Friday, June 29, 2012
Monday, June 4, 2012
A Bold Look for the Summer
It's that time again: Summer. Warm weather, outdoor activities, BBQing with friends and family, cruisin' around in cars with the windows rolled down. It's a great time of the year. But it can get really hot.
How did guys stay cool and stylish back in the 1940s? The following images from a 1948 "Look" magazine (64 years ago, when the "Bold Look" officially began) answers that question. And interestingly enough there was a bit of a debate about it.
How did guys stay cool and stylish back in the 1940s? The following images from a 1948 "Look" magazine (64 years ago, when the "Bold Look" officially began) answers that question. And interestingly enough there was a bit of a debate about it.
click images to enlarge
Cover:
Article Page 1:
Article Page 2:
Article Page 3:
Article Page 4:
Article Page 5, the "Aztec" inspired clothing is rather wild:
Article Page 6, I'll take one of everything, please:
Where do I stand in the debate about summer material? Do I prefer loosely woven fabrics or light-weight tightly woven fabrics for warm weather?
I like loosely woven materials, like linen. I find that allowing air to flow through a garment makes it much cooler than a light-weight tightly woven material. For example, I have a heavy-weight three-piece tweed suit that is super warm in the winter. Even so, its tweed material is surprisingly loosely woven and at times will allow a gust of wind to cut through.
Your experience may differ along with your preference, but that has been my observation.
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Hollywood: Inventor of Legend, Destroyer of Vintage
Hollywood has been an important force in the American social scene for about a century now, often giving us inspirational, insightful and, no doubt, entertaining films and television. Rocky, It's a Wonderful Life, The Best Years of Our Lives, Gone With the Wind, Rear Window, etc. The list goes on.
Those films and many others are legends, a normal part of popular culture. That's what Hollywood is known for: creating and changing popular culture.
Something Hollywood is not well know for is destroying vintage clothing but it is second to none in that regard.
It may or may not be common knowledge that Hollywood regularly uses original vintage clothing in the making of its films and TV shows. There are two main reasons for this: first, modern reproductions are often unable to capture the look and feel of Golden Era clothing and, secondly, real vintage clothing is often much cheaper to buy or rent than it is to reproduce. And that second part, the price, is the main reason Hollywood opts for the real deal.
And here's the rub: film and theater are rough business and things get destroyed, especially 70-year-old clothing. Look at the recent movie "Hugo" by director Martin Scorsese. According to the costume designer for that movie, Sandy Powell, hundreds of vintage pieces were destroyed during filming:
"There were literally over 1,000 costumes, so it took us a long time. We contracted costume rental companies, and we actually did a lot of buying, we sort of scoured markets and secondhand stores both in London where it was filmed and also in Paris; there are great flea markets there. And then we were filming so long, some of the extras were wearing the same clothing for weeks on end, and a lot of the original vintage pieces actually ended up falling apart, disintegrating."
The movie "Titanic" was just as bad, using many original vintage pieces during filming, especially dresses and gowns. These were unfortunately shredded by the end of filming, just like the pieces used in "Hugo".
History disintegrating and being destroyed just to make a movie. If an architecturally important building or a valuable piece of artwork were purposely destroyed for the filming of a movie there would be an outcry from the media and the public. Yet when hundreds of historical pieces of clothing are allowed to fall apart for the same reason there is nothing.
Several months ago I was approached by a costume designer from a popular and well known cable TV channel. They were looking for original 1940s/early 1950s pieces of men's clothing for an upcoming series about a detective in 1950s Los Angeles. I was enthusiastic about supplying vintage to be used in the production of the TV show but soon remembered the horror stories like those above. As a result, although I would have loved to participate in and supply the filming, I denied the studio both the sale and rental of my vintage (many of the same pieces found at the haberdashery). I was even told by the costume designer that pieces rented were not guaranteed to be returned in the same condition and may not be returned at all, having 'disappeared' from the set. And anything bought might be thrown out after filming.
That is unacceptable.
Vintage is a non-renewable resource. Once it's gone, it's gone. Reproductions will always be around and plentiful but collectors of vintage clothing are like the Hollywood studios: we prefer the real deal. And while vintage is still fairly easy to find it is getting more difficult. Eventually it will be impossible to find. The days of large costume departments are gone: it's much easier (and cheaper) to buy 'new' costumes for a movie and throw them out at the end of filming. It's the result of our disposable society.
What can be done to stem the destruction that Hollywood is sowing? Little if anything. No one really cares, except for those few vintage nerds like ourselves. All we can do is watch history disappear piece by piece, right before our eyes.
And all of it caught on film...
