What I Wore Today

I haven't posted lately, mainly because of 50+ pages of papers that had to be written and multiple finals before the end of the semester. But now I'm graduated from college so the blogging can continue.

Today I wore this:























-A nicely fitting modern 6x3 double breasted jacket
-A pair of Wal-Mart bought George trousers (more on this at a later date)
-Botany 500 two-tone shoes
-A vintage 1930s tie
-My one-of-a-kind "Chinatown" cowboy conversion fedora (more on this at a later date)

Here's a detailed shot of the jacket.















Yes, the lapels are quite small and that's not a bad thing. These lapels remind me of the 3 button suit jackets we see from the 1920s and early 1930s with short-gorged lapels that still looked fabulous. And the shape of these peaked lapels have something so stunningly vintage about them.
Another thing about this jacket is that it is a 6x3, meaning there are 6 buttons and 3 can be buttoned. Usually double breasted jackets are 6x2, making 6x3 jackets even more unique.

It's a rarity to find such a finely fitted and uniquely vintage styled modern suit jacket. This is not your run-of-the-mill sack suit.

And that wonderful beautifully shaped brown overcoat I rambled on about in a previous post:

I received many a comment and look while sporting this combination. It think it's a keeper.

Inspiration?

From where do you think Johnny Depp got inspiration for this very dapper ensemble? I'm digging the nicely fitted double breasted suit and especially the spats.

Could it be possible that he was inspired by this advertisement from the 1930s?

I think so. What a great combo. The suit is nice but the spats complete the look.

30,000 hats

Wouldn't we all like a collection like that?


Here's a neat story and video about going hat shopping. Like the reporter, I could spend all day in there.

link

Coats for Sporting

The sportcoat: dynamic, versatile, classic.

Yet the sportcoat is usually done very poorly: the badly fitting blue blazer paired with khakis and casual shoes makes for an easy-to-wear outfit as well as one that is hard on the eyes. How can a sportcoat be done stylishly?
It's actually quite easy and takes just as much time to put together as the badly done run of the mill blue blazer.
Take these two jackets, for example.

This is a modern Ralph Lauren tweed sportcoat with a belted back and some nice patch pockets.

Check out the back of this beauty.

Lovely.
Very 1930s in style. Ralph Lauren usually has very good vintage-style clothing since he is inspired by vintage clothing. That being said, definitely be on the lookout for his items.

Here's a 1970s wool sportcoat. Note the wide lapels with some nice belly to them as well as the nicely pinched waist. No pinning to get the waist to look like that. It is double vented, which I'm not a fan of but I don't mind too much. It also has some nice roping going on with the shoulders.

"1970s" you ask? Yes, the early 1970s had some very nice vintage inspired clothing, as the above jacket can attest to. The mid-1970s harkened in the attrocities we so commonly see hanging ownerless in thrift stores.


These two jackets are examples of what sportcoats should be: exotic combinations of tweed, belted backs, nipped waists, patch pockets and wide peaked lapels.



Yes, even a run of the mill single breasted blue blazer can be spiffed up beyond the dull. The accessories are what can bring that lifeless blazer to life.


Try some new textures and colors. Mix patterns and shades. Be bold.

Hmm, blasphemous? Perhaps, since Mr. Grant had more elegance in his pinky finger than I do in my whole person.

Death Nell of the Tie?

Ties are arguably the most hated piece of men's clothing today. Often referred to as a noose by men who hate to feel constricted, a tie can either make or break a nice suit.

The critics of the tie have one fact right: they are merely for looks and are in no way functional. But this fact does not matter, for if every piece of clothing we wear was purely for function this would be a bland world indeed. Sometimes the 'hassle' of a tie should be outweighed by the ability a tie offers to communicate personality and mood. Vintage ties are morsels of bold personality and character rarely seen in the subdued ties of today. Art deco, tartan and plaid patterns were the rule of the day and, as seen below, they could be both spectacular and ugly at the same time. Ugly in a good way.


But the patterns and scenes were not the only points where vintage ties blow away modern ties. The fabrics used were incredible, most ties being made of incredibly smooth, soft and flexible silk, though many were made of cotton and even wool, as seen in the tie below.


Modern ties, while sometimes made of similar fabrics, are fat and much less flexible, making them more difficult to tie into anything other than a fat Windsor knot (named after the Duke of Windsor, though he denied creating this more modern knot type). The small-knotted half-Windsor was prevalent throughout the 1930s-1950s and definitely goes better with vintage long-pointed collars with medium to no spread than does the obese Windsor knot.

Vintage ties are unique. Generally, ties from the 1930s and 1940s were very wide while in the 1950s they began to shrink in width, though the patterns remained classical art deco throughout the mid-1950s. It was the late-1950s and early-1960s when ties began to thin to an extreme extent. Perhaps this visual of the thin tie tightening around the wearer's neck is the hearth of the tie 'noose'.

Whatever the reason, ties are becoming rare animals, especially those of such vintage character when a man's mood could be determined by what tie he put around his neck that day. The casual business day took its toll on the tie, nearly banishing it to the drawer. Even Peter Fleischer, an executive of Google, rejects the decorative neck-hanger for T-shirts since he believes they restrict blood flow to the brain, are conformist and deny a man's masculinity


But what better way to show ones masculinity than to wear a nice tie?

Little Gentleman

Even Mr. Rascal gets it.

But doesn't he know he's supposed to remove his hat indoors?

What I Wore Today

Actually, it's more like two days ago.

The hat is a vintage Champ that looks very much like a Whippet.

The tie is vintage that I recently obtained from Ebay.

The jacket is a nearly perfect condition late-1940s/early-1950s double-breasted (orphaned) jacket. It is made of herringbone fabric and is relatively heavy. The sleeves may be a tad short but I'm not too worried about it.

The trousers are modern but have very vintage features like pleats, very little taper in the legs and cuffs. I got them at Goodwill

The saddleshoes are also from Goodwill. They are part suede, part smooth, shiny leather.

I'm standing on the new wrap-around porch we're putting on our Victorian house.

Maybe I'll post some pictures when it's finished...

I'm wearing this same outfit to a swing dance this weekend. Wish me luck.

Billy