TEN-HUT! Hope everyone's got their Christmas shopping done! Today, I'll be posting pictures of my new overcoat, but not just any ordinary vintage overcoat, this one is army issue!
Nice, heavy and thick. Army issue coats have always been of the highest quality and still are today. I believe this is the M1939, as it's dated 1940. I'm guessing this was an officers coat because of the gold buttons. I was skeptical at first because I thought they would be "too flashy" but I've come to like them as they pop against the "breen" color of the wool.
The belted back is not only nice to look at, but it gives the coat the proper fit depending on how much or little you wear under it. Simple idea but quite clever!
I also figured I needed some new (vintage) ties for my family gatherings this christmas, so I picked up these 2 '20s/'30s ties with Christmas colors/themes in mind.
For the holiday, here is a 1932 recording of "Jingle Bells". To all my followers, have a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Ha ha happy holidays folks! I just attended a very fun Christmas party at my old job last night, and had quite a good time. I decided I wanted to dress in my best do me do duds for the party. The party was semi-dressy, and quite refreshing for that fact. It wasn't the usual "secret santa" format, rather it was a "white elephant", where names are picked out of a hat and a person picks a present or steals a present that someone already opened. Quite fun!
1926 dated suit, '30s NRA label overcoat, '20s glasses, '50s Homburg, '40s tie, '10s cufflinks, Paul Fredrick shirt, Allen Edmund cap toes.
The present I got from the party. As an animator nothing beats more cartoons to add to one's collection.
First I'd like to catch up with some of the garb I've been sporting for work the last few weeks.
With the weather becoming unusually cold for this time of year, I've been sporting my new shawl lapel cardigan I picked up from Old Navy. While it's only about 55% wool with a synthetic mixture and a little too long in certain measurements I love this sweater and highly recommend it! It really compliments the "classic animator" look I try and attempt.
Though Halloween was practically cancelled due to the hurricane, me and my coworkers did get to have some spooky fun at a party thrown by our bosses. Costumes were mandatory, and after racking my brain trying to figure out what to be on such short notice, I went with an idea I had since last Halloween, a steampunk army engineer.
Nothing super special about my costume. It's really just a mish mosh of some World War Two gear I got several Halloweens ago, with my dad's Vietnam army shirt from around 1970, a couple pocket watches, tweed pants, leather gloves, real glass and metal goggles, and a cheap costume civil war union cap. Though being at a cartoon studio, I kind of wished I went as a cartoon character like I did last halloween. Anyone remember Chuck Jones' "The Dover Boys" (1942)?
Now I'd like share some recent hat finds.
First this tweed flat cap, made by Empire Caps. The little belt on the back says '50s to me, though I'm not entirely sure when that came into vogue exactly.
Maybe it's because I'm a New Yorker, but I love the logo on this cap!
The belt on the back looks almost functional with the extra material, unlike some other caps I've seen where it's just a short piece of material with a buckle sewn to the back. I think this more realistic belt is because it's custom made, rather than ready to wear.
Next is a real pearl of a fedora.
A '40s/'50s Dobbs fifth avenue in virtually near mint condition. It even came with the original hat box (pictures later)
Nice and tall 4 3/4 inch crown with a nice big brim.
Virtually mint condition, probably one of the cleanest vintage hats I've ever own.
Now that my blog is finally up to date, I can make my future posts more organized and simple!
Until then, enjoy my current music obsession. Harry "The Hipster" Gibson perfomring, "Piano Boogie Jump"
Been a while since my last post. Between Hurricane Sandy and crunch time at work I've been putting off updating this blog. So without further ado, I'd like to present a new suit I acquired recently, or rather, my "new" old suit, from the roaring twenties. Finding good photo reference of actual 1920's era menswear itself isn't common. Sure, there's old magazines, photo's and movie's, but finding detailed photographs of the clothing today takes a lot of searching. Most of the time, I've seen '20s suits reffered to as "Zoot Suits" or "Mobster Suits" and presented as having gigantic lapels and thick pinstripes. It's probably due to the average Joe with only hollywood magic to reference making the '30s and '40s being slapped together with the '20s. Though watch any old pre-1934 movie, mobsters tended to have more variety in their wardrobe. So here is a treat for you roaring twenties fanatics, an up close and detailed look at a real 1920's suit from 1926.
6 X 2 double breasted, with medium sized lapels, quite a classic style that never really went out of mainstream fashion, except roughly around the 1955-1967 period, when small lapels ruled and the double breasted suit was cast aside for the more simple 2 and 3 button single breasted numbers. This suit is a prime example from the period. Dated July 30th 1926, it's hard to believe it's 86 years old! While classic, there are some features that set it apart from other eras. The shoulder padding is very minimal, giving a more natural silhouette, and the cuffs feature only 2 buttons, which from what I've seen stuck around for a bit in the '30s and early '40s. Then again in the '60s and '70s.
This suit features a high-gorge (the area where the lapels cross in my book) and the mid size lapels work nicely with the natural silhouette of the suit.
Small simple label.
A vintage clothing enthusiasts best friend, a dated tag.
Like the jacket, the pants are in excellent shape. Plain front, medium sized cuffs, big loops.
Now, a suit from 1926, you'd expect a button fly right? Well to my surprise it came with a zipper. Some of the vintage suit experts, (I'm just an amateur) think the zipper might be original as it had been invented by that time. Though that synthetic herringbone material that the zipper is part of doesn't look period at all, but c'est la vie.
