News Archives - The Chap

14th August 2019 News

Chap Autumn 19 Edition

The Chap gallops into its second century, hot on the heels of publication of our 100th edition this May, with issue 101. Helen McCrory reveals the dark secrets of creating the role of Aunt Polly in Peaky Blinders, and we also meet Alison McCosh, who created all the male and female costumes on the series. We report on the Grand Flaneur Walk, with photographic documentation of the three global chapters in London, Dusseldorf and Los Angeles, with an accompanying tract on the history of the flaneur. Sartorial features include the British Shoe Company, Yarmouth Oilskins, Workwear Jackets and Frahm Clothing.… Keep Reading

13th August 2019 News

The Chap Olympiad 2019

The 2019 Chap Olympiad took place on Sunday 11th August at Firle Vintage Fair, the original date of Saturday 11th having been wiped out by a thoroughly unexpected Sussex storm. The Olympiad revelled in its new country location, on a beautifully manicured croquet lawn in the grounds of Firle Place, a Georgian country pile in the Sussex Downs, as part of a three-day festival celebrating vintage life in all its glory, with dozens of vintage clothes (including The Chap and Bobby and Dandy) and homeware stalls, a Victorian funfair, dancing girls in sequinned costumes, a classic car show and live… Keep Reading

5th August 2019 News

The 2019 Chap Olympiad

This year the legendary Chap Olympiad, instead of taking place in London, moves to a country location. At 1pm on Saturday 10th August, the Tournament of Tomfoolery will occur at Firle Vintage Fair in East Sussex. This year’s repertoire includes classic favourites Umbrella Jousting, Cucumber Sandwich Discus, Tug of Hair and Tea Pursuit, as well as a brand new event Picnic Vaulting. All the events at The Chap Olympiad have been designed to test the chappish mettle of contestants, rewarding them for the skills they naturally possess rather than any form of sporting ability. Umbrella Jousting requires precise co-ordination betwixt… Keep Reading

28th July 2019 News

War and Peace Revival

Panzer Tanks look much more authentic in rivers of mud. The weather had turned dramatically in late July, from the hottest day on record to weather that felt more like 1942 by the fifth and last day of the War and Peace Revival. Visitors to the Hop Farm, Kent were greeted by rivers of mud as soon as they stepped out of their cars, the continuing rain joining in with the efforts of all the displays to create the atmosphere of wartime Britain. Entrance to the main site is via the fictional village of Trentham, where the Home Front has… Keep Reading

13th June 2019 News

The Grand Flaneur Walk

On Sunday 14th July, a group of flâneurs assembled before the statue of Beau Brummell on Jermyn Street, London at midday. At precisely the same hour, another group of German flâneurs assembled in Dusseldorf, while yet another group in Los Angeles prepared to set off when the London walk reached its destination. This proved impossible, for all three walks aimed to explore the art of the flâneur, which is to walk without purpose or destination. Without plan, strategy or appointment and armed only with curiosity, an open mind and unlimited time, the flâneur walks among the crowds, oblivious to the… Keep Reading

15th May 2019 News

The Chap Centenary Edition

On 17th May 2019 The Chap publishes its 100th edition. This landmark special anniversary issue features all-time Chap icon Terry-Thomas on the front cover, with an in-depth look at the actor and bounder’s life and career, with some never-seen family photographs kindly provided by T-T’s niece. Our main interview is with another bounder/actor Leslie Phillips, whom Chris Sullivan met at his home to chat about his 100 films. Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall both feature as the ne plus ultra of Hollywood style, while Holly Rose Swinyard looks at how Chap style has influenced everything from blockbuster cinema to video… Keep Reading

23rd April 2019 News

Chap Events 2019

To mark publication of our 100th edition in May 2019, and celebrate 20 years of The Chap, we are giving readers three opportunities to mark these two milestones, occurring throughout the summer and autumn of 2019. 14th JULY: THE GRAND FLANEUR WALK A mass stroll in London on Sunday 14th July to celebrate the art of the flaneur – one who walks, usually very well-dressed, without aim or purpose but filled with curiosity. Participants are invited to join us at the statue of Beau Brummell on Jermyn Street, London at midday, preferably carrying a walking cane but those without perambulatory… Keep Reading

16th April 2019 News

Chap 20th Anniversary Party

This year The Chap celebrates 20 years of publication, with the 100th edition published on 17th May 2019. To mark this pair of highly significant milestones, we are hosting a spectacular party on Saturday 8th June in London. Long-established WWII-themed shindig The Blitz Party, hosted by Chap Olympiad partners Bourne & Hollingsworth, will provide an entire room specially for Chaps and Chapettes to celebrate with us. This particular Blitz Party occurs on the nearest Saturday to D-Day, making it an even more special occasion. While other guests cavort to live swing bands and DJs in the event’s many rooms, those… Keep Reading

12th February 2019 News

Spring Edition Out Now

As Olly Smith so eloquently puts it in his drinks column, “As the Lowlands lead to the Highlands, so the first hundred Chaps will surely lead to the second hundred.” This, our 99th edition, does not skimp on the usual packed measure of quality, variety and scope, beginning with an interview with Hollywood actor Billy Zane, a man whose sartorial obsessions easily matched this publication’s. Other chaps interviewed are Antiques Roadshow presenter John Bly, who confessed never to have broadcast sober, as well as towering British novelist William Boyd, musician Darren Hayman and rodeo tailor Manuel Cuevas. Chaps profiled who… Keep Reading

8th January 2019 News

Terry-Thomas

On this day in 1990, Terry-Thomas died at Busbridge Hall Nursing Home in Godalming, Surrey. Something of a Chap icon, in fact more of a spiritual godhead, Terry-Thomas personified the upper-class Englishman with a strong caddish streak. He was born Thomas Terry Hoar Stevens in 1911, changing his stage name to Terry-Thomas in the 1930s, after trying less successful pseudonyms such as Thomas Terry and Mot Snevets (an anagram of Tom Stevens). An early attempt to disguise his dental diastema was abandoned, when he realised that the gap between his front teeth could actually benefit his image. He added to… Keep Reading

20th November 2018 News

Kendo Nagasaki – The Man Behind the Mask

Autobiographies often mark a turning point in the author’s life; the end of their creative output and time to reflect on a career; the opportunity to put scurrilous rumours to rest with the truth; the need to cash in on the dwindling fame of a reality TV show. The purpose of an autobiography to mark the unmasking of a wrestler whose face and voice have been hidden behind a red and black striped mask for over 50 years is certainly a first, and one unlikely ever to be repeated. Peter Thornley, the man behind the Kendo Nagasaki mask, has never… Keep Reading

13th November 2018 News

Winter 18 Edition

The Chap Winter 18 is available directly from here and in digital form from issuu.com Crammed to the gunwales with a broad variety of content, our main interview is with dandy actor and fashion designer John Malkovich. We also meet other remarkable men, including Nicholas Parsons, Craig Brown and a man who crossed the Alps on a Space Hopper. Sartorial contents include a fashion photo shoot at Cordings of Piccadilly, Mahoney Watches, Amide Hadelin, Loake Shoes, Grey Fox Column and Chris Sullivan on Sartorial Disphosophobia, the inability to discard a single vintage item in one’s wardrobe, even when it no… Keep Reading