Fashion Archives - The Chap

3rd December 2019 Fashion

The Teba Jacket

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 aristocratic country set, an Andalucian take on the Hacking Jacket that came to be known as the Teba Jacket. It was named after the snappily titled Don Carlos Mitjans y Fitz-James Stuart, XXI Conde de Teba y XV Conde de Baños, Grande de España, or… Keep Reading

4th October 2019 Fashion/Features

Chap To The Future

Wherever you look in pop culture, you will see signs of our beloved Chap Fashion. Whether you are looking into a far-flung cyberpunk future or back to the romanticised past of fantasy worlds, there are clues and signposts all over the place to the classic influences that brought us here. Why have a few very specific time periods had such a large influence on our huge entertainment industry? Take my hand, oh dapper one, and let us go on a journey of discovery through the history of pop culture to find out. As a young person, I’m pretty sure that… Keep Reading

14th March 2019 Fashion/The Chap Wears

Sussex Tweed

You know when you get a new pair of brogues, and then all your other brogues suddenly look tired, old and worn-out next to them? Acquiring a Sussex Tweed cap has the same effect on all your other tweed caps. My collection of bakerboy caps numbers only a modest seven, but when The Windover joined them on the hat stand, they all seemed to cower in humility next to this officer-class piece of headwear. The Windover was presented to me on an occasion that had something of the Japanese Tea Ceremony about it. But the English version, with pints of… Keep Reading

12th February 2019 Fashion

King of the Underworld

A while back, purely because I was very prominent during the 1980s and ran landmark clubs during the so called New Romantic era, some chump on that social media malarkey would not accept that, at that time, I was not wearing copious amounts of make-up. I, of course defended my corner as, being 6 foot 2 and 14 stone with a noticeably broken nose and a few facial scars to boot, blusher and eyeliner were not entirely ideal. He also said that I must have sported frilly shirts and big shoulder pads. Luckily for us both, I didn’t know where… Keep Reading

7th October 2018 Fashion/The Chap Wears

Cordings of Piccadilly

An association between a 1960s blues guitar legend and an English country clothing store seems unlikely, but it is just this odd, eccentric twist on the traditional that makes Cordings of Piccadilly unique among its Jermyn Street neighbours. Eric Clapton became co-owner of Cordings in 2003, but that milestone was only one of many in the company’s illustrious past. John Charles Cording opened his first shop as an outfitter and waterproofer in 1839 at 231 Strand, manufacturing and selling mackintoshes developed by Charles Mackintosh. Cordings became so well-known for outdoor clothing that when Sir Henry Morton Stanley was preparing for… Keep Reading

12th September 2018 Fashion

Star Wars Costumes

I know what you’re thinking. You’ve turned the page in your favourite sartorial magazine and found yourself staring upon the plebeian face of science fiction, and not just any science fiction, Star Wars, the refuge of raggedy old men with funny light up swords, and princesses with bagels stuck to their heads. I understand this might be slightly shocking after the eloquent discussions on which neck wear you should don to impress the chaps at the club, but I would like all of you to keep a broadish mind for a few moments, and allow me to argue the case… Keep Reading

11th September 2018 Fashion/Features

Princess Margaret

In previous articles of ‘The Dandy Doctor,’ I’ve explored Dandies like Marlene Dietrich and Eartha Kitt – women who were labelled by their contemporaries as ‘difficult’, ‘cold,’ ‘cruel,’ and even mad. The same traits that we often associate with male Dandies (affection for excess, icy demeanour, cutting wit), when seen in a female Dandy are often unfairly interpreted as a marker of instability – something Princess Margaret Rose discovered to her detriment. Born 21 August 1930, Margaret was four years Elizabeth II’s junior, but by all accounts their relationship was one of intimate closeness. Elizabeth even had a dedicated phone… Keep Reading

7th August 2018 Fashion/News

The Chap Autumn 2018

The Chap Autumn 18 is available from thechap.co.uk Our main interview is with actor Timothy Spall, who speaks about his new film Stanley, a Man of Variety, as well as impersonating Terry-Thomas during the interview. Other meetings with remarkable men include Dandy Wellington (above), New York bandleader, impresario and dandy, and Lance Richardson, author of the first biography of Tommy Nutter. Our new travel section includes a vintage voyage along the Nile in the company of Pandora Harrison, while author Paul French takes us on a walking tour of 1930s Shanghai. New Chap writer Chris Sullivan, founder of 1980s style… Keep Reading

23rd July 2018 Fashion/Uncategorised

Tweed on Film

During the early decades of cinema, tweed on film was just as ubiquitous as it was in real life, often worn by honest, homespun gentlemen of taste. Think James Stewart in one of several tweed suits during George Bailey’s fateful Christmas Eve in It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) or John Wayne’s Irish tweed sport jacket making a positive impression when his character returns to his ancestral home in The Quiet Man (1952). Lovely examples, to be sure, but nothing groundbreaking in terms of how it was worn. Even the more villainous tweed wearers of this era were still urbane chaps… Keep Reading

5th July 2018 Fashion

The Chap Olympiad 2018

The Chap Olympiad 2018 took place on Saturday 14th July in Bedford Square Gardens, Bloomsbury. Never in the field of human clothing was so much worn by so many; especially considering the 28-degree heatwave that swamped London that day. Ignoring details such as climactic conditions, Brown-in-Town, appropriate daywear for a civilised garden party, the guests at the event gave it their sartorial ace-in-the-hole, turning up in a more eclectic and extraordinary range of outfits than one would believe possible, to an event whose dress code only stipulates “Dress Up” and “No sportswear”. We had Madame Pompadours, eccentric travellers, a multitude… Keep Reading

5th July 2018 Fashion/News/Uncategorised

Gareth Southgate’s Lucky Waistcoat

For years, The Chap has been championing the importance of men observing ancient codes of sartorial correctitude. We feel that such dress rules have persisted for centuries because they are signifiers of something higher than mere clothing. Not to wear tweed in the city has no practical purpose, other than to signify to other gentlemen that you are “in the know”; adhering to the rules that subtly express “we are all in it together”. Wearing the right combinations of clothing, as well as making aesthetic sense, is also a desire not to offend. The idea of being “rebellious” by wearing… Keep Reading

26th June 2018 Fashion/The Chap Wears

Hornets Kensington

A fashion photoshoot at Hornets Kensington is not just people with cameras taking pictures of people in clothes. It is an opportunity to immerse oneself in the world of Bill Hornets, doyen of this parade of little vintage menswear shops along a quiet alley in Kensington, where so much more than mere clothes is purveyed. On a sunny day in midsummer, Kensington Church Walk offers a shady old-world thoroughfare, light years away from the architect’s drawing come-to-life of chainstore dystopia that is Kensington High Street. This quiet, Georgian, leafy little quarter of W8 is presided over by shop windows bearing… Keep Reading