Odd Quad Whipcord, 1961

(click to enlarge)

 As always, the trousers are tailored with classic simplicity, tastefully trim -- with regular pockets, pleatless fronts, and belt loops.

Source:

The New Yorker - 8/5/61

Ivy-Inspired, 1964

Seersucker, madras, linen - three of the big summer looks in men's sportswear: (l. to r.) Novel seersucker plaid with red Haggar slacks; Cricketeer's multi-colored traditional jacket in Dacron and wool and Champion gold slacks; and Gordon-Ford's linen jacket in red and off-white stripes with red slacks by Corbin.

Source:

Ebony magazine - April 1964

Corbin Ltd.

Corbin was a staple at men's traditional clothing stores across the country

Corbin Ltd. was founded in 1947. Howard Corbin, a bombardier/navigator aboard a B-25 during World War II, left the Air Force to enroll in business school at Columbia University. During his college years, he worked in his family's small trouser factory. By the time he had completed his degree the factory was producing a line of clothing soon to be associated with the "Ivy League Look".

Originally, khaki trousers were part of military uniforms. They became a staple of civilian dress in the years after World War II.

“There was no such thing as a casual trouser back then. Men either wore suits or they wore jeans,” said Jim Leddy, vice president of marketing for Corbin. The company was among the first to introduce sleek, military-style plain front khakis in the late 1940s and early 1950s - a time when voluminous, pleated pants were in vogue. [Wilmington, NC Morning Star - 3/24/96]

As Corbin grew it maintained its status as a family-run business. Howard's son, David, eventually became the vice chairman of Corbin Ltd. He graduated from The Hill School and magna cum laude from Princeton University and received an MBA from Harvard University. He was also member of the United States sailing team that participated in the 1977 America's Cup trials.

Corbin Ltd.'s annual revenues grew to $50 million by 1988, the year that David Corbin charged his father with mismanagement and misuse of corporate funds. In a court complaint, David Corbin charged that Howard had "failed to recognize the distinction between what belongs to him and what belongs to the company." The suit cited several instances in which Howard allegedly used company funds to pay for personal indulgences, such as a Manhattan apartment.

Both continued with the company, and David Corbin was elected president by the company's board of directors in 1991. He succeeded his father, who continued as chairman and CEO.

At its peak, Corbin employed over 1,000 workers at plants in West Virginia and Kentucky. But in 2003, facing rising production and employee benefits costs, Corbin management decided to change its business model "from that of primarily a manufacturer to that of primarily a wholesaler of quality menswear." Corbin laid off 129 workers at plants in Ashland, KY and in Huntington, WV. In April 2003, Corbin filed for bankruptcy protection.

The following excerpts from an article published in the Charleston (WV) Gazette on 12/21/03 reveal some of the issues facing Corbin employees...

In 1997, the seamstresses at Corbin Ltd. gave up two years of raises so the company could create a self-funded health-insurance plan.

“We agreed to work for less so we could get our medical bills paid,” said Wynona Maynor, president of local 747 of the Union of Needle Industrial Trade Employees.

Then in 2001, the company quietly quit paying most of the employees’ medical bills. Nobody told the seamstresses.

By the time Corbin Ltd. declared bankruptcy in April 2003, it had saddled 444 former employees with at least $2 million in medical bills the company should have paid, according to a West Virginia Division of Labor audit.

Many of the seamstresses had pieced together pants at Corbin’s Huntington plant for more than 20 years. They found out Corbin had quit paying their bills when they got collection notices in the mail from medical providers.

“When Corbin didn’t pay the doctors and hospitals, the doctors and hospitals came after the employees,” Maynor said.

“We’d all signed those forms doctors’ offices make you sign, the ones that say if your insurance doesn’t pay, the patient owes it,” Maynor said. “Now we’re being sued by hospitals, our credit rating’s ruined or threatened, we’ve been turned down for loans, and we’re swamped with bill collectors.”

Some have filed bankruptcy, she said. Many are thinking about it.
...

