As a nonagenarian, Nicholas Parsons radiates polite yet firm resolve on matters of neckwear: “I think the cravat is a very elegant form of dress, a colourful and sophisticated accessory. I own at least 30. What I don’t understand is, people wear an open neck shirt with a beautifully tailored jacket. This goes against the … 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
For 20 years, satirical gentlemen’s quarterly The Chap has been providing chaps all over the world with crucial advice on sartorial rectitude and anarcho-dandyist etiquette. Best of The Chap brings together in one volume all the features from the last 100 issues that have defined the publication’s manifesto. Best of The Chap includes features from … Keep Reading
From a new collaboration with famed lip weasel stiffener Captain Fawcett comes Debonair, a moustache wax for gentlemen. The creation of Debonair was personally supervised by Gustav Temple at the Captain Fawcett Grooming Factory, following a stunningly simple brief: give me a moustache wax, my good man, that conjures up old leather armchairs and aromatic … Keep Reading
A sumptuous offering in a lavish gift box containing all four elements of The Chap's Flaneur men's grooming range. At the heart of the set is Flâneur eau de cologne, the gentlemen’s fragrance based on classic men’s scents of the early 20th century. On a masculine base of amber, patchouli, vetiver and vanilla come … Keep Reading
2019 marked the 70th anniversary of the original release of Ealing classic Kind Hearts and Coronets. StudioCanal have lovingly restored the film for this special anniversary re-release, with every scene cleaned up and restored to its former cinematic glory. Dennis Price stars as the vengeful Louis Mazzini, who murders all those who stand in his … Keep Reading
The vinyl edition of the official Peaky Blinders soundtrack has six pages of sartorial sleevenotes by The Chap. While the costume styling of the series is rooted in sartorial accuracy for the period, immediately after the First World War, the music on this triple album abandons all temptation to stay in that era. The songs, … 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
One of the fourteen countries that straddle the Equator, Ecuador took its name from that imaginary line and offers an engaging place for the traveller to explore with much historical interest, museums and art galleries but, more significantly, it’s the best place in the world to buy a Panama hat. I took a trip out … 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
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 of being incredibly unfriendly? ‘Ah, but this is modern Chinese food,’ pointed out my highly gastronomically informed colleague, ‘they even have wine lists now. And the dim sum come in different colours.’ Naturally I assented immediately and prepared to be bowled over by our next…
“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 methodically bumps off a variety of relatives (all played by Sir Alec Guinness) to secure a dukedom. In light of the 70th Anniversary re-release by StudioCanal, The Chap felt that a review of the film itself was in order. I have personally been enamoured with…
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 Monroe, Errol Flynn and David Niven’s army chum Michael Trubshawe, who received a name check in every one of Niven’s films. Sartorial features include a visit to Mason & Sons, the menswear maker and bespoke tailor housed in John Lennon’s old flat in Marylebone, where…
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. The two must not be confused (as they were for this poorly coordinated reviewer), for while the latter is a chintzy chainstore mall where city workers dash to guzzle smoothies and chow on sushi, The Leadenhall Building (aka ‘The Cheesegrater’) is a Richard Rogers-built monolith…
