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.

click images to enlarge

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.

Quality in the Details

Yesterday I wore my plaid "Style Mart" suit to a wedding (photos soon).

While dressing I noticed a neat little detail I hadn't seen before even though I've worn the suit in the past: the belt loops.

click images to enlarge

While it looks like a normal belt loop from the outside, there is actually a smaller loop beneath. This small loop is for narrow belts like the one I'm wearing in the photo.



All of the belt loops on this suit have an extra one underneath. The suit is from the late '40s/early '50s and was off-the-rack.

These belt loops are just a sign of quality that we don't see on too many modern suits, especially off-the-rack.

The Emperor's New Clothes

Often times a vintage collector will be called out for wearing "costumes". And to the average eye vintage clothing may look like costumes. The styling is different from what most people are use to but vintage is far from costume.

Speaking for myself, I don't consider vintage to be a costume. I live in 2010, own a computer (obviously), drive a vehicle less than ten years old and don't speak like an iGent. I'm modern throughout except for my taste in clothing because, quite frankly, modern clothing is terrible. I prefer the quality, styles and cut that vintage has to offer.

A few vintage collectors may fancy themselves as living in the 1930s and therefore wear a costume, but most do not.



So what exactly is a costume?

In part, it has to do with mindset. Like those few 'vintagers' who believe they are truly living in the Golden Era, costumes (the people wearing them) believe or at the very least act like they are something they are not. In order for there to be a costume there first must be something that is make believe. And mindset is the gateway through which something becomes an act.

On the other side of the viewing glass, the viewer's mindset is just as important as the wearer's. Movies and false notions of the Golden Era have shaped the viewer's mind into thinking that anything vintage looking or inspired by vintage is a costume: a fedora (any fedora) gets the ubiquitous Indiana Jones remark; a pinstripe double breasted suit becomes a gangster suit; full cut trousers transform into a zoot suit, etc. Rather than trying to learn about and understand clothing from the Golden Era and the folks to collect it, most Joes use their ignorance of the period as a crutch.



Physically, a costume is false. On the outside it looks pretty good, like the real deal. But inside, down to the details it is ugly. Costumes are thrown together with budget and ease of production in mind. Halloween costumes are flimsy. Most stage costumes are pieced together from what can be found.
And most importantly, costumes don't fit right. They're made to create a certain appearance and nothing more.



Here's where I might ruffle some feathers.
Rather than 'vintagers' being the ones wearing costumes, I argue that iGents and other folks who wear ill-fitting modern pieces are really the ones who wear costumes.
These are the trademarks of modern costumes: low armholes, paper-thin fabrics, horrible fits and cuts made by machines (off-the-rack) and even by a surprising number of modern tailors (made-to-measure and bespoke), and a super high price tag. All one must do to find such costumes is search the numberous online clothing fora.

So rather than seeing a different clothing style as a costume, first look and see if it meets the above trademarks of a costume. And if it does, rest assured that it's the emperor's new clothes.

I Have Returned...with Treasure

You'll have to forgive my lack of substantial posting as I've been housesitting for several weeks and had limited internet access.

What I wore today:
*Late-1930s belted back jacket
*Modern 'fitted' Van Heusen shirt
*1930s tie
*Modern trousers
*Modern Bostonian spectators
*Modern Stetson Open Road panama
*Marigold in the lapel buttonhole

Click to enlarge.

The above photo shows the belted back to advantage.

This is quite the jacket. It is new to me as I bought it several days ago. After a quick restitching and pressing it was in wearable condition. I bought it for what I consider a very good price considering the demand for vintage clothing is on the rise.

This jacket has a 1936 union tag, indicating that it was made sometime between 1936 and 1939, the date when the next style of union tag came into use.

I believe the material to be worsted wool. The material is all round dark blue but there is a woven glen plaid pattern. I've been able to capture this pattern in a few of the pictures below. The pattern is quite delicate and difficult to see even in person.

Note the very angled breast pocket, a common feature of 1930s jackets.

The belted back with pleats. Belted backs were common in the 1930s and came back into style for a short time in the early 1970s, though they were not done as well as in the 1930s. The belted back, one of my favorite back treatments, is a stylistic piece and is in no way utilitarian. It helped give the wearer the appearance of a pinched waist and this, combined with action backs and pleats as shown below, allowed the wearer to move more freely. High armholes are also important in that equation.

A closer view of the pleats and belted back. The woven pattern is also visible in this view.

This jacket gives us a rare look at as to why vintage pieces are a step or two above modern pieces we see today: better fabrics, high quality design, fit and construction and the use of seemingly rare and unusual treatments such as the belted back and the action back.

Suit Project

I am currently working on a vintage-style 3-piece suit. This is a big project and any helpful comments and concerns are much appreciated.


I bought this 1952 dated suit jacket and vest pattern off the Bay. While the jacket pattern is complete and uncut the vest pattern was missing. This vintage pattern will insure higher armholes than a modern jacket pattern.

As a result of the missing vest, I bought a modern pattern not only for the vest but also for the trousers.

Since the vest is not of vintage style (too long and only has two pockets) I used a vintage vest as a guide and altered the pattern a bit. I shortened it about an inch and altered the points at the front, making them a bit longer and more pointed. Here's what it looks like on a torso.

Note that the bottom 1 1/2" of the pattern is to be hemmed so the vest will be shorter than it appears in these photos.

The trousers look good and are relatively straight legged with cuffs and some pleats so no alteration will be needed there. However, they are somewhat low waisted so I will be adding about 3-4 inches to the rise. This will allow the trousers to be worn with the short vintage-style vest.

I have cut most of the fabric for the vest and the pieces are in good order. Speaking of fabric, here is what I am using:

As you can see it is an attractive brownish gray medium weight twill with some nice pin/chalkstripes. It was on clearance at a local fabric shop and I bought all 5 1/2 yards of it. Hopefully it will be enough for the project. I washed and dried it in order to make it shrink before starting work.

More updates to come.