There is no love lost between the seamstresses and the Harvard-and-Princeton-educated David Corbin. Six former employees told the Sunday Gazette-Mail that in the mid-1990s, Corbin assembled several hundred employees at the Huntington plant “and he stood up there and told us we were dumb, ignorant hillbilly women who were lucky to have a job, and he could move the plant to Mexico at the snap of his fingers,” said Juanita Johnson. The other five women said she reported his remarks accurately.

...Former employees speak affectionately of the elder Corbin, who set up a scholarship fund for children of company employees and started the company’s first health-care plan.

“It’s good he’s not here to see all this,” Johnson said.

Not long after Corbin declared bankruptcy, the Individualized Apparel Group purchased Corbin's assets. Corbin became, at that time, IAG's third major trouser brand (Asher and Hubbard, manufactured in IAG's plant in Shippensburg, PA, being the other two). David Corbin was not to be involved with the business going forward, and Corbin's two plants in Ashland and Huntington were not part of the purchase.

Mark Thiele, vice-president of sales for Asher Trousers, headed Corbin's sales and marketing for IAG. "We plan to keep the Corbin fit, models and fabrics. But our first priority is to revitalize the Corbin in-stock trouser and clothing programs, which have been the core of the brand." [quoted in Daily News Record - 4/7/03]

College '57

The special look of college clothes this year is an all-American look. Rarely have students, from Bowdoin to UCLA, dressed so uniformly. For this reason, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED went to the center of America to photograph this year's college fashion preview at the University of Missouri at Columbia. Columbia likes to think of itself as Collegetown, U.S.A., with its three schools: M.U., Stephens and Christian colleges.

...

The college man, even in the South and the West, is dressing in the tradition of his Ivy League brethren: combining chino cotton jackets with flannel slacks; sharing a penchant for corduroy, good tweed, for whipcord and covert, many another favorite shown here.

Source:

SI - 9/2/57

I encourage you to click on the above link, then click on "view this issue" and turn to page 37 to view all of the photos and descriptions.

The Natural-Shoulder Look Across the Board, 1964

Here's just a soupcon of the natural-shoulder apparel you'll find at H&H. Take it from the top: Lord Jeffs V-neck pullover of pure lambswool. Fully fashioned with saddle shoulder. Many colors, 15.95. Corbin slacks of worsted flannel. Trim, plain front with belt loops. Conservative shades, 23.95. Gant traditional shirt in oxford cloth. Button down or tab styles, box front, back pleat and hanger loop. Solid colors, 6.50, stripes 6.95. Exceptionally well tailored PBM's herringbone sport coat in classic herringbone, 3-button, with welt seams, hook vent and patch/flap pockets. In grey, olive, brown...39.95. Hughes + Hatcher.

Source:

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - 8/24/64

Polo Fashions, 1968

"(Ralph) and Joe Barrato, his friend from Brooks Brothers, had been lunching out regularly ever since Barrato got out of the army and joined Corbin, a trouser company, in 1963. In the mid-sixties, the well-dressed Traditional customer wore Rivetz ties, Corbin pants, Southwick natural-shoulder jackets, Gant shirts, a Canterbury belt, and Bass Weejuns. Ralph told Joe he wanted to bring them all together - in slightly more sophisticated versions - under the Polo banner. But Ralph also wanted the Brooks customer at every age - prep schooler, Ivy Leaguer, privileged adult. And then he wanted to go beyond that, and reach out to the likes of Ralph Lifshitz and Joe Barrato, and give them the tools to turn their insecurity into aspiration and motivation. "I design for my world, for the people I know, whose lives I understand," Ralph would say. "Someone like me." His pitch hit a chord."

Source:

Genuine Authentic: The Real Life of Ralph Lauren, Michael Gross, 2003

Big year for native fabrics

Big year for native fabrics

Bigger than ever in this winter resort season is Indian madras. Now a perennial, madras dyed in muted colors peculiar to India's vegetable dyes, came into this hemisphere by way of the Caribbean (SI, Jan. 23, 1956) and is now dominant in all caregories of resort apparel—slacks, shorts, shirts, dresses, dinner jackets, at-home pajamas, ties, cummerbunds, belts, even shoes and ditty bags for sailboats. It has paved the way for other fabrics with a similar rough-crafted look: batiks in brilliant Javanese and African prints are one example; sturdy work fabrics such as duck, denim and ticking are others. Shown here in Charlotte Amalie are shore clothes, for socializing or spectating at the Go-Kart races. They will be as much at home on northern shores this summer.

