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 … Keep Reading
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 … Keep Reading
Where does one go for lunch to mark that fateful descent from one’s early fifties to one’s mid-fifties? Wouldn’t it be tragic to choose some achingly hip joint in Shoreditch, Portland or Berlin, where the menu, mostly consisting of kimchi, is printed in braille on a rusty vintage advertising sign? The venue for such an … Keep Reading
The Chap Magazine launched in the United States in Autumn 2018, available in selected branches of Barnes & Noble in all the major cities of the USA. There are already thousands of men and women in the United States who dress impeccably and celebrate precisely the values enshrined in our gentlemen’s periodical. Ever since interviewing … Keep Reading
The 99th edition features interviews with actor Billy Zane, Antiques Roadshow presenter John Bly, Italian menswear designer Claudio De Rossi, novelist William Boyd and rodeo tailor Manuel Cuevas. Features include Birding, Spring Tipples, Binoculars, JP Donleavy, a profile of Peter O'Toole by his biographer, Travel to Quito, Ecuador, new advice column Chapmanship, Reilly Ace of … Keep Reading
A collection of Chap back issues featuring leading men, in various guises, on the covers, from New York bandleader Dandy Wellington, to well-dressed beatnik William Burroughs, Correspondents singer Mr. Bruce and purveyor of watches and other contraband goods Viv the Spiv. Contents within include a walking tour of Old Shanghai, Chris Sullivan on hosting clubs … Keep Reading
Recently discovered in the vaults of the New Sheridan Club, this highly rare early edition of The Chap dates from 2003 and marked a turning point for the Anarcho-dandyist movement. Within its pages was announced the first uprising in the Tweed Revolution on 16th October 2003. To further this revolutionary opening salvo, a sheet of … Keep Reading
An alternative design to our three vintage designs for this gift set features The Chap logo in dark blue on a metal tin with a removable lid. The contents are precisely the same: one Chap Cravat, one silk pocket square, a pair of Chap Cufflinks and a Chap lapel badge. The cost of the gift … Keep Reading
Why am I writing about Disneyland in The Chap, you ask? Because, for the past four years, Disneyland in Anaheim California been the epicentre (not Epcot Center – that one’s in Florida,) of Dapper Day, and Rose Callahan and I had been invited by the event’s organizer to give a presentation about our book I … Keep Reading
Miami greets the arriving driver with a glittering cluster of skyscrapers flanked by bright blue sea. As soon as the heart of the city has caught your attention, you’re in it, cruising through mid-town Miami with the buildings getting taller and taller and the sea coming nearer, like the opening scene of a disaster movie … Keep Reading
There are a few cities in the world that carry so much weight of expectation and legend that you get goose bumps down your spine when you come in to land, but nothing had prepared me for the thrill of the pilot’s announcement on this Iberia flight: “Ladies and gentlemen, we are about to descend … Keep Reading
You cannot miss Boisdale of Belgravia. The strawberry-red frontage stands out like a Highland hunting lodge amid the upmarket estate agents (a set at Albany for £4.3 million, anyone?) and the fly-by-night delicatessens that look like reckless gifts from hedge-fund managers to their trophy wives. En route to our lunch appointment we paused to pay homage to the good old days of Belgravia by admiring the plaque outside Lord Boothby’s house of ill repute on Eaton Square. Once installed at the Macdonald bar under the friendly auspices of a jovial Scottish barman, we were introduced to the modest selection of…
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…
Paul French, author of City of Devils, takes us on a walking tour of Old Shanghai, recounting the tales of decadence, opium and freebooting of the 1930s and what remains of that era in modern Shanghai In its heyday, Shanghai was the real deal when it came to anonymity – a chap could walk down the gangplank from his ocean liner, step onto the majestic sweeping Bund waterfront, stroll nonchalantly over to the disinterested customs man and proffer any name he cared to. No-one in Shanghai wished to see a passport, nor did they require a visa, nor could they…
By now, Hawksmoor Borough has delighted and beguiled a vast number of carnivorous types. Excitement can be seen writ large on the faces of each meat-eater at the magnificent treats that lie in store. ‘The finest meats, exceptional wines and cocktails and a wonderful setting – what could possibly be better?’ The answer, you will be unsurprised to hear, is ‘not much’. The latest London outpost in Huw Gott and Will Beckett’s empire – now present in Edinburgh- does everything that you’d expect from this superbly accomplished group of restaurants, but adds a few twists that show that there’s plenty…
