View source for The Chap

{{short description|British magazine}}
{{About|the magazine|the London-based band|The Chap (band)}}
{{Infobox magazine
|title = '''The Chap'''
|image_file = Chap_covers.jpg
|image_size = 250px
|image_caption =
|editor = Gustav Temple
|editor_title = Editor
|previous_editor = Vic Darkwood
|frequency = Quarterly (formerly bi-monthly)
|format = B5
|circulation =
|category = [[List of men's magazines|Men's lifestyle]] and [[humour]]
|company =
|publisher =
|founded = 1999
|country = UK
|language = English
|website = {{URL|thechap.co.uk}}
|issn =
}}
'''''The Chap''''' is a British humorous men's lifestyle magazine published quarterly. It was founded in 1999 by Gustav Temple and Vic Darkwood, and is still edited by Temple.
The magazine proposes that men everywhere return to a more gentlemanly way of life by rejecting modern vulgarity and careless, shabby or faddish dress sense through the restoration of the lifestyle, habits, manners and traditional fashion sense of a mid-20th century (or earlier) British ''chap''. Thus it advises men to wear traditional British suits and other similar well-tailored clothing, especially those cut from [[tweed (cloth)|tweed]]; to keep their trousers sharply [[Trouser press|pressed]]; to be impeccably [[Body grooming|groomed]]; to wear quality handmade shoes, brightly polished; and to return to the everyday wearing of hats.
''The Chap'' has a comic and [[Eccentricity (behavior)|eccentric]] twist on this. It jokingly espouses its own unique lifestyle philosophy called ''[[Anarchy|anarcho]]-[[dandy]]ism''<ref>{{cite web|title=Steady on, Chaps|url=https://londonparticulars.wordpress.com/tag/anarcho-dandyism/|website=London Particulars|access-date=18 May 2017|date=8 December 2010}}</ref> and has its own 10-point manifesto, ''The Chap Manifesto'',<ref>{{cite web |url=https://thechap.co.uk/the-chap-manifesto/ |title = The Chap Manifesto - The Chap}}</ref> which mandates that a ''chap'' is to [[Tobacco pipe|smoke a pipe]], is to [[Hat tip|doff]] his hat when good manners require, is never to wear what it calls ''[[Jeans|pantaloons de Nîmes]]'', and to sport a [[moustache]] (never a beard), among others.
==Content==
While ''The Chap'' appreciates British culture and loves tradition, it is strongly rooted in the [[Situationist International|Situationist]] strand of [[anarchism]] with more than the occasional nod to [[Dada]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Suits You, Sir: an Interview with Gustav Temple of The Chap|url=http://www.zyworld.com/albionmagazineonline/society2.htm|work=Albion Magazine Online|access-date=19 April 2015|author=Isabel Taylor|date=2008}}</ref> It is also indebted to the [[avant-garde]] as well as comedy greats such as the [[Monty Python]]s, [[Peter Cook]], [[Spike Milligan]] and [[Viv Stanshall]].
{{blockquote|text=
The idea for ''The Chap'' came out of various conversations with like-minded friends that there was no magazine aimed at gentlemen. Everything was either for vulgarians…or for the specialist hobby...
So I thought, let’s start a magazine that offers advice on personal grooming, elegance and modern manners which isn’t beholden to advertisers and which is light-hearted yet firm in its stance against vulgarity. This was in 1999.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Vulgarian Invasions|url=http://www.3ammagazine.com/3am/the-vulgarian-invasions/|website=[[3:AM Magazine]]|access-date=18 May 2017|date=7 October 2004}}</ref>
|author=Gustav Temple, co-founder}}
[[File:The-chap-48.jpg|thumb|150px|Front cover of ''The&nbsp;Chap'' no. 48, the 10 year anniversary issue.]]
''The Chap'' is a mixture of articles on clothing, footwear and headwear; on sport (mainly cricket and horse racing); on moustache grooming; on polite manners and traditional British [[etiquette]]; and on pipes and tobacco, all written in an [[Anachronism|anachronistic]] late-Victorian to mid-20th Century British style, interspersed with humorous jokes. For instance, the "Am I Chap" section sees people sending in photos of themselves dressed in vintage attire, on which the magazine's editors almost always comment derisively in a very withering, but humorous, fashion.