New jackets are (left) Dacron-and-cotton gingham ($37.50, Haspel: Chipp, Inc.) and Paul Simpson's duck blazer piped with hemp ($35, Cricketeer: Burdine's Hathaway shirt, $9).

Popular pants at Go-Kart races are batik and madras. Man's batik pants at left, also shown close up at right ($18.50, Corbin: Paul Stuart), are worn with ecru knitted shirt ($13, Fashion Hill). Girl's long pants are batik and madras ($16 each, Gordon-Ford); man's are madras ($18, Gutstein-Tuck). Blazer ($15) teams with shorts ($8, White Stag), madras cap from Gobbi.

Source:

Sporting Look - SI- 1/11/60

Ken C. Pollock on the Ivy League Look

TNSIL: Traditional Natural-Shoulder Ivy League.

The venerable Ken C. Pollock posted the following on AAAC some time in 2004):

I go back a long ways with traditional natural shoulder ivy-league clothing (hereinafter “TNSIL” clothing), a phrase I like better than “preppie.”

I cared and knew nothing about clothing in high school. However, during the years (1959-1965) I was in college and law school in New Orleans, I had part-time jobs at the TNSIL shops in two clothing stores. One of those stores, Rubenstein Brothers, still exists today (selling mostly dreadful high-styled Italian stuff), but the second floor “Madison Shop,” which one reached by riding in the madras walled elevator, no longer does. We sold Southwick, H. Freeman and Son of Philadelphia, Joseph Greif, Allen Solly, Pringle, Alan Paine, Corbin, Gant, Burlington Gold Cup, etc. Despite the fact that I could have gotten a small discount by shopping where I worked, I did most of my shopping when the J. Press traveling representative came to New Orleans. Sadly, that the road shows have ended for USA companies, but English firms like Henry Poole, Huntsman, Edward Green, and Cleverley keep up the tradition.

I also went to New York several times during my school years and was enthralled by Chipp, J. Press, and [partly] by Brooks Brothers. I then bought a trench-coat and a car coat from Chipp, made by a company hardly any American had ever heard of, named Burberry. Nearly all of my suits and most of my shirts came from J. Press. I have posted about Brooks Brothers previously. It was very different in 1960, as compared to 1968, and sadly of course, it is far more different now. In 1960, we lovers of TNSIL clothing had to pick carefully among its offerings, mainly the oxford cloth shirts, some of the English socks, the English sweaters, and the raincoats. We avoided the ties; they were 2” shorter than everyone else ‘s. Brooks would explain that they were long enough; since nearly all of their suits came with a vest, the vest covered most of the tie. Furthermore, the vests meant that the shirts did not need pockets. I then, as now, loved “pure” TNSIL clothing. I thought that it was better practiced at Chipp and J. Press, than at Brooks, which was so English and so old-fashioned. In 1960 Brooks sold stuff that had gone completely out of style 25 years before; things like braces (soon to come back again, however), nightshirts, even nightcaps (with or without a tassel), button-fly trousers, French-back boxer shorts, bowlers, etc. Its suits were mostly of too heavy fabric, like the old grey herringbones the Brits wore. I had similar problem during trips to London in the early 1970’s that I had had with Brooks earlier. I bought up lots of sweaters, ties and socks, but avoided the clothing. The suits had too much shoulder then, the waists were too suppressed, the fabrics were too heavy, and suits usually came with weird touches, like short, stubby double vents and one button on the coat sleeves. The trousers sat too high on the hips.

Of course, TNSIL clothing has major parts of its roots in English clothing and the “pure” TNSIL look adopted and absorbed much of the English stuff that Brooks brought from England; the button-down collar (supposedly), the Shetland sweater, the trench coat, the polo coat, Fair Isle sweaters, Argyle sweaters and socks, etc., so the line has always been blurred. I have had one major change in taste since school days. During those years I (now I think, sadly) avoided Brooks’ English shoes. I then liked the very heavy double soled, often grained, ones; the ones that Flusser calls “gunboats.” The McNeil and Leeds models still sold by Allen Edmonds are good examples of that type.I later went over to the English-style shoe, along with two American ones; Alden and a few of the lighter Allen Edmonds models. Brooks modernized all during the 1960s and by the end of the decade, I liked their suits more.

