Chris Sullivan traces the sensational career of the dirt poor girl from St Louis who went on to become the reigning queen of 1920s Paris and an international star. The sun was shining as best it could in Paris on the 15th April 1975. 20,000 people had lined the streets to watch Joséphine Baker’s funeral … Keep Reading
Chris Sullivan on how the end of WWI and the Spanish Flu pandemic brought about the birth of nightclub culture in 1920s London. The nightclub ethos as we now perceive it, with bars and dance floors on which men and women actually dance together, began in the 1920s. Before the era, aptly named the Jazz … Keep Reading
Gustav Temple meets the man declared by the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s greatest explorer, to discuss climbing Everest and the Eiger while suffering from vertigo, discovering the Lost City of Ubar, being kicked out of the SAS for blowing up civilian property and using a sextant to navigate at the South Pole. … Keep Reading
The Overlook Revisited edition anticipates a return to the frolics and fun denied to the world over the last year. CHAP Summer 21, out on 17th June, marks the promised return to ‘normality’ by celebrating those who have taken a joyously abnormal approach to life. Our main interview is with the triple Oscar-winning star of … Keep Reading
Modelled on the same pattern as our Peacock Pocket Square, whose design has been expanded to cover a wider area, The Chap Cravat is cut from a large bolt of silk with an extended version of the pocket square design. This means that each and every cravat is slightly different, so the one you … Keep Reading
The centenary edition of this publication contains a suitably grand sweep over 20 years of Chappism, with a history of the publication from its launch in 1999. Our cover star is celebrated in a 12-page feature on the life and work of Terry-Thomas. The main interview is with fellow bounder Leslie Phillips, while other interviewees … Keep Reading
Hot on the heels of our Chap Lapel Badge comes a lapel adornment that raises one's game by several levels. The Star Lapel Badge is the ultimate Anarcho-dandyist badge of dishonour. The subtle - and slightly confusing to most people - reference to Marxist ideology, in the fact that the design was based on … Keep Reading
Based on original art deco designs from the 1920s, our Deco Floral design from Caroline Lindop is a luscious beauty on its own, and even better when sunk nonchalantly into the breast pocket of one’s jacket. It is printed on pure silk and measures 41cm by 41cm. Recommended usage: to liven up a plain tweed … Keep Reading
On a recent trip to Rajasthan, I discovered that not only does India possess its famous wealth of history and architecture, but it is also one of the most natural habitats for the travelling Chap. My journey took me first to Delhi, only nine hours away by plane but, as soon as you land, the … Keep Reading
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 … Keep Reading
Kentucky is regarded as the first of the Southern states, sitting south of the Ohio River on the eastern side of the United States. It is a green and pleasant land, literally. There are miles of gently rolling hills, clean air and plentiful amounts of fine pure mineral water. All these elements play a large … Keep Reading
Gustav Temple tries out VR technology to overcome a phobia of fairground thrill rides. Disclosure alert: I am terrified of rollercoasters. My idea of hell is to be strapped into a rollercoaster carriage inching its way towards a peak, quaking at the anticipation of the tipping point that will quickly plunge us into a stomach-churning descent, and then up again for more staring in horror at the abyss below. So when I was invited to accompany my teenage son on a new spin on the fairground thrill ride, using VR technology to simulate the journey, my first instinct was to…
The England manager’s switch from a lucky waistcoat to a lucky tie has immeasurably increased the fortunes of his team. At England’s last major football tournament, Gareth Southgate was seen at every match sporting a plain blue waistcoat from Marks & Spencer, as reported in 2018 by this very publication. At this year’s European Championship, the waistcoat was consigned to Mr. Southgate’s wardrobe and a new superstitious sartorial token chosen: a lucky tie. To be precise, a polka-dot knitted tie from small Hackney-based menswear brand Percival. Southgate is to be commended for deliberately choosing a small independent label for his…
A thrilling opportunity to acquire, along with a Chap Hip Flask, a bottle of The Sexton Irish Whiskey. Viewers of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory will recall that five golden tickets were inserted into five random Wonka Bars, each one guaranteeing the finder a visit to the Chocolate Factory and a lifetime’s supply of chocolate. The Chap, in association with The Sexton Irish Whiskey, has created a grown-up version of this thrilling competition. Our new batch of 30 hip flasks has just been released. 12 of them entitle the purchaser to a free whole bottle of The Sexton. What is…
Gustav Temple takes a liquid journey around the world to see whether single malt whisky can be trusted from anywhere except Scotland. To some readers (and they may be right) is is already blasphemous even to suggest that whisky can come from anywhere except Scotland. But when one discovers that whisky is also made in Germany, Japan, India, Taiwan, Finland, Australia, Canada and Ireland, one feels duty bound to inspect the goods. Of course whisky is also made in the United States but theirs is called bourbon and is an entirely different, usually blended, kettle of fish – admittedly not…
