99>
9 771749 966070
THE CHAP MANIFESTO 1 THOU SHALT ALWAYS WEAR TWEED. No other fabric says so defiantly: I am a man of panache, savoir-faire and devil-may-care, and I will not be served Continental lager beer under any circumstances. 2 THOU SHALT NEVER NOT SMOKE. Health and Safety “executives” and jobsworth medical practitioners keep trying to convince us that smoking is bad for the lungs/heart/skin/eyebrows, but we all know that smoking a bent apple billiard full of rich Cavendish tobacco raises one’s general sense of well-being to levels unimaginable by the aforementioned spoilsports. 3 THOU SHALT ALWAYS BE COURTEOUS TO THE LADIES. A gentleman is never truly seated on an omnibus or railway carriage: he is merely keeping the seat warm for when a lady might need it. Those who take offence at being offered a seat are not really Ladies.
44
4 THOU SHALT NEVER, EVER, WEAR PANTALOONS DE NIMES. When you have progressed beyond fondling girls in the back seats of cinemas, you can stop wearing jeans. 5 THOU SHALT ALWAYS DOFF ONE’S HAT. Alright, so you own a couple of trilbies. Good for you - but it’s hardly going to change the world. Once you start actually lifting them off your head when greeting passers-by, then the revolution will really begin. 6 THOU SHALT NEVER FASTEN THE LOWEST BUTTON ON THY WAISTCOAT. Look, we don’t make the rules, we simply try to keep them going. This one dates back to Edward VII, sufficient reason in itself to observe it. 7 THOU SHALT ALWAYS SPEAK PROPERLY. It’s really quite simple: instead of saying “Yo, wassup?”, say “How do you do?” 8 THOU SHALT NEVER WEAR PLIMSOLLS WHEN NOT DOING SPORT. Nor even when doing sport. Which you shouldn’t be doing anyway. Except cricket. 9 THOU SHALT ALWAYS WORSHIP AT THE TROUSER PRESS. At the end of each day, your trousers should be placed in one of Mr. Corby’s magical contraptions, and by the next morning your creases will be so sharp that they will start a riot on the high street. 10 THOU SHALT CULTIVATE INTERESTING FACIAL HAIR. By interesting we mean moustaches, or beards with a moustache attached.
22
28
CONTENTS 8 AM I CHAP?
Submit yourself to the ultimate sartorial assessment
12 C HAPMANSHIP
Queries from Chaps confused about the contemporary world
14 LOS ANGELES TWEED PUB CRAWL
Matt Deckard roams the city in search of a decent pint
18 PEACOCKS & MAGPIES
The Chap’s antiques experts, Peter Gosbee and John Minns, give insider tips on acquiring objets d’art
FEATURES 22 ERICH VON STROHEIM
Chris Sullivan on the monocled Austrian who took Hollywood by storm in the early days of cinema
28 D ANDIZETTE
Doctor of Dandyism Sunday Swift on the dandyism of Lucille Ball
34 I NTERVIEW
Gustav Temple meets Billy Zane to discuss tiki bars, Ford Mustangs, high-waisted trousers, Marlon Brando and combovers
•
SPRING 2019
34 SARTORIAL FEATURES 44 FASHION PHOTO SHOOT
We took some nightwear at the louche end of the spectrum and some similar models to an hotel in Brighton
58 THE RHINESTONE REMBRANDT
Darcy Sullivan meets Manuel Cuevas, the rodeo tailor who made suits for Frank Sinatra, Lady Gaga and everyone in between
62 D NA GROOVE
Liam Jefferies meets the Italian menswear designer who has created his own distinct take on the mod look
65 G AMING FOR CHAPS
Holly Rose Swinyard makes a convincing case for the appeal of the sartorial and architectural detail in Bioshock
71 D UEPLE SOCKS
A new brand putting the spring back in the step of gentlemen’s hosiery
72 L ES INCROYABLES
Chris Sullivan on the effete yet violent upper-class roustabouts of post-revolutionary France
82 N ATALINO
Liam Jefferies tries out a few key items from a new collection by a brand that returns to the true origins of ‘smart casual’
86 G REY FOX COLUMN