Wow, I actually made an organized single topic post! Next one will return to the usual anything goes format, featuring more vintage hats and Halloween stuff.
Followers of my blog have requested photographs of me wearing my recently purchased '20s era bakelite glasses. Well the wait is over! Look and see!
I'm quite happy with them. They fit just right and are very comfortable. I'll just have to get used to looking through round lenses as I'm so used to my oblong shaped Shuron's. I'll also be able to do impersonations of Harold Lloyd, Ed Gallagher and even the famed Fibber McGee!
Now let's talk about the weather shall we? I thought this was October? Crisp air, colorful trees, Halloween decorations, freezing cold...hold on. Yes, the other night it reached an astonishing 35 degrees and it was a rather windy night at that! I had to break out my heaviest wools for work, and decided to go with the Boardwalk Empire look.
1930's/'40s Sears Roebuck cap, '40s/'50s knit tie, Old Navy tab collar work shirt, 1933-1935 NRA label overcoat, Old Navy tweed pants, bayfield cap toe boots.
Recent vintage acquisition:
1940's bold look jacket with pre-war specs. High gorge, but big low lapels, and pretty bold blue and dark burgundy pattern.
On a more random note, this beauty was parked in my neighborhood the other day. 1951 Lincoln.
These last few weeks have been very busy at work especially with TV deadlines looming over. But even as busy as I am, the golden era is always on my mind. Like last year we've been having the oddest temperature fluctuations. From nice chilly norfolk coat weather one day to sticky humid weather the next. On the days cool enough to wear a wool sportcoat, I tend to default to one of my favorite vintage looks, the '20s-'30s cab driver, best remembered from Harold Lloyd in "Speedy" (1928) and James Cagney in his lesser known film "Taxi!" (1932). Cagney's later film "The Roaring Twenties" (1939) can also fall in this category as well. Those were the days when even simple cab drivers dressed to impress. A nice suit paired with a flat cap, newsboy cap or peaked cap, the typical example of a prim and proper uniform. Unless you call a car service, the most formal you'll see for cab drivers now is a collared shirt and chino's.
Speedy
Taxi!
This is my attempt at trying to pull off the old taxi driver look with my 1933 jacket, '30s/'40s Sears Roebuck cap, and '20s arrow tie.
Some more vintage finds
Those of you who've followed my blog may have noticed my glasses are a little too modern in comparison with the era's I like to dress. While the Shuron browline glasses I have were introduced in 1947, within the period of the golden era, I've been wearing them for a while now and thought it was time for a new look. I found these wonderful pair of lightweight bakelite glasses from around the 1920's, similar to those worn by Harold Lloyd and Vaudevillian Ed Gallagher.
1949 union tag orphan suit jacket. Gives off a '20s vibe to me. I have a hunch the original owner who had it tailored was an older gentleman who preferred the older style.
All the way from Britain, my first 78 RPM recording of George Formby. The sequel to his popular song "Window Cleaner". I actually prefer this version, as it's got more swing to it.
(All old photographs belong to their rightful owners)
The Homburg. The hat that's more formal than a bowler, yet more casual than a top hat. As popular as they were it seems in modern media that they are always cast aside with the fedora getting all the glory. I had bought a black one back in high school for formal days, but only wore it a few times. Last week on a casual browse through one of the big vintage stores I stumbled upon this homburg, probably from the 1950's. I'm always baffled to see big business executives wearing ball caps with their suits instead of these.
Small brimmed homburg, the style harkening back to the homburgs of the '10s-'30s.
Big leather sweatband, no liner and no hatters name anywhere in plain view.
The only clue as to the maker of the hat, narrowing it down to hat company names that end in the letter "O"
There was also a small car show on Staten Island last weekend. Decent collection, though it seems smaller now after attending the massive car shows at Westbury and Rhinebeck I attended back during the summer.
Two rare cars indeed. Russian imported 1968 and 1962 Volga's. Though while not in the bracket of "Golden Era" cars, their style is still dated to American cars of the 1953-1956 period.
A 1902 Smith, from the era when of motoring when men sported goggles and 15 miles per hours was speeding. For all you Looney Tunes fans out there, looks almost like the car Dan Backslide commandeered in "The Dover Boys" (1942).
"A runabout. I'll STEAL it! NOONE WILL EVER KNOW!" -Dan Backslide
1947 Pontiac Torpedo fastback. Love that model name. Why don't cars have cool model names anymore? Enclave? Vibe? Yaris? Taurus? Can't compete with names like Torpedo, Rocket 88, or Adventurer.
A nice mix of atomic era and art deco design on this glorious 1955 Pontiac.
1955 Cadillac and 1930 Ford model A accented with authentic vintage lawn chairs.
A stock 1939 Ford Deluxe. One of the few I've seen of these that hasn't been hot rodded.
A 1948 Crosley Engine. A forgotten company that was very popular during World War Two. Humphrey Bogart was said to own.
The delightful art deco 1938 Dodge Sedan. A true work of art. Cars of that era had such character, mostly because the design was from the brain of one designer, instead of a bunch of people throwing ideas at each other like today.
The unforgettable 1959 Cadillac. They say it has the largest tailfins, but I'd say it's in competition with the 1961 Imperial.
