Through the Looking Glasses

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.

Taxi!

            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)