David Evans of www.greyfoxblog.com reports from a trip to Antarctica, where he tried out some sturdy clothing, an elegant suitcase and photographed a penguin
90 BINOCULARS
Richard Burdett advises on the best bins a man can buy at the most reasonable price
LONGER FEATURES 96 REILLY ACE OF SPIES
Jock Rawlings dismantles the myth of the most notorious spy in history
102 B IRDING
Cover photo: Gareth Gatrell/© Tiger Aspect Productions Limited 2018
ISSUE 99
Nick Ostler explains how Montagu’s Harrier got its name and gives tips for observing spring migrants
107 J OHN BLY
Alex Smythe-Smith meets the antique dealer whose most prized possessions reside in his cocktail cabinet
112 DARREN HAYMAN
Ferris Newton spends a morning in Croydon with the songwriter
116 C ELEBRATORY TIPPLES
Olly Smith advises on suitable libations in preparation for the celebration of The Chap’s 100th edition in May
121 TRAVEL: QUITO
The colourful delights of the home of the Panama hat
REVIEWS 128 A UTHOR INTERVIEW
Alexander Larman meets great British novelist William Boyd
132 BOOK REVIEWS
Books by Philip Larkin, Neil Tennant, Dermot Kavanagh and Lionel Johnson
136 J.P. DONLEAVY
Noel Shine on JP Donleavy’s masterpiece The Ginger Man
142 FILM REVIEWS
Gustav Temple revels in the dark masterpiece that is Paul Schrader’s The Comfort of Strangers
144 PETER O’TOOLE
Alexander Larman assesses the entire career of the actor whom Peter Sellers described as ‘the finest man who ever breathed’
152 THE CHAP DINES
Temple and Larman sample the The Ivy in the Lanes, Brighton
154 OTTO DIX
Chris Sullivan on the harrowing work of the German painter and his place in the art of Weimar Berlin
160 CROSSWORD
Events
L.A. CONSTITUTIONAL Matt Deckard organised a Tweed Pub Crawl recently. And what of it, you may ask – we do that practically every Friday. However, Mr. Deckard’s sortie took place in Los Angeles, California, not a city known for its love of tweed nor its profusion of traditional English hostelries. The Chap asked Mr. Deckard how they got on
W
I decided to organize the event to help remove the shame most citizens feel when they walk out in public, openly showing that they, like me, love tweed and are not ashamed of wearing it, and not only during the not-as-hot months that occur in Los Angeles. It’s all just so much easier when we have a drink in our hands.
.hy did you decide to organise a tweed pub crawl in Los Angeles? There are swarms of chaps thirsty for a chance to put on the regalia which, in this climate, is quite out of the ordinary on the streets of LA. Often confined to those who wish to place their air conditioning on its highest, those who clad themselves in the chunkiest of woven wools often dread the gaze of the neighbor or the passer-by, when they leave their cocoon of frigid air in heavy tailored outfits to retrieve their mail.
Was it the first such occasion in that city? Thursday November 11, 2010 was the first ever Los Angeles Tweed Pub Crawl. Originally attended by
14
the members of thefedoralounge.com, subsequent years have brought in people from around the world, to wander through the streets of LA as we imbibe pint after pint and cocktail after cocktail. At times the group has gathered steam, occasionally losing stumbling attendees as they succumb to the heat. It depends on the year and how well we do at picking a cool weather date. Tweed, hot weather and alcohol is a mysterious science that has yet to be perfected. Our statement was: “There comes a time in life when friends, a cocktail and tweed are the only things between you and a night of being cold and alone,” and it’s just as relevant now as it was then. The crowd ebbs and flows from 20 to 50 attendees depending on the year.
costumers, actors, sartorial gurus, writers, the hidden intellectual drinking elite that would make for a great Algonquin table discussion.
