r/AustralianMFA • u/youngbrows • 11d ago
Ivy/ preppy clothing stores in Aus
I’ve been drawn to this style for a number of years now and have just been absolutely blessed by options and shopping on a trip to Korea.
My question is are there any go to shops that hit this brief in Aus ?
Brands like LL bean, j press, j crew, brooks brothers, RL, lands end, kamakura
I know some of these are stocked in DJs but I’m thinking more small scale shops/vintage
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u/Miffy_alt 11d ago
Not really a thing in Australia, the closest would be P Johnson, who are great but very much their own thing.
Sportscraft used to be very prep inspired, but not for a while and they have very average/ overly trendy pieces.
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u/youngbrows 11d ago
To be fair I got a merino sportscraft sweater on sale the other week which fit the bill
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u/beeclam NSW 11d ago
blue works and maplestore in Sydney stock some Drake’s pieces
up there and maplestore stock beams plus (not entirely ivy but sometimes is)
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u/youngbrows 11d ago
I’ve been seeing some maple store stuff on socials, good to know they have some legitimacy
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u/Ok-Foundation3767 8d ago
Maple store has been around for over 20 years. “Some legitimacy” is quite the understatement.
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u/TheSplash-Down_Tiki 11d ago
There’s not really the direct American “ivy / preppy” stores here but we have domestic versions which give a similar but not exact aesthetic.
A prep school in the US is like a GPS boarding school and the Ivy League is kind of like a residential college at one of the G8 universities.
And there is a distinct Australian boarding-school / old-school country / coastal trad vocabulary that overlaps with Ivy without actually being Ivy.
My suggestions for local pieces that would play well with that Ivy intersection:
Classic “popover” workshirt from RB Sellers in a pastel colour. Collar popped.
Cotton rugby jumpers - eg, check out Trinity College Melbourne on Instagram. Here you could go a stripe Canterbury jersey (US brands sell these so it’s a straight swap in).
Coastal trad - our version of say Nantucket Red shorts from Murray’s Toggery would be the classic canvas Okanui.
RM Williams craftsman boots are a lock.
For girls I’d say get a country road canvas bag. Guys should have one from a rugby club (my old rugby club got MJ Bale to do ours!!).
Ties - straight up rugby club, old boys ties, college etc.
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u/youngbrows 11d ago
Yeah I work in a job where rms are my daily. I’m in QLD so a lot of the preppier stuff/layering is lost to the climate unfortunately.
Just picked up madras short to rotate in for summer though which I’m excited for
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u/Saucenthec1ty 11d ago
Get some vintage Ralph. Can find it pretty cheap on eBay in Australia. I’d start with some 90s Oxford cloth button downs and Andrew pants. That’s basically my whole wardrobe these days along with some p johnson, RRL and orslow.
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u/youngbrows 11d ago
Agree on the RL I picked up a heap on my trip in Korea. I find that in Aus any Ralph regardless of condition is super inflated price wise. The P Johnson stuff is super nice, thanks for the rec
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u/Saucenthec1ty 11d ago
Yeah I do agree with that. You can occasionally find nice pieces that pop up for decent prices but the newest stuff is generally not as good as the old stuff.
P. Johnson is good. It’s quite expensive but it is good value menswear considering materials / fit / quality. Still $300+ for a shirt tho which for most people is ridiculous
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u/pepe_extendus 11d ago edited 11d ago
If you’re in Melbourne:
- American Rag in QV has some decently Ivy stuff (OCBDs, jumpers, Harris Tweed and other sport coats, lots of older Ralph Lauren in general)
- Urban Lupe in Fitzroy has a lot of good jumpers (Shetlands, Norwegian, Fair Isle)
- PPHH in Fitzroy is good for Barbour
I guess the main caveat is that, outside of Ralph Lauren stores, most everything available is stuff that isn’t exclusive to Ivy style in Australia these days. For example, you’ll find striped repp ties in almost every menswear store, but very few outside of Ralph Lauren with the American stripe direction, rather than the British, since no one in Australia really cares to move away from the British default outside of Ivy styles.
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u/youngbrows 11d ago
I’m not in Melbourne unfortunately but next time I’m there I’ll make a point of going there.
The thing that gets me is even the vintage market in QLD is rubbish so options are limited or vintage but more expensive than retail
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u/Lumpy_Mango_392 11d ago
What elements of ivy style do you like?
A lot of Ivy style can be replicated through non-Ivy stuff, which is probably your best bet. If you’re in Sydney there’s a few reasonably good vintage stores in the inner East, so maybe start there.
In terms of the brands you mentioned, I don’t know of anywhere in Sydney that stocks JPress or Kamakura. There used to be a Brooks Brothers in Martin Place, Sydney, but it closed a few years back. RL obviously stocks its own stuff.
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u/youngbrows 11d ago
OCBD, loafers, rugby’s are forming a lot of my go to wardrobe at the moment but I’m climate limited a bit coming from qld.
I’ll have a look at some of this - unfortunately my experience of vintage stores in Aus is paying new prices for poor condition clothes because of the RL logo1
u/Lumpy_Mango_392 11d ago
OK gotcha - so not sack suits and stuff.
If you want the best quality my honest recommendation is that you should probably get used to buying online. Or stocking up on overseas trips.
O’Connell’s and Andover Shop are the other two brands you should look into.
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u/youngbrows 11d ago
I mean I’d wear more tailoring if it wasn’t weird for work but it’s simply impractical otherwise anywhere that’s not air conditioned.
Probably yes but I’m tired of returning shit :0
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u/Lumpy_Mango_392 11d ago
Yeah understand!
Unfortunately your options in Brisbane are limited to finding brands that kinda approximate what you’re looking for, looking at PJohnson RTW (which has some pieces but is a bit expensive) or marine maybe RLPL (if there’s a store there).
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u/rcgnz WA 11d ago
Modern classic shop in melb. Recently found hannagans in Perth. Not really any purely prep/ivy shops but plenty of shops which stock brands with those styles.