The Way They Wore: Images from the Past

[Sir Jack II]

Special photoset of the fabulously wealthy

Milton Holden was a well-known socialite who traveled up and down the East Coast for vacation and living. Apparel Arts once described him as a "well-dressed man with fashion leadership." Here he is in black tie and, my favorite, a light-colored, patch pocketed summer suit worn with tasseled loafers.


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Desmond Guinness, the co-founder of Irish Georgian Society and a pioneer of architectural conservation in Ireland, had a spectacular wardrobe. Love the blazer (five button sleeve!), conservative suits, and tan puppytooth coat worn with white FC shirt. Also the Ikat-esque dressing gown that he wore at home


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Guests at a party given by actress Veronica Cooper (aka Sandra Shaw) in Beverly Hills, California, 1952. She is on the left, seated on the couch with Van Herbick and Jack Warner's daughter. Lighting a cigarette on the right is Ginger Macrae


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The Salviati family, a banking family in Italy, relax at their estate in Florence. I like the green tweed here (it's even a three-button coat!). Check out the jetted pockets on a tweed. Daughter Oliva Salviati in the third photo, but I think this would also make for a nice men's outfit. Todd Snyder has been introducing stripes like this for the last couple of years


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Will at ASW used to feature Aristotle Onassis on his blog prominently. Dude had a penchant for DBs and funky eyewear

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In the 1950s, Life Magazine did a story on London's debutante scene to capture all the tea drinking and social climbing at its finest. Most of the photos focused on the women (naturally, given the story's subject). I'm including one of those images here, and then the rest that features menswear


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Lastly, I love this look: ball cap with a rugged sportsman sport coat, chinos, and a dark blue shirt. IMO, when you're not wearing tie, a dark blue shirt can help visually anchor everything.

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I am digging your commitment to aesthetics over politics

 

[dieworkwear]

Are you sure that's a suit? It's obviously hard to tell since it's black and white and it might just be shadow, but the trousers look like a different shade from the jacket.

I feel like even more shocking than jetted pockets on a tweed is jetted pockets on a sport jacket! I've always felt like jetted pockets on a sport jacket is just too weird, but honestly it's not bad here.

What's up with this construction worker looking outfit. I assume this is some specific aspect of something that I don't know anything about.

Those are boating blazers

Historically, many sport coats were made with jetted pockets. I think this idea that sport coats can only have patch pockets is a relatively new idea.

Don't know if it's a suit. It may be a sport coat.

Finally, here are some photos of Palm Beach during the 60s through 80s, as shot by Slim Aarons. One of the interesting things about looking at the older generation's obsessions (e.g. Palm Beach vacations, Native American jewelry, etc) is that you get to see what used to be class signifiers, but are fairly passe today. As Flusser put it in his book Dressing the Man, "Palm Beach used to be the fountainhead of American resort fashion." Esquires Encyclopedia has tons of information about historical Palm Beach fashion, much of which still applies today for spring/ summer tailoring.

 

[dieworkwear]

I am digging your commitment to aesthetics over politics

Nearly every CM thread at this point is about politics, arguments over meaningless things, sales, and discussions about shoes. I'm hoping that this thread can be about clothes.

 

[schraiber]

Nearly every CM thread at this point is about politics, arguments over meaningless things, sales, and discussions about shoes. I'm hoping that this thread can be about clothes.

Sometimes it's tough to separate right? Like you've said, clothing is mostly a social language. It's hard to separate the clothes from their social implications.

That said, I do really appreciate this thread. Like I've said, not all of the fits are my cup of tea, but there's a lot of great inspiration in here, and I'm sure it'll slowly worm its way into my preferences.

 

[dieworkwear]

Sometimes it's tough to separate right? Like you've said, clothing is mostly a social language. It's hard to separate the clothes from their social implications.

That said, I do really appreciate this thread. Like I've said, not all of the fits are my cup of tea, but there's a lot of great inspiration in here, and I'm sure it'll slowly worm its way into my preferences.

