# "corah silk" neckties, English foulard dressing gowns, fugi silk shirts, "Vassar broadcloth" and oth



## katon (Dec 25, 2006)

Great scan from the much-missed Bulldog blog, J. Press annual sale circa 1940-1941. Lots of old-school references.

First, the hats. Wow! "Longchamp, Chantilly, Snuff, Serpent, Nutmeg, Ivy Leaguer, and Ravlor"? Hat styles? Makers? Colors? Any ideas?

"Scotch backstrap", maybe reference to variable-sized bucklebacks vs sized tweed caps?

"Imported Alpine ski hat ornaments" - apparently the "full Oktoberfest" was popular back then? :icon_smile_big:

On to neckties!

"Punjab madras"... goes back a long way, doesn't it?

"Cashmere & repp silk batwings" - Cashmere batwings and repp silk batwings, or some kind of blend like an Irish poplin? (Also present, I might add.)

"Burlington knot" - I've seen this on a bunch of J. Press ties, but I still don't have a clear idea what this is...

"English hand block gum twill silk" - Seemed like a Fashion Forum kind of question, but I suppose it can't hurt to ask here... what are the advantages of making a tie out of silk with the gum left on?

"English surrah" - Apparently a warm-weather silk serge?

"Macclesfield" - A pattern?

"India choppa" - no clue. :icon_smile_big:

"corah silk" - Apparently a washable Indian silk that (according to the ) tended to come in dark cream colors with paisley or foulard patterns. The originator of those yellow silk pseudo-leopard print foulards that Brooks and Andover Shop have produced before?

"la cravate Passy" - French??? The only other reference to it I've found is from another J. Press ad from the 1939 Williams Record, another treasure mine worth its own post, IMHO. :icon_smile_big:

Not much new under handkerchiefs.

Press channeling a bit of Andover Shop dandy (or is this more Chipp dandy? Or not dandy at all?) under the dressing gowns, with "English foulard" (anyone make these still?)

[**Edit:* Of course the Brits still make them, although polyester foulard seems to be mining away at the silk...

Here's a silk Turnbull & Asser one that Will from A Suitable Wardrobe picked up.

]

"Host jackets" in moire and velvet... are these smoking jackets, or something else?

On to braces.

Box cloth, of course. Elastic.

"riding cord" - What is this? Whipcord? (More of a Fashion Forum question, maybe?)

"Tattersall flannel" - Really? Hot damn. A lost cause, I imagine, but does anyone make braces like that anymore?

"mohair" - I suppose you could, but why would you?

"English hunting cord" - What's this? How is it different than "riding cord"? (Another Fashion Forum question?)

"English made Panton patented and own make garters" - I'd always thought the standard was over-the-calf socks... were garters used with those too? Maybe my assumptions are wrong.

Enough for now... on to belts?

"English plaited calf" - your standard woven belt? Didn't realize it went back that far in the look. Something else?

"reversible club" - double-sided silk grosgrain striped belts? Or something else?

"Hand tooled Russia calf" - Tooled belts? From Russia? Anyone shed some light on this?

Shirts!

"Cheviox" - Referenced here during a deadstock raid at the DC J. Press... is it one of their custom fabric blends?

"Madralyte" - No references anywhere, except in a 1937 J. Press ad in The Phillipian. Once again, a treasure trove! (Dig through the issues from the 20s & 30s for a bunch of old Andover Shop & Langrock ads, including a rather extensive one for Langrock's Spring Clearance in May of 1933  I suspect that if it stays up, the Phillipian archives will be a great help for understanding the look's Anglo-heavy 1920s/30s roots!) It's amazing what these obscure terms dig up. :icon_smile_big: Still no clue what "Madralyte" is, though. Custom Madras weave?

"Flannelyte" - A summer-weight flannel? A cotton flannelette? Chipp made shirts in this in the 1950s...

"fugi silk" - Another term for "Fujii silk"? J. Press dug these out again in 1952, it seems. Or were they made continuously?

"marcella" - Definitely old school. Does the fabric still have any place in the look?

"plaited acetate" - Digging through old ads, it's clear that J. Press started experimenting with synthetics early on... is this really an all-acetate shirt, though?

"Clydella flannel" - Supposedly a cheaper knock-off version of Viyella made with 81% cotton, similar to the Viyella of today. Poor Viyella, look what's become of you...

Pajamas!

"Madras and cheviot pullover" - For summer and winter? :icon_smile_big:

"regimental striped cheviot" - Anyone still make regimental striped pajamas?

"Pure dye washing silk" - Washable silk pajamas in loud colors? Or does this mean something else?

"pure radium silk" - A silk weave, surely, but what is it like? (Another one for the Fashion Forum?)

Underwear!