{{blockquote|text=
''The Chap'' is a bit like a club – there are lots of cosy in-jokes and references, though we also like to display affectionate disdain for some of the readers who send in their photos dressed as “Chaps”, merely to remind everyone that we actually believe in dressing properly or not at all. I recently conducted a reader survey and one of the questions was “Should we get rid of ‘''Am I Chap?''’” The response was unanimously against, in other words, despite the criticism, readers love that column.<ref>{{cite web|author1=Ville Raivio|title=Interview with Gustav Temple|url=http://www.keikari.com/english/interview-with-gustav-temple/|website=Keikari.com|access-date=21 May 2017|date=May 6, 2013}}</ref>
|author=Gustav Temple}}
''The Chap'' also features articles on a diverse range of things related to ''Chappism'', such as tales of First World War and Second World War military derring-do, stories or tips on unusual ways to travel when abroad, or the late Victorian and Edwardian martial art of [[Bartitsu]].<ref>{{cite web|author1=Bartitsuka|title=Bartitsu featured in "the Chap" magazine|url=http://www.bartitsu.org/index.php/2008/11/bartitsu-featured-in-the-chap-magazine/|access-date=18 May 2017|date=5 November 2008}}</ref>
The magazine has often been very satirical or whimsical, with content such as a series chronicling ''"A Year in [[Catford]]"'' and ''"Amusing Monograph as to the Various Pleasures and Diversions Afforded by One's Valet"''.<ref name="grauniad03">{{cite web|title=Shortcuts: Up and at 'em, Chaps!|url=https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2003/oct/09/features11.g2|website=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=20 May 2017|date=9 October 2003}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Rare Back Issues|url=http://thechapmagazine.co.uk/content/section_shop-hidden/rare-back-issues.html|website=The Chap|access-date=24 May 2017}}</ref>
Notable contributors to ''The Chap'' include [[Michael "Atters" Attree]] who conducts interviews with those known for their gentlemanly or [[dandy]]ish ways, and [[Miss Martindale]], a prominent spokesperson of [[Aristasia]], who from 2003 to 2005 wrote the Ladies' Column. Its current literary editor is the author and historian [[Alexander Larman]].
==Publication history==
The magazine is printed in [[Paper size|B5 format]], and originally was published in that format as well. In May 2009, the magazine nearly closed due to financial issues arising from moving from B5 to the larger [[Paper size|A4 format]]. To keep going ''The Chap'' asked its readership and subscribers to donate funds. Additionally, [[Viz Magazine]] financially supported the magazine. It returned to B5 to reduce printing costs.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Chap Saved by its Readers|url=http://thechapmagazine.co.uk/2009/06/the-chap-will-almost-certainly-be-saved|work=The Chap|access-date=2 December 2013|date=4 June 2009}}</ref>
''The Chap'' was published bi-monthly from 1999 to May 2017.
From issue #92 published in May 2017, the magazine has been published quarterly, has double the number of pages, and has been graphically redesigned. On this "relaunch" the editor said:
{{quotation|text=
Britain’s longest-running gentlemen’s periodical has relaunched, with impeccable timing. ''The Chap'' has refined its image, expanded its editorial reach and broadened its horizons. When launched in 1999, its message was completely at odds with the prevailing culture of lads’ mags. The world has caught up with ''The Chap'' because its platform no longer seems eccentric or quirky.<ref>{{cite web|author1=Gustav Temple|title=Elegance isn't just for toffs, even if we don't all desire a waxed moustache|url=http://www.express.co.uk/comment/expresscomment/810106/sir-roger-moor-death-the-chap-magazine|website=[[Daily Express]]|access-date=1 June 2017|date=28 May 2017}}</ref>
|author=Gustav Temple, editor}}
==Chap events==
''The Chap'' used to host the annual summer '''''Chap Olympiad''''' which was normally held in [[Bedford Square]] Gardens in London.<ref>{{cite web|title=Chap Olympiad 2013|url=https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/gallery/2013/jul/15/chap-olympiad-2013-in-pictures|work=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=2 December 2013|author=|date=15 July 2013}}</ref>
The magazine has also conducted a number of [[Ball (dance party)|balls]] called the ''Grand Anarcho-Dandyist Balls''.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Second Grand Anarcho-Dandyist Ball|url=http://thechap.co.uk/2010/11/the-second-grand-anarcho-dandyist-ball/|website=The Chap|access-date=21 May 2017|format=1 November 2010}}</ref>
===Chap protests===
The magazine has also organised several serious and semi-serious protests, all conducted in the unique [[tongue-in-cheek]] ''Chap'' style. These include:
* in 2003, the ''Chap Uprising'' – against what they see as modern living's vulgarity in general;<ref name="grauniad03" />
* in 2004, the ''Victoria & Albert Museum Protest'' –  a protest "against the pointless intrusion by [[Contemporary art|contemporary]] [[Public art|art pieces into public areas]]";<ref>{{cite web|title=The V&A Protest|url=http://thechapmagazine.co.uk/content/section_manifesto/artprotest.html|website=The Chap|access-date=21 May 2017}}</ref>
* in 2004, ''Civilise the City'' – a walk through central London whose aim was "to draw attention to the appalling lack of gentlemanly services available on Britain's high streets";<ref>{{cite web|title=Civilise the City|url=http://thechapmagazine.co.uk/content/section_manifesto/civilise-the-city.html|website=The Chap|access-date=21 May 2017}}</ref>
* in 2006, the ''Tate Modern Protest'' – against [[modern art]] installations;<ref>{{cite web|title=The Tate Protest|url=http://thechapmagazine.co.uk/content/section_manifesto/tateprotest.html|work=The Chap|access-date=19 April 2015}}</ref> and
* in 2012, the ''Siege of Savile Row'' – against the proposed opening of an [[Abercrombie and Fitch]] store at the centre of traditional English gentleman's tailoring, [[Savile Row]].<ref>{{cite web|title=The Siege of Savile Row|url=http://thechap.co.uk/2012/04/the-siege-of-savile-row/|website=The Chap|access-date=20 May 2017|date=23 April 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Sorry chaps, Abercrombie & Fitch simply doesn't fit Savile Row|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/apr/24/abercrombie-fitch-doesnt-fit-savile-row?INTCMP=SRCH|website=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=20 May 2017|date=25 April 2012}}</ref>
==Chap publications==
In addition to the magazine, a number of books have been published by ''The Chap'' over the years: these include ''How To Be Chap''<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.highsnobiety.com/2016/07/24/adidas-skateboarding/|title=The 5 Books and Magazines We're Reading This Weekend {{!}} Highsnobiety|date=2017-10-16|work=Highsnobiety|access-date=2017-10-16|language=en-US}}</ref> and books both on cooking and drinking for "chaps".
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Title !! Year !! Type !! Pages !! Author
|-
| ''How To Be Chap'' || 2016 || compilation || 272 || Gustav Temple & [[Gestalten]]
|-
| ''Drinking for Chaps'' || 2015 || drinks || 160 || Gustav Temple &  [[Olly Smith]]
|-
| ''Cooking for Chaps'' || 2014 || recipes|| 224 || Gustav Temple &  Clare Gabbett-Mulhallen
|-
| ''Am I A Chap?'' || 2011 || compilation || 199 || Gustav Temple
|-
| ''The Best of The Chap'' || 2005 || compilation || 192|| Gustav Temple & Vic Darkwood
|-
| ''Around the World in Eighty Martinis: The Logbook of a Remarkable Voyage Undertaken'' || 2003 || travelogue || 144 || Gustav Temple & Vic Darkwood
|-
| ''The Chap Almanac: An Esoterick Yearbook for the Decadent Gentleman'' || 2002 || collection || 144 ||Gustav Temple & Vic Darkwood
|-
| ''The Chap Manifesto: Revolutionary Etiquette For The Modern Gentleman'' || 2001 || treatise || 138 || Gustav Temple & Vic Darkwood
|-
|}
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
*[http://thechap.co.uk/about/ Official website]
*[http://www.thechapolympiad.com/ ''The Chap Olympiad'' official website]
**[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/expat/expatpicturegalleries/11735928/The-11th-annual-Chap-Olympiad-in-pictures.html The 11th annual ''Chap Olympiad'' (2015) in pictures] from [[The Daily Telegraph]]
**[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/06/magazine_the_chap_olympics/html/1.stm BBC News coverage of the ''Chap Olympiad'' 2006]
*[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/theres-a-good-chap-91467.html ''There's a good Chap''] from [[The Independent]] from 2003
*[http://www.3ammagazine.com/3am/the-vulgarian-invasions/ ''The Vulgarian Invasions'' - interview with Gustav Temple] from [[3:AM Magazine]]
*[https://sabotagetimes.com/life/well-trousered-sir-gustav-temple-talks-all-things-chap ''Well Trousered, Sir: Gustav Temple Talks All Things Chap''] from the [[Sabotage Times]]
*{{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121010005453/http://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/steampunk-rockers-the-trend-for-tweed-6739715.html |date=dmy |title=Article on ''The Chap'' and steampunk from the ''Evening Standard''}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chap}}
[[Category:1999 establishments in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Quarterly magazines published in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Men's magazines published in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Humor magazines]]
[[Category:Magazines established in 1999]]