Those films and many others are legends, a normal part of popular culture. That's what Hollywood is known for: creating and changing popular culture.
Kid Galahad
Something Hollywood is not well know for is destroying vintage clothing but it is second to none in that regard.
It may or may not be common knowledge that Hollywood regularly uses original vintage clothing in the making of its films and TV shows. There are two main reasons for this: first, modern reproductions are often unable to capture the look and feel of Golden Era clothing and, secondly, real vintage clothing is often much cheaper to buy or rent than it is to reproduce. And that second part, the price, is the main reason Hollywood opts for the real deal.
And here's the rub: film and theater are rough business and things get destroyed, especially 70-year-old clothing. Look at the recent movie "Hugo" by director Martin Scorsese. According to the costume designer for that movie, Sandy Powell, hundreds of vintage pieces were destroyed during filming:
"There were literally over 1,000 costumes, so it took us a long time. We contracted costume rental companies, and we actually did a lot of buying, we sort of scoured markets and secondhand stores both in London where it was filmed and also in Paris; there are great flea markets there. And then we were filming so long, some of the extras were wearing the same clothing for weeks on end, and a lot of the original vintage pieces actually ended up falling apart, disintegrating."
The movie "Titanic" was just as bad, using many original vintage pieces during filming, especially dresses and gowns. These were unfortunately shredded by the end of filming, just like the pieces used in "Hugo".
History disintegrating and being destroyed just to make a movie. If an architecturally important building or a valuable piece of artwork were purposely destroyed for the filming of a movie there would be an outcry from the media and the public. Yet when hundreds of historical pieces of clothing are allowed to fall apart for the same reason there is nothing.
Vintage fedora ruined in "Boardwalk Empire".
That is unacceptable.
Vintage is a non-renewable resource. Once it's gone, it's gone. Reproductions will always be around and plentiful but collectors of vintage clothing are like the Hollywood studios: we prefer the real deal. And while vintage is still fairly easy to find it is getting more difficult. Eventually it will be impossible to find. The days of large costume departments are gone: it's much easier (and cheaper) to buy 'new' costumes for a movie and throw them out at the end of filming. It's the result of our disposable society.
What can be done to stem the destruction that Hollywood is sowing? Little if anything. No one really cares, except for those few vintage nerds like ourselves. All we can do is watch history disappear piece by piece, right before our eyes.
And all of it caught on film...
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Sale at the Houndstooth Haberdashery and Other News
The Houndstooth Kid blog has hit the 500,000 visitors mark!
As a "thank you" for helping us reach 500,000 visits, select items found at the Houndstooth Kid Haberdashery are on sale for a limited time. This sale will end June 14th. Don't miss out on some great deals.
Also, you may have noticed a recent slow-down in posting here on the Houndstooth Kid blog. Not to worry, it is merely temporary. I am currently getting ready to move within a month and preparing for my wedding in August. Posting is unlikely to pick-up again until at least September. So hang in there and keep your eyes trained upon this space.
And don't miss out those deals over in the Haberdashery. We couldn't have done it without our faithful readers.
As a "thank you" for helping us reach 500,000 visits, select items found at the Houndstooth Kid Haberdashery are on sale for a limited time. This sale will end June 14th. Don't miss out on some great deals.
Also, you may have noticed a recent slow-down in posting here on the Houndstooth Kid blog. Not to worry, it is merely temporary. I am currently getting ready to move within a month and preparing for my wedding in August. Posting is unlikely to pick-up again until at least September. So hang in there and keep your eyes trained upon this space.
And don't miss out those deals over in the Haberdashery. We couldn't have done it without our faithful readers.
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
1931 Pamphlet: "Correct Apparel for Gentlemen"
These were printed for 'Society Brand Clothes'; this specific one is from 'Wilson's Clothes Shop', Brookville, Pa.
Very high quality illustrations and color suit photos. Also several flaps with style advice underneath. In perfect condition, like it's never seen the light of day. The colors are crisp and rich.
The beginning of the Golden Era of men's clothing started in the late 1920s and early 1930s, putting this little book right in the middle of it. This pamphlet is from when silhouettes and proportions were just getting to be perfect and it shows within its pages.
Enjoy.
right-click, open images for full size:
Very high quality illustrations and color suit photos. Also several flaps with style advice underneath. In perfect condition, like it's never seen the light of day. The colors are crisp and rich.
The beginning of the Golden Era of men's clothing started in the late 1920s and early 1930s, putting this little book right in the middle of it. This pamphlet is from when silhouettes and proportions were just getting to be perfect and it shows within its pages.
