Products With Personality
Products with Personality: Academic Scarves
Academic scarves, also known as rowing scarves, have their origins in the annual boat race between Oxford and Cambridge Universities. Beginning in the 19th Century, both schools competed heavily to develop a superior rowing team, sending their boats out in all weather. Rowers bundled up against the cold in scarves, and soon each school developed its own pattern of knit stripes to differentiate its rowers on and off the water.
Products with Personality: Repp Stripe Tie
Repp stripe ties are a staple of a classic men’s wardrobe. These diagonally-striped silk ties in a variety of color schemes can pull together almost any look, and can be easily worn at different levels of formality. Originating in Great Britain, the repp stripe design has been adopted as a cornerstone of American menswear and of Ivy Style in particular.
Timeless Traditions: An Introduction to Tweed
Most of the clothing that we cover here on The Andover Shop Blog originates in the British Isles. Famous for their changeable weather, particularly in chilly winters, Great Britain and Ireland are also historically a center of wool production. During the Middle Ages, the English economy was supported primarily by the production of sheep’s wool and the weaving industry. The historical importance of this industry can be seen in the fact that to this day the presiding officer of the House of Lords sits on The Woolsack, a symbolic chair stuffed with wool.
Suits with a Story: Eric Twardzik
Eric Twardzik has been a lifelong devotee of Ivy Style. “For years, I’ve been into Anglo-American style.” Writing about menswear had piqued his interest and driven him to search stores and online for modern reproductions of the classic Ivy look, “and at The Andover Shop I found the real thing.”
Eric visited The Cambridge location a couple times to get his bearings before deciding what item of clothing he wanted to have made to measure. “I work from home, so I wear sport coats because I want to, not because I have to.” He consulted at length with the staff to figure out exactly what would fit his needs.
Products With Personality: The Shetland Sweater
We explore the history of the iconic Shetland sweater, the making of the incredibly warm and tough Shetland wool and how it became a staple of any Ivy Style wardrobe.
Suits With A Story: Between Modern and Classic
“Ultimately,” he says, “it was a practical purchase. I needed it.” Al has been coming to The Andover Shop since 2013, when he arrived in Boston for his undergraduate studies. He was immediately taken with the store and has shopped here ever since, bringing his father in a year later and turning him into a satisfied customer as well.