"Vassar broadcloth" - They made broadcloth up at Vassar? :icon_smile_big:

"Imported balloon cloth quilted waistband" - Balloon cloth? Silk? This suggests that it was a tightly woven cotton used for making book bindings. Ouch. No wonder it's on close out.

Socks!

"camels hair" - For socks?? Really? Anyone still make these?

[**Edit:* Apparently the answer is yes (mostly).

Anyone making 100% camelhair ones?]

"English linsply" - Looks like a ? Summer socks, or something else?

"Scotch hand framed wool and Argyll, and pure angora" - Early reference to Argyle socks. Wonder if they'd switched from the tartan-on-diagonal to the diamonds pattern we have today? Brooks claims to have been the first to manufacture them domestically, in the late 40s, but of course they were imported from abroad before then. :icon_smile_wink:

On to sweaters!

"Shetland, alpaca, and cablestitch sleeveless slip-ons" - Shetlands and cablestitch still get regular rotation in the look, but people don't seem to mention alpaca very often... still a part of the look?

"English Wimbledon cablestitch pullovers" - early reference to the tennis sweater!

On to "Bathing Suits and Shorts"!

"Hawaiian made ****** cloth" - By 1967 it was a cotton-poly blend. What was it originally, though? Same thing?

"Hawaiian print, Balinese batik, India palm print, celanese, gabardine, sailcloth and wool knit" - This is Big Tent Trad if there ever was such a thing, and from J. Press, no less! Hawaiian swim trunks, batik... celanese seems to be a proprietary synthetic from the Celanese Corporation (or possibly British Celanese). Sailcloth swim trunks seem like a fun idea.

"Proofed sailcloth" - Is this like waxed cotton? I suppose I'm not very nautically-minded...

"Bermuda length English drab and corduroy shorts" - I'd never associated summer corduroy with the look... who knew? :icon_smile_big: Still relevant today? English drab? A color? Something else? Good to see the Bermuda getting some love, even if shorter shorts get more credit these days.

Recreationwear!

"Squashirts" - Shirts for playing squash, maybe? Not a clue. Only references on the net are those two 1930s J. Press ads.

"Fugi silk sportshirts" - more silk. Who knew?

On to "Ready to Wear"!

"covert cloth slacks" - I thought they just made coats out of the stuff... anyone still make these?

"Grey flannel golfer, *pastel flannel* and white gabardine slacks" - pastel flannel? Talk about GTH. :icon_smile_big:

"Mohair twill odd jackets" - Mohair seems to get a short shift here... Does it have a place in the look today?

"reversible corduroy weatherproofs" - Not sure what these would look like, but they certainly sound impressive...

"Cavalry poplin weatherproofs and Scotch weatherproofs" - Cavalry poplin? I've heard of cavalry twill, but... I wonder what makes a weatherproof Scotch???

An entire section devoted to Burberry! Apparently much more invested in the look than it currently is... "veldt coats" seem to be some sort of caped English contrivance designed to supplement Norfolks???

"Buberry Saxony" - An extinct proprietary style?

Thoughts eagerly awaited! :icon_smile_big:


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## Youngster (Jun 5, 2008)

The only thing that I can really take a guess at, is that scotch weatherproof probably means scotch-guarded, or an early version thereof.

edit- totally wrong, scotchgard was not invented till 52. Sorry. I guess it's just from Scotland.


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## katon (Dec 25, 2006)

katon said:


> "Burlington knot" - I've seen this on a bunch of J. Press ties, but I still don't have a clear idea what this is...


A bit more info, straight from the horse's mouth, so to speak. Misterman was the handle for Mordechai Rubinstein, if I remember correctly.



misterman said:


> there were two different widths, one was the burlington knot and the other was the beaufort knot. at some point they got mixed up, and has really meant nothing for a while. i am relaunching the burlington knot for fall '06, it is a 2" tie in three different authentic regimental stripes, with a square bottom.


Hmmm...



katon said:


> "Hand tooled Russia calf" - Tooled belts? From Russia? Anyone shed some light on this?


Russia calf was apparently a sort of Russian "Scotch grain"? New & Lingwood dug up some deadstock leather and are still making shoes out of it. (More info here.) From the description, it sounds like these would have been made using the French & German knock-off technique, kind of like "Scotch grain" embossing vs. the actual Scotch grain process (as described here by forum favorite jamgood)... I suppose that also explains the "hand tooled" part?



katon said:


> "regimental striped cheviot" - Anyone still make regimental striped pajamas?


Yes, in cotton anyways. Derek Rose has a line.

Argyle & Sutherland

Brigade of Guards, doing a good Brooks Brothers #4 stripe imitation. 

Made in England, but with elastic waists, sadly.


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## My Pet. A Pantsuit (Dec 25, 2008)

katon said:


> A bit more info, straight from the horse's mouth, so to speak. Misterman was the handle for Mordechai Rubinstein, if I remember correctly.


