The Chap

The Chap is a British bi-monthly magazine and related books founded in 1999 and edited by Gustav Temple. It proposes a return to a dandified way of life, involving the wearing of tweed and fine clothes, proper headwear, pipe smoking, cultivating facial hair, quality handmade shoes and pressed trousers.

The magazine has featured interviews with noted Chaps and Chapettes such as Stephen Fry, Leslie Phillips, Sir Patrick Moore and Joanna Lumley. The magazine celebrated its tenth anniversary in December 2009 with the Grand Anarcho-Dandyist Ball in London (the event now takes place every year).

The "Chappists" propose a revolution based not on violence, but on dressing with panache, drinking fine beverages and behaving with courtesy, especially to those from whom courtesy is not forthcoming. They have organised protests against modern art installations and bland corporations such as Gap, Starbucks, Nike and on Saint George's Day, 2012 outside the intended Abercrombie and Fitch shop at No. 3 Savile Row, in addition to bland cities and areas of cities, for example Catford in south-east London. Contributors have included Miss Martindale and Michael "Atters" Attree.

In May 2009 the magazine nearly closed due to financial issues arising from publishing a larger A4 format magazine. To keep going The Chap asked its readers and subscribers to donate funds. Additionally, Viz Magazine financially supported the magazine. It returned to its B5 format to reduce printing costs.

While Chappism appreciates British culture and loves tradition, it is nonetheless rooted in the Situationist strand of anarchism with more than the occasional nod to Dada. It is also indebted to Monty Python, Peter Cook, Spike Milligan and Viv Stanshall as much as it is to the avant-garde.

As The Chap enters its second decade, the magazine continues to plough its Wodehousian view of England, while England itself appears to gradually be coming round to The Chap's philosophy, with the return of the moustache, the monocle, tailored clothing and nightclubs celebrating 1930s glamour and 1940s austerity fashions. It has also featured articles extolling the virtues of the steampunk genre.

The Chap hosts a popular annual Chap Olympiad, normally held in Bedford Square Gardens, which is now in its sixth year. Due, in part to its growing popularity, the Chap Olympiad in 2012 was expanded to be a two-day event.