Gentlemen, ladies, dandies, chaps, fops, boulevardiers and flâneurs: we are taking our silver-topped malacca canes to the streets once again, but this time not to shout about tatty T-shirt emporia on Savile Row. The Grand Flâneur Walk on Sunday 14th July in London will simply be a walk without purpose; a stroll without direction; a … Keep Reading
“The crowd is his domain, as the air is that of the bird or the sea of the fish. His passion and his creed is to wed the crowd. For the perfect flâneur, for the passionate observer, it’s an immense pleasure to take up residence in multiplicity, in whatever is seething, moving, evanescent and infinite.” … Keep Reading
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, … Keep Reading
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 … Keep Reading
The new gentlemen’s fragrance from The Chap is based on the classic men’s scents of the early 20th century. On a masculine base of amber, patchouli, vetiver and vanilla are sprinkled middle notes of violet, iris, geranium and rose, lifting the scent heavenwards to its top notes of bergamot, verbena and pink pepper. The overall … 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
The traditional masculine ingredients of musk and amber combine in this scent with citrus notes of bergamot and lime, along with green leaf, coconut and sandalwood. The overall effect is the sort of scent you'd imagine a rugged actor like Ronald Colmam to have used. Those new to the world of male fragrance would do … Keep Reading
This exotic eau de parfum from traditional British brand Morgan's, known principally for their superlative pomade, uses a blend of Amber, Vanilla, Frankincense and Myrrh, with additional tropical spices, to create a fragrance that is both manly and classic, with just a little hint of the bounder. The bottling is an amber 50ml glass bottle … 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
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
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…
“Disposophobics can’t, don’t or won’t make fast value judgments about their ‘stuff’,” says Ron Alford of Disaster Masters, Inc. ‒ a New York-based ‘crisis management’ service specializing in solving anomalous mess. “So their solution for their dilemma is to keep everything. If you put a $5 note, a magazine, a diamond ring and two dozen plastic Chinese food containers on a table and ask a disposophobic to trash two of them, their response would be, ‘I want all of them. It’s really a disease. It starts in the head of the people and manifests by filling their dwelling units to…
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 noise, bustle, phantasmagorical arrays of spices, colourful fabrics and around 18 million people, all jostling for space, make it seem like another planet. I took a quick look around before heading out to the land of the kings, Rajasthan. It’s quite a drive to Rajasthan…
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…
