Wedding Part 1: Rehearsal

It's been a month since our wedding so I think it's about time for some pics.  We have over 800 of the rehearsal and the wedding itself so I've picked a few of our favorites to show.

And this will be a multi-post series.

This post shows the rehearsal and what Cassie and I wore.  The day was beautiful though rain was threatening.  It sprinkled lightly but stayed dry enough for us to continue outdoors.  Cassie and I both decided to go all out with our outfits.  She wore a 1950s dress that fit her beautifully and I wore my favorite casual safari kit.  Enjoy.

 

:P

"What's this devilish little creature kissing on me?"

My best man gave me this neat little (and I mean little!) pipe as a wedding present.  Thanks Andrew!

The rehearsal and following dinner both went flawlessly and was a very enjoyable time spent with family and friends.  We are thankful for them all.

Next post will get us into the wedding.

WIW: A Casual Tuesday

Yesterday was gorgeous. The temperature neared 70 degrees though it was a bit windy. But I'm not complaining.

It was also a day off from work for me so I made the best of it. I pieced together the below kit for bumming around town.

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The pieces I chose are iconic.
~Early 1950s Bailey of Hollywood fedora
~1950s rayon Ricky jacket
~Modern Aris Allen wide-legged trousers
~Modern Stacy Adams 'Kingsman' spectators
~Modern faux suede casual shirt

Note that only two pieces used are actually vintage while all the rest are modern. That just goes to show that a man with limited financial resources can still piece together a good vintage-esque kit with very little actual vintage.



Vintage is getting more expensive and harder to find. The resourceful vintage man merely needs to remember that many modern pieces can fill a hole in his collection and, when worn right, can look just as good as the real deal.

Looking at the Past: Denim

Looking through the wonderful photos from the early 1940s over at the Denver Post is great fun. The color photos help bring the war era alive in a way black and white photos cannot.

One thing that I noticed is the prevalence of denim in work and very casual environments.

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Unlike today, denim was meant purely to be worn when the wearer was going to get down to the nitty gritty. Rarely was denim ever 'dressed up' with more formal accoutrements (sports coat, nice shoes, dressy shirt, etc.) like it often is today. One unusual exception to this were farmers who liked to wear worn out suit jackets over their denim overalls, though I doubt they were trying to 'dress up' by wearing this combo.

I like to keep denim where it was originally meant to be: at work and extreme play.

Devil Bug

I recently picked up an early '50s leisure/lounge jacket that was so commonly seen throughout the 1940s and 1950s:


It has a great 'atomic fleck' fabric pattern.

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Unfortunately the devil bug got to it before I did:




A good reweaver could do wonders with this jacket but the question is, would it be worth the price and effort?

Put This On- Denim

Visit Put This On and watch the interesting video about denim, both vintage and modern.

WIW Sunday

Went late '40s/early '50s again. The air was cool again but the sky was blue.

I wore a show-stealing "leisure coat" from the mid- to late 1950s. Unfortunately the 1970s pretty much ruined that name so whenever 'leisure' is used we most often picture this polyester abomination:

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Fortunately my jacket is 100% wool.

The leisure jacket shown is a later 'backwoods' cousin of the two-tone Hollywood Jacket of the late 1930s-early 1950s.

And my use of green was purposeful since it is a much under appreciated color when it comes to men's style.

WIW: Rayon and Gabardine

What a great combination. The modern rayon shirt feels soft and gently hangs from the body while the vintage gabardine suit looks casual and drapes wonderfully.

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Just have to love the very high Hollywood waisted trousers that drape so well.

WIW: '30s or '50s?

The look I went for today could be from anytime between the 1930s to the mid-1950s. It's a pretty timeless look, pairing a double breasted jacket with an open collar shirt.

It was also rather cool to wear on a hot day. The trousers are a linen/rayon blend and helped me stay cool.

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Hanging with my buddy Sheb Wooley, our new two month old kitten. To say he's a bit of a runt would be an understatement.

WIW today was inspired by the look on the left in this illustration, which is from a 1930s Esquire:

It's a bit daring to go tieless with a more formal double breasted jacket as opposed to single breasted but it can work if done well.

WIW

A simple early '50s casual look.

-modern shirt
-early '50s gabardine suit
-modern white saddleshoes

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The Original Sneakers

Below is an original pair of Ked sneakers made circa 1917.

These are the great-great granddaddy, the Adam and Eve, the Quark of the modern sneakers, running shoes and basketball shoes most of us wear everyday.

This is where it all began for Sneakers.

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The U.S. Rubber Company created the Keds shoe brand in the early 20th century. By 1917 Keds was manufacturing and selling the very first rubber soled canvas shoes which they called "sneakers" because of the way they allowed the wearer to sneak around unheard.

The bottom of the soles read:

"U.S. Rubber Co.
Keds
Trademark
Reg. U.S. Pat. Off.
Champion U.S.A."

The Edwardian appearance as well as the primitive but quality construction of these sneakers points to them being some of the first sneakers ever created. This is a rare find, especially in such good condition and with matching shoes.

They are, however, a very small size 6. For a young boy, no doubt. An oddity of childhood at the time.

Next time you slip on a pair of sneakers or running shoes, remember the original Keds sneakers and think of how far things have come and how much things have changed.

The '70s, 1940s-Style

Sometimes it's amazing how different eras of clothing can be so alike.

Take this suede leather sportscoat for instance:

While at a glance it looks like something you might expect to find from the 1970s (especially with that orangish-brown color), this sportscoat is actually from the 1940s, perhaps a little earlier.



The devil is in the details, such as the belted back with two small pleats above it and buttons:

And the 1940s-style tag as well as the silver/gray rayon lining:

Or the Art Deco plastic buttons:

Happily, the Fall/Winter 1944-'45 copy of the Sears, Roebuck catalog
shows an incredibly similar suede leather jacket (sans belted back):


Now, what to wear with such an unusual vintage jacket?



How about something casual like a flannel button-down shirt,
vintage Stratoliner fedora, jeans and vintage sunglasses?

My first vintage leather jacket.

What I Wore Yesterday

I hope everyone had a good Christmas, if a bit crazy.

Yesterday I went for a 1930s "working casual"
*1930s Adams fedora (Christmas)
*GAP leather jacket
*modern "fitted" Van Heusen shirt
*1930s wool tie
*Ralph Lauren trousers
*GAP socks (Christmas)
*AE shoes

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I'm playing with four patterns here. ;)

The trousers are amazingly long and high-waisted.

The shirt has small horizontal ribs throughout. A truly marvelous thing to behold. From a distance the shirt looks like a regular white one, but up close the ribbing pops out at the viewer and plays with the light.

This shot shows the sock and trouser patterns to good effect.

There's something about pairing a handsome '30s/'40s (style) jacket with trousers and a fedora that looks ruggedly manly yet elegant at the same time.

What I Wore Today

Went for a casual late-1940s/early-1950s look.

*green 1940s Stetson Whippet
*late-'40s/early-'50s jacket
*'40s tie
*vintage Swank tie bar
*modernGeorge trousers
*modern AE shoes

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This is a great green tie.

I have several new hats to show, including this Whippet but those will have to wait for later. Instead, let's take a look at the jacket.

I picked this up last Monday for a song. Great character with its short length, side knits and bellows on the front.

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Detailed shot of the bellows.

Another neat detail is the original "Campus" zipper pull. Whodda thunk it would still be attached?