“There comes a time in life when friends, a cocktail and tweed are the only things between you and a night of being cold and alone” Are there many pubs in LA, in the way the British would understand the word? One of the darndest parts of putting this together each year is the constant change of course the crawl must take, due to many of the pubs coming and going each year. But one standard always on the route is Casey’s Irish Pub. Quite recognizable to a British Expat, but with much more room to roam and breathe than you’d find in a traditional British pub. Outside of that, the myriad of names of places that have come and gone escape me, but Casey’s is the one heritage spot where you will find accents from all across the British Isles.
Who attended? You would think, with the central focus of Los Angeles being a leisurely city and a playground for much of America, that there would be a great absence when it comes to dandy culture. But when the Tweed Pub Crawl comes around, suddenly out of the woodwork people show up adorned in waistcoats with their grandfather’s pocket watch attached. Those that show up are Hollywood
15
Interview
BILLY ZANE Gustav Temple met the actor in London to discuss his new series Curfew, his plans to play Marlon Brando, facial hair, high-waisted trousers and Ford Mustangs
W
hat’s your character Joker Jones in Curfew all about? An establishment cat who just goes rogue in Dadaist fashion. Asking the question, “If this is sanity?” referring to the near-future dystopian rule of law, “then I choose madness.” So he adapts an alter ego called Joker Jones and enters this illegal race, as a means of pursuing freedom but also as a form of performance art.
Certainly our journey and story in our camper van, complete with Tiki bar, there’s an element that crackles with the John Ford ethos of two Godfathers meets Stagecoach, through the lens of a Hunter Thompson weekend bender. So are there drugs in the camper van? Copious amounts of illicit substances. The van is more Tiki bar than performance vehicle, with an armoire that provides numerous costumes and hat choices. Speed is not what serves this particular crew. It’s slow and steady. And we provide roadside advice. Our day jobs prior to this mad departure was as a team of psychiatrists and psychologists, so we still provide some sound advice, though coupled with a fairly unique drug protocol. There’s certainly an ample amount of wicked gunplay in this show, and high-octane, high-speed racing that is reminiscent of 80s cinema, but a cut above, say grimehouse; more like John Carpenter movies. What I like about it is that the stunts are at speed, kind of like John Landis chase sequences from The Blues Brothers, where you go, that looks dangerous – as opposed to a CGI quick-cut action.
Joker Jones’ look is described as Gonzo Cowboy. Who came up with that, you or the producer? We arrived at it together. Jones is an American, so I embraced the ethos by donning a Tom Mix Ten-gallon split crown Stetson. I wear a rancher in normal life. Do you favour the Stetson brand itself – unfortunately owned by the Germans now? Well, what isn’t? You’ve acted in a couple of westerns before. Is Curfew a kind of Western, even though there aren’t any horses?
34
Photograph: Gareth Gatrell/© Tiger Aspect Productions Limited 2018
NIGHTWEAR We took three models and some suitcases full of nightwear to Hotel Pelirocco in Brighton, to learn that stylish nightwear is not just for night-time. However, pyjama and dressing gown wearers beware: you may be tempted never to leave your suite
MODELS: DONNA GRIMALDI, PETER GOSBEE, JOHN MINNS PHOTOGRAPHY: XAVIER BUENDIA MISS GRIMALDI’S HAIR AND MAKE-UP: NATASHA HALL AT PRETTY ME VINTAGE WWW.PRETTYMEVINTAGE.CO.UK CLOTHING SUPPLIED BY PETER CHRISTIAN, GEOFF STOKER, WHAT KATIE DID, BOBBY AND DANDY WWW.PETERCHRISTIAN.CO.UK WWW.GEOFFSTOCKER.COM WWW.WHATKATIEDID.COM WWW.BOBBYANDDANDY.CO.UK WWW.HOTELPELIROCCO.CO.UK
44
DONNA WEARS: BLACK 1930S LOUNGING ROBE, EMILY SUSPENDER BELT, BLACK SEAMED STOCKINGS – WHAT KATIE DID VINTAGE BANGLES – BOBBY AND DANDY
45