Well, it is actually Take Ivy meets Field & Stream magazine. This 1951 film on the Dartmouth Outing Club could be the ultimate ACL video (thanks to Beau for sending it my way). Camping, Hiking, Hunting, Fishing, Skiing and don’t forget the Winter Carnival. The Winter Carnival is a big party! — hundreds of girls, two dozen or more dances, Christmas lights on Main Street — it’s the social event of the year. The 11 minute Dartmouth recruiting film takes you on a journey of what it is like to be an Ivy League man, learning the ways of the outdoors. This video could be the purest manifestation of 1950s privileged Ivy League Americana meets Norman Rockwell. Enjoy!

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A museum of vintage oxford shirts? You’d be hard pressed to put together something more appealing to me. With the launch of the new GANT Rugger shop-in-shop on the upper level of its Fifth Avenue flagship, GANT has assembled an exhibition of assorted vintage shirts from its archive. The classic woven shirts — are all co-labeled shirts from mens stores throughout the U.S. Awesome old places like the Yale Co-Op in New Haven and the Klothes Kloset in Spokane, Washington. Basically, everywhere I wish I could have shopped.

The exhibit and the new GANT Rugger shop are launching this coming Thursday (October 22nd) with a cocktail party at the company’s Flagship in New York. ACL readers are invited to stop by to check out the classic shirts, peruse the new GANT Rugger goods and mingle with like minded preppy connoisseurs.

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The name GANT is synonymous with East Coast prep. Founded in New Haven, Connecticut in 1949, the company basically perfected the American shirt by making private label for J. Press, Brooks Brothers, the Yale Co-Op and many more. By the 1960′s (one could say the Take Ivy era), GANT was the shirt for students, popularizing the button-down on college campuses all over America. Since then the company has changed hands several times and has had its share of ups and downs, but recently it has been all ups, no downs.

A more recently focused GANT has established a great presence for its casual Rugger line (which the company launched in the 1970′s) everywhere from Scoop to Barneys Co-Op and in the process become one of the great revivals of the American heritage look. For spring / summer 2010 GANT looked to one of its own designers, Mr. Christopher Bastin, to further develop the Rugger range. Bastin (who possesses an encyclopedic knowledge of classic American sportswear) literally combed through the company’s archives (not to mention vintage dealers and eBay) to infuse the collection with historically accurate detailing and fabrication. I stopped by GANT’s offices last week to get a sneak peek at the new offerings, and ultimately found out exactly what I’m going to be wearing next summer.

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There is a great American Trad story in the Isetan spring 2009 catalog that I thought was worth highlighting here. The Isetan in Shinjuku is one of the most impressive stores in the world, a labyrinth of materialistic pursuits. In fact, the men’s shoe section nearly made me cry. These clothes below might not be identified or available for purchase to most of us, but I thought they are great from a styling / photography perspective. Enjoy.

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The fine folks at Rogues Gallery in Maine recently released images from the SS09 collection via their blog PTLDME. The collection looks as good as expected, preppy, nautical, causal and wearable. I’m looking forward to getting my hands on some of this stuff come more seasonable weather. My question is, how long can the nautical trend last? It seems to me that it has legs and can stick around for a while. What say you dear readers?

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Last night I was lucky enough to see the gents from Vampire Weekend play to a sold-out crowd of preppies at the Terminal 5. The show was the band’s first in New York since hitting the road for a massive tour. You could tell that all of that touring has really polished the group’s sound and live performance. Not to mention the fact that Terminal 5 is an awesome venue. Getting back to the crowd, it was pure preppy insanity. Shawl collars, Barbour coats and bow ties abounded. My friends and I even spotted what appeared to be a whole gaggle of Ralph Lauren employees cloaked in all sorts of tweed. It was definitely my kind of crowd and a great show.

Many thanks and much respect to John, Josh and Jason from The Bowery Presents for hooking it up.

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Not Metropolitan or Wall Street, I’m talking about Trading Places. The 1983 comedy set in old-money Philadelphia is a perfectly costumed dose of 1980s Prep / Wasp goodness. The subject matter may be tongue-in-cheek, but you would be hard pressed to find a more preppy styled movie.

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Imagine my delight when I discovered pages and pages of workwear and canvas bags at the Japanese shop Utility Coop. The Japanese really do know their stuff when it comes to American inspired design. Hopefully, some of these brands will make their way to U.S. stores soon. In the meantime we will just have to gaze longingly from the other side of the internets. Makes you thankful that Estex, Filson, Billykirk, Klein Tools and LL Bean are here, keeping us together.

Superior Labor: Paint Tote Bag

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The new Steven Alan for Urban Outfitters collection Lark & Wolff — you know the one that isn’t supposed to be available until around July 4th — is currently available at the NoHo Urban Outfitters on Broadway. The collection looks good and I even picked up two button-down shirts for $58 each. The UO people have the preppy offerings merchandised with chinos, skinny ties, Bass Weejuns and other appropriate items. I have to say that I liked the wovens and you could definitely see the Steven Alan touch in everything. The store didn’t seem to have the entire collection, just a small collection of men’s and women’s from what I saw.

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The good people at Division Street sat down with the gentlemen from Shipley & Halmos for a little Q&A about life in New York City, design inspirations, To Catch a Predator, and everyone’s buddy Mr. Sean Combs. The S&H gents seem genuinely normal and unaffected — just two cool guys with refined taste and a nose for style — which is refreshing. Here at ACL we want to see more success from the good, normal people like Sam Shipley and Jeff Halmos. Plus, I just love those woven shirts and that goes a long way in my book.

The photos from the interview turned out beautifully. The decor of the Shipley & Halmos office looks great — very on-point with my style. Interview after the jump.

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The new June issue of ForbesLife is out and inside there is a great still life story on Madras. The photography turned out wonderful and the Madras looks delicious. The shoot makes me want to go out and buy some serious summer plaid. I am starting to regret not wearing any Madras so far this year — might have to rectify that situation this weekend.

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My friends at Southwick sent me this great looking tote bag yesterday. My bag obsessions have been detailed here before — so no need to go there. The design is fairly innocuous until you flip it over and you see the giant “Made in the United States of America.” I love the way the bag is printed underneath the straps. I’m happy to see some buzz around the brand and might have to make a special trip to check out Southwick at Cuffs (one of my all time favorite men’s stores) this summer when I am back home. I guess I could shop for Southwick here in NYC, but what fun would that be.

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