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
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 part in the success of the state’s principal assets. This ‘porch of the south’, as it is known locally, has many things going for it, not least its hospitality. Everywhere I went in the state, whether it was the ‘metropolis’ of Louisville or the quaint…
I am seated in a dimly lit room on a comfortable white leather cushion, wearing a pair of headphones. There are five other people in the same position in the room, and a seventh leather cushion against the rear wall – but this one is red. Into the headphones a soothing voice tells us to relax our bodies and allow all thoughts to float away from our minds, for we about to take part in a Zen meditation session with Kendo Nagasaki. Just as we hear that name, there is a shuffling at the door and it is opened by…
As the profligate season of merriment approaches, disguised as a religious festival, so Chaps scratch their heads and wonder: what could my sophisticated chums possibly want with all this tat and tinsel pouring off the shelves in department stores? Innovative drinks company Drinks by the Dram has come up with a novel solution, which combines a traditional celebration of the 24 days of Advent with the equally traditional consumption of the finest spirit in the world, namely gin. Each of the 24 perforated windows in this Gin Advent Calendar contains a mystery double sample of gin, steering well clear of…
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…
