Harry's New York Bar, Paris (Our collaboration with Harry's New York Bar launches in Paris on Thursday, January 17th)
Harry's New York Bar is a gathering place for intellectuals, celebrities, sportsmen and rakes. Many have been inducted into Harry's very own secret society, the International Bar Flies (or I.B.F.), whose icon - two cartoon flies - adorn the mirror behind the bar. To this day, Harry's is known for its limited menu: a wide variety of the best cocktails in Paris, and to eat... only hot dogs.
On a recent visit to Paris, Rowing Blazers founder Jack Carlson stopped at Harry's for a French 75 and - being a merch fiend as well as a connoisseur of iconic watering-holes - asked the waitress if Harry's had any merch. She produced bottle-green lambswool golf sweater, size XXL, emblazoned with Harry's famous bar flies motif. This was one of the last sweaters, she explained, from a run the bar produced in the mid '90s. It was a couple sizes too big for Jack, but it quickly became his favorite sweater anyway. "Everywhere I went, people commented on it and loved it. Harry's New York Bar is everything we aspire to be at Rowing Blazers: inclusive and unassuming, charmingly ridiculous, but with a hint of old-world glamorous and a deep, deep appreciation for history. So for months I nurtured this dream of doing a little collaboration."
Together with Franz-Arthur MacElhone (great-grandson of THE Harry MacElhone), Jack hatched a plan to bring back the lambswool sweater - and a range of other merch, inspired by the bar's illustrious history and sporting heritage. (As a gathering place for Anglo-American expats, Harry's has fielded rugby and baseball teams - sometimes with celebrity ringers - for amateur competitions in Paris over the years). The collection includes a rugby shirt, golf sweater, corduroy baseball cap, polo shirt, coach’s jacket, and both long-and short-sleeve tees.
The limited edition collection will launch - of course - at Harry's New York Bar in Paris during Paris men's week on Thursday, January 17th, and will be available online at rowingblazers.com and at Rowing Blazers New York shop from Thursday, January 24th.