Enjoy.
right-click, open images for full size:
cover
page 1
first style flap
page 2
page 3
second style flap
pages 4 & 5
page 6
page 7
third style flap
page 8
last style flap
back cover
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Clothes and Self-Perception: Clothing Really Does Make the Man
We've known for a long time that clothes affect how we feel about ourselves. Now a new study shows that the way we dress may also affect our cognitive processes.
"Clothes invade the body and brain, putting the wearer into a different psychological state..."
An interesting article with which I agree. I've always said that dressing well for a special occasion like, say, a job interview or even for church every Sunday prepares us for the task at hand. It's all about mindset: preparation to get that new job or humble ourselves to worship our Creator.
So wearing one's 'Sunday Best' now has scientific data to support it.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/03/science/clothes-and-self-perception.html?_r=1&ref=science
By SANDRA BLAKESLEE
Published: April 2, 2012
If you wear a white coat that you believe belongs to a doctor, your ability to pay attention increases sharply. But if you wear the same white coat believing it belongs to a painter, you will show no such improvement.
So scientists report after studying a phenomenon they call enclothed cognition: the effects of clothing on cognitive processes.
It is not enough to see a doctor’s coat hanging in your doorway, said Adam D. Galinsky, a professor at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, who led the study. The effect occurs only if you actually wear the coat and know its symbolic meaning — that physicians tend to be careful, rigorous and good at paying attention.
The findings, on the Web site of The Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, are a twist on a growing scientific field called embodied cognition. We think not just with our brains but with our bodies, Dr. Galinsky said, and our thought processes are based on physical experiences that set off associated abstract concepts. Now it appears that those experiences include the clothes we wear.
“I love the idea of trying to figure out why, when we put on certain clothes, we might more readily take on a role and how that might affect our basic abilities,” said Joshua I. Davis, an assistant professor of psychology at Barnard College and expert on embodied cognition who was not involved with the study. This study does not fully explain how this comes about, he said, but it does suggest that it will be worth exploring various ideas.
There is a huge body of work on embodied cognition, Dr. Galinsky said. The experience of washing your hands is associated with moral purity and ethical judgments. People rate others personally warmer if they hold a hot drink in their hand, and colder if they hold an iced drink. If you carry a heavy clipboard, you will feel more important.
It has long been known that “clothing affects how other people perceive us as well as how we think about ourselves,” Dr. Galinsky said. Other experiments have shown that women who dress in a masculine fashion during a job interview are more likely to be hired, and a teaching assistant who wears formal clothes is perceived as more intelligent than one who dresses more casually.
But the deeper question, the researchers said, is whether the clothing you wear affects your psychological processes. Does your outfit alter how you approach and interact with the world? So Dr. Galinsky and his colleague Hajo Adam conducted three experiments in which the clothes did not vary but their symbolic meaning was manipulated.
In the first, 58 undergraduates were randomly assigned to wear a white lab coat or street clothes. Then they were given a test for selective attention based on their ability to notice incongruities, as when the word “red” appears in the color green. Those who wore the white lab coats made about half as many errors on incongruent trials as those who wore regular clothes.
In the second experiment, 74 students were randomly assigned to one of three options: wearing a doctor’s coat, wearing a painter’s coat or seeing a doctor’s coat. Then they were given a test for sustained attention. They had to look at two very similar pictures side by side on a screen and spot four minor differences, writing them down as quickly as possible.
Those who wore the doctor’s coat, which was identical to the painter’s coat, found more differences. They had acquired heightened attention. Those who wore the painter’s coat or were primed with merely seeing the doctor’s coat found fewer differences between the images.
The third experiment explored this priming effect more thoroughly. Does simply seeing a physical item, like the coat, affect behavior? Students either wore a doctor’s coat or a painter’s coat, or were told to notice a doctor’s lab coat displayed on the desk in front of them for a long period of time. All three groups wrote essays about their thoughts on the coats. Then they were tested for sustained attention.
Again, the group that wore the doctor’s coat showed the greatest improvement in attention. You have to wear the coat, see it on your body and feel it on your skin for it to influence your psychological processes, Dr. Galinsky said.
Clothes invade the body and brain, putting the wearer into a different psychological state, he said. He described his own experience from last Halloween (or maybe it should be called National Enclothed Cognition Day).
He had decided to dress as a pimp, with a fedora, long coat and cane. “When I entered the room, I glided in,” he said. “I felt a very different presence.”
But what happens, he mused, if you wear pimp clothes every day? Or a priest’s robes? Or a police officer’s uniform? Do you become habituated so that cognitive changes do not occur? Do the effects wear off?
More studies are needed, he said.
This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:
Correction: April 6, 2012
An article on