After I finished school, I came to Atlanta, but I kept on buying from the J. Press traveling representative. As has been commented on elsewhere in this thread, actually J. Press clothing, while good, has never been of the very best quality, Only the cut and style were perfect. I was married in a J. Press suit in 1968. It was about that time that Brooks Brothers opened an Atlanta store, ending the trips here by the J. Press.

I then shopped some at Brooks Brothers, but more frequently from a local store, named “Spencer’s.” It carried the big three TNSIL names, Norman Hilton, Troy Shirtmakers Guild and Alden. The first two are gone, although the Norman Hilton name (but not the cut or quality) comes back from time to time, made by someone else. Alden probably would have been gone by now also, but for the fact that the French, Germans and others in Europe have given it the attention that it deserves. I was happier with Norman Hilton, than I was with J. Press; the cut and style were equally good and the quality was better. It had lots of hand-work. The last J. Press garment I bought, a Harris tweed jacket, was nearly all machine-sewn. I think that it was not from its best line, however.

After Spencer’s went downhill (it is now closed), I moved to H. Stockton’s for my Norman Hiltons. I could not buy my shirts there, however, as it had Troy make them for them with a longer (then trendy) collar. My last experience at Stockton’s was to try to buy some non-pleated trousers. I was told that it did not have one pair in the store, but it could special-order them. As a result, I will not go back to that store.

Shirts are a problem now, too. Troy eventually got into fusing, my most hated word. I can understand that fusing in suits and sport coats saves a little manufacturing costs, but how can anyone justify fused (or lined) shirt collars? Troy is now completely gone. Kenneth Gordon and Gitman both have fused and/or lined collars. The only Brooks shirts that do not seem to have fused or lined collars are the oxford button-downs in about 4 solid collars and two stripes. The others are all Asian made, mostly no-iron, and, IMO, are stiff and dreadful. Mercer sells a nice shirt, with perfect collar and no fusing, but I do not like some of the fabrics. I have not bought there since Mercer changed manufacturers. Nor have I bought shirts from J. Press in years. I have some English shirts by Turnbull, H&K, H&H, Lewin, etc., but that is betraying the TNSIL cause.

Norman Hilton closed its factory 8-9 years ago. IMO, Nick Hilton had been taking it downhill for several years before. Suits are now a problem too. I never was “in love” with Southwick; poor quality control, I thought. I thought some fit, some didn’t. Lots of fusing now, too. Oxxford has wonderful tailoring, some fine fabrics (and some very ugly stuff), but are cut by idiots. If you are not short and fat, it makes you look like it. Hickey Freeman is, to me, a somewhat poorer man’s Oxxford; not quite as wonderful tailoring, some fine fabrics (and some very, very ugly stuff), but they are mostly cut even worse, if that is possible. Samuelsohn is cut much better, but like all the others, you have to special order non-pleated trousers. There is no one else, except for the Italians; in most cases, the second most dirty word to me. Several places on Savile Row can do its own style (not TNSIL) right, but you must be very rich.

The Paul Stuart logo shows a man sitting on a fence. I have wondered why. Is it because of satirical uncertainty, such as I now have about trying to continue on with increasingly difficult task of trying to find good “pure” TNSIL clothing, versus moving into the English style? I have had no trouble rejecting Italian, although I will admit that some of the fabrics are very nice (but usually quite light), others are bizarre, and the tailoring can be excellent. IMO, however, the cut is usually dreadful, especially Brioni. Isaia and Kiton can do a good job, but it is still not TNSIL clothing. Paul Stuart has some nice stuff, but again, it is not “pure” TNSIL clothing. Ben Silver seems to be a bit of a mix of “pure” TNSIL clothing with Southern touches, English, a little bit of Italian, and updated TNSIL clothing. I wonder about the quality (who really makes the suits and sport coats?), do not like the Italian stuff and think the prices are way too high. Cable Car sells Southwick for very high prices. I have not investigated to see if it any better than Southwick’s usual fused suits (usually $299 at Filenes’s, but on sale here now for $224); but for those prices (3-4 times as much), it should be.

