chap, with the celebration of 20 years of anarcho-dandyism and publication of our 100th edition in May. This special centenary edition featured the greatest chap of all time, Terry-Thomas, on the front cover and an interview with the greatest living chap Leslie Phillips. We also marked this momentous… … Keep Reading
Knightsbridge is the only London Underground station with six consecutive consonants in its name, but this is not the only remarkable aspect of that borough. Once ejected from the tube station into the glittering lee of Harrods, one can be forgiven for thinking one has been accidentally teleported into a Hollywood film with a Christmas… … Keep Reading
Fans of classic film noir of the 1940s are in for a treat with Motherless Brooklyn. Production designer Beth Mickle has restyled New York as a gritty, chiaroscuro city where everyone casts long shadows and on every street corner there’s a cool jazz joint full of sharply dressed hep cats. Willem Dafoe’s character Paul Randolph,… … Keep Reading
Images of southern Spain, usually composed of matadors, barrels of sherry, women in flamenco dresses and orange trees wilting in the heat, do not commonly include tweed jackets. It’s rarely cold enough in Andalucia to don even a waistcoat, never mind a full tweed ensemble. Yet during the 1930s there emerged, from the royal and… … Keep Reading
When m’learned colleague invited me to join him for a Chinese meal, my first thought was – isn’t at least one of us a little old to be gorging on cut-price fodder ordered in a dank Soho basement by pointing at lurid pictures on a laminated menu, to an oriental chap who makes a virtue… … Keep Reading
“It is so difficult to make a neat job of killing people with whom one is not on friendly terms.” Such is the laconic lament uttered by Dennis Price in his guise as Louis Mazzini in Kind Hearts & Coronets, the Ealing Comedy Classic. Louis is the peerless peer (oft by his own hand) who… … Keep Reading
Issue 102 of The Chap celebrates the mad, the eccentric and the maverick artiste, commencing with a surreal conversation between actor Tony Pitts and comedian Vic Reeves. We also meet Dexys frontman Kevin Rowland, who discusses his long musical career and allows us a glimpse into his immense personal wardrobe. Maverick icons featured include Marilyn… … Keep Reading
The City of London doesn’t look much like the set of Blade Runner. It looks more like the set of a Charles Dickens adaptation that ran out of budget and left the builders behind. One of the few parts of the City that looks complete is the Leadenhall Building, around the corner from Leadenhall Market.… … Keep Reading
UMC (Universal Music Catalogue) is releasing the first-ever official soundtrack to the series Peaky Blinders, in a two-CD set spanning all five series, which will also be available as a 3-record vinyl release. Since the opening credits of the first series, using Nick Cave’s menacing Red Right Hand to set the sinister tone, music has… … Keep Reading