Yes, I agree you can't separate the two, but CM is sorely lacking nowadays in clothing discussions. Nearly every thread is just about shoes, sales, what to kop, what boring thing to wear to the office, whether people dress up anymore, and arguments about global warming, race, respectability, streetwear, etc. I started this thread hoping that there can be discussions about clothes in the way people used to talk about clothes on this forum.

 

[jack webb]

The guy in the teal jacket and psychedelic pants: what kind of shoes are those?

 

[dieworkwear]

The guy in the teal jacket and psychedelic pants: what kind of shoes are those?

Red horsebit loafers. Very StyFo 2022

 

[dieworkwear]

Raw silk tailoring is one of those things that has almost all but disappeared. It's nearly impossible to find in the ready to wear market, and just about as tough to source bespoke because of the scarcity of the cloth. You can find Matka and Dupoini pretty easily, as they're often used for womenswear and accessories. But the weight and finish of those contemporary fabrics are not always suitable for menswear.

Some photos of raw silk suiting in the past. I have a vintage J. Press Matka sport coat in navy that doesn't fit me. You can sometimes find these at estate sales, flea markets, and of course, eBay.

 

[Spinster Jones]

I have a vintage J. Press Matka sport coat in navy that doesn't fit me.

Could you snag a picture? Hard to visualise the sheen in b&w photos.

 

[dieworkwear]

Could you snag a picture? Hard to visualise the sheen in b&w photos.

I cut it up into shreds to look at the inside of the coat. But if you Google "Matka sport coat," you can find some photos.

 

[dieworkwear]

One of my favorite photos of Prince Charles. I like the DB with a blue shirt and stone trousers. And most of all, the pale yellow socks.

Bruce Boyer once wore a similar outfit. Navy sport coat, cream pants, and yellow socks.

Last winter, I found that The Andover Shop has the perfect shade of yellow for socks, but they are unfortunately sold out. One of the sales associates there told me they should be restocking shortly.

Over the Calf Ribbed Wool Dress Socks

Shop Men's Socks Online & In-Stores at The Andover Shop located in Cambridge, MA and Andover, MA.

www.theandovershop.com

 

[schraiber]

Honestly navy jacket + cream/stone trousers may be in the top 5 most generic menswear looks but I'll be damned if it's not always great.

 

[dieworkwear]

Drapers' Three Kings book has a nice wool-cotton Prunelle weave in stone. Been wanting to get a trouser length. Seems like it would pair nicely with navy summer sport coats in the way described above.

 

[comrade]

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Not discussed about Plimpton was his accent. He was one of the last prominent speakers of the
now almost extinct Mid Atlantic accent. Well known speakers included FDR, Katherine Hepburn,
and the popular historian Barbara Tuchman. It was spoken my members of the Eastern WASP
upper classes. Although there were numerous exceptions to the WASP affiliation. Tuchman, for
example was a member of an "Our Crowd" Jewish family prominent in finance and government.

Mid-Atlantic accent - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

An Interview with George Plimpton about Truman Capote

A conversation with writer George Plimpton about his oral biography 'Truman Capote', in which friends, enemies, acquaintances and detractors recall the turbulent and very interesting career of the controversial writer.

www.learnoutloud.com

 

[JFWR]

Not discussed about Plimpton was his accent. He was one of the last prominent speakers of the
now almost extinct Mid Atlantic accent. Well known speakers included FDR, Katherine Hepburn,
and the popular historian Barbara Tuchman. It was spoken my members of the Eastern WASP
upper classes. Although there were numerous exceptions to the WASP affiliation. Tuchman, for
example was a member of an "Our Crowd" Jewish family prominent in finance and government.

Mid-Atlantic accent - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

An Interview with George Plimpton about Truman Capote

A conversation with writer George Plimpton about his oral biography 'Truman Capote', in which friends, enemies, acquaintances and detractors recall the turbulent and very interesting career of the controversial writer.

www.learnoutloud.com

If he was Jewish he would not have been a WASP, which stands for White Anglo Saxon Protestant. In virtue of being Jewish, he would not be any of those four things.