I thought it was Mark McNairy.



> Still not sure on the tooling part, but Russia calf was apparently a sort of Russian "Scotch grain"? New & Lingwood dug up some deadstock leather and are still making shoes out of it.


It's actually reindeer hide, which has a grain very much like Scotch grain, except very irregular. AAACer Chrstc had gotten ahold of some and had some fantastic cufflinks made for several of us.


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## katon (Dec 25, 2006)

My Pet said:


> I thought it was Mark McNairy.


It very well might be.  I always confuse Mister Mort with Mister Man...


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## katon (Dec 25, 2006)

katon said:


> "pure radium silk" - A silk weave, surely, but what is it like? (Another one for the Fashion Forum?)


A description from a 1930s textile dictionary:

"Radium. Fine, soft, closely woven fabric similar to Habutai. True radium is made from filling of good-quality organzine and raw silk warp, closely twisted."

Hmmm... really replaces the original question with two other questions (Habutai? Organzine?), but it's a start. Raw silk in its various weaves has been a part of the look for a long time, hasn't it?



katon said:


> "covert cloth slacks" - I thought they just made coats out of the stuff... anyone still make these?


Maybe, maybe not, but O'Connell's has them. J. Press made some in 2006. Maybe they will again?


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## katon (Dec 25, 2006)

katon said:


> katon said:
> 
> 
> > "Hand tooled Russia calf" - Tooled belts? From Russia? Anyone shed some light on this?
> ...


Not the only ones to buy the old Russian calf, it seems.

Ranger belts in it available , standard belts available from .


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## katon (Dec 25, 2006)

katon said:


> First, the hats. Wow! "Longchamp, Chantilly, Snuff, Serpent, Nutmeg, Ivy Leaguer, and Ravlor"? Hat styles? Makers? Colors? Any ideas?


These look to be proprietary J. Press styles. From the :










With more details from the issue:










And :



















And :










I know that some J. Press employees and other heavy-hitters used to post here... any info?


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## C. Sharp (Dec 18, 2008)

Covert cloth odd trousers may seem a little fringe and maybe hard to source. That said I enjoy a pair of Chipp Covert cloth pants I have.


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## katon (Dec 25, 2006)

katon said:


> An entire section devoted to Burberry! Apparently much more invested in the look than it currently is... "veldt coats" seem to be some sort of caped English contrivance designed to supplement Norfolks???
> 
> "Buberry Saxony" - An extinct proprietary style?


No leads just yet, but here's a copy of the J. Press/Burberry label from a vintage raincoat someone was selling on Styleforum:


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## katon (Dec 25, 2006)

And an ad for the 1941 Cash Sale, pushing Burberry some more:


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## katon (Dec 25, 2006)

katon said:


> These look to be proprietary J. Press styles. From the :
> 
> 
> 
> ...


A few more hat ads, this time from 1934 issues of the Yale Daily News:


















And another from 1936:










J. Press was remarkably coy about the hat details in their print ads... I suppose the idea was to get folks to drop by the store itself. 



katon said:


> Still no clue what "Madralyte" is, though. Custom Madras weave?











(1935)

Not sure if this helps or not!  I'm trying to picture the Madralyte shirt they're describing here, and I'm getting something along the lines of a butcher stripe Madras buttondown...

**Edit:*


katon said:


> "la cravate Passy" - French???











(1939)

Apparently a printed silk cravat. Not necessarily French, but French-inspired?

Also, a photo of the "Nutmeg" hat:










And another from 1960:











Does anyone make contrast-edged felt hats anymore?


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## katon (Dec 25, 2006)

katon said:


> katon said:
> 
> 
> > "regimental striped cheviot" - Anyone still make regimental striped pajamas?
> ...


Just a bit of an update, I've noticed that many (all?) Derek Rose pajamas seem to be made in the Czech Republic now...

Any suggestions for English-made regimental stripe pajamas?


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## CMDC (Jan 31, 2009)

Thanks for reviving this thread. I never realized there was a Princeton store. What were its years of existence? Is there a Press label w/Princeton on it? Never seen one.


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## C. Sharp (Dec 18, 2008)

My understanding is that it did not survive the war(WWII)



CMDC said:


> Thanks for reviving this thread. I never realized there was a Princeton store. What were its years of existence? Is there a Press label w/Princeton on it? Never seen one.


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## C. Sharp (Dec 18, 2008)

Additional info-independent store advertisements start to appear in 1936. They run to 1943 but how long after they existed I am not sure. 


C. Sharp said:


> My understanding is that it did not survive the war(WWII)


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## maddog (Jan 10, 2011)

It's interesting to plug some of those prices into an inflation calculator and compare them to the present day. Slacks run about $90, sport shirts from $23-75, odd jackets $130-225, cashmere sweaters $225-280, dress shirts $40-60, ties $20-45.


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