I now live in a “mix.” I admit that I am a hypocrite. I claim to be for “pure” TNSIL, but I really sit on the fence. I have some, mostly old, “pure” TNSIL clothing, some updated TNSIL clothing like Paul Stuart’s Samuelsohn, some real Savile Row, and a little Italian, although I am happiest with the former.
I have not bought Polo, except for a little of the English-made purple label stuff, usually top quality, at over-the-top prices. I just do not like the idea of Polo, mostly Asian junk, lots of fake “discounting” and sold to the masses via a gigantic advertising budget, hinting that it is a way for the middle class can get that old-money look. Polo probably loses money on the higher quality stuff, but I suspect that it has made a fortune getting knit shirts with the horsey logo made in Asia for $5-6 or so, and selling millions of dozens of them to retailers for about 3 times that. In turn, those stores “reduce” them from their $52.50-$65 list prices down the $35-$40 range.

Who do I think gets it right? IMO, at one time J. Press got it right. Also, Sidney Winston at Chipp got it right, but he would have to remain inventive, if he was alive today, to compete. How to be inventive and yet within the boundaries? While I claim to be for pure TNSIL clothing, I admit that it can be boring, if it remains “fixed,” and people rest on their laurels, as J. Press’s Japanese owners currently do. I admit I am for purity, but I know there has always been an uneasy alliance with English style, and that that alliance can work. I think that perhaps the only way to remain for TNSIL clothing to remain desirable is for it to remain fresh and inventive. New stuff has to come out. When i sold clothes in college, Gant, which was then good, put out 2-3 new stripes every 3-4 weeks to keep the interest up. The only way, IMO, to be inventive now, is to continue to borrow from and to slightly modify the English. One way, perhaps the best way (to avoid wandering off into "fashion") to be inventive can be done by looking to the past for inspiration. Except for introducing a number of items that caught on, Brooks never really did it quite right and certainly does not now. It is getting away from the English too much and getting into its current owner’s Italian style. Why did the W. Bill fabric have to go? Why are the tweeds so light? Realistically, Brooks can never be pure TNSIL; it is too large and therefore must appeal to the masses. Paul Stuart and Ben Silver are too expensive for their quality and are not pure enough. Cable Car, like J. Press, is a bit mummified.

There are some people out there with taste. Jay Kos has taste, but his stuff is not real TNSIL; it is too English and too expensive. George Bass in New Orleans has great taste, but he is a little bit too Italian. I think that he is close, though.

What would I do if I was in the business? I would get someone to copy Norman Hilton exactly. I would sell 3 button sack suits and sport coats, very much like Norman Hilton’s Hampton model. I would also sell them in a slightly suppressed 2 button model like Norman Hilton’s West End model. I get tired of only worsted and worsted-flannels being widely available. One way to be inventive is to go to re-introduce really lofty soft flannels, hopsacks, cavalry twills, whipcords, cheviots, etc. J. Press has some, but not enough of this. Also what is wrong with more heather-shaded olives and browns. It is boring to keep drowning in a sea of greys, navy and tan only; very little else exists. I would sell button-down shirts like those by Mercer, but in better materials; it could substitute for Troy or the Brooks’ shirts of old. I would sell Alden, Edward Green, Grenson, C&J and a few Church’s (the heavier models like the Shannon and the Burwood). I would sell lots of vests (in tartans and tattersalls). I would sell lots of repps and club ties (Brooks’ Country Club line is good). I would carry only non-pleated trousers. Is Majer still good? I would sell standard Pantherella socks, argyle socks, French lisle socks and clocked socks in sizes, not one size fits all.

What do I think would be the result of all of a business doing this? Probably disaster. We few who are into TNSIL are dinosaurs in our thinking; pretty much old and out-of-date. It is all about fashion now, not about style. There are just not enough of us out there who love TNSIL to keep anyone in business. As usual, I think that the answer is that there is no answer, but it is an interesting subject.

Source:

Tucker's TNSIL blog (defunct) and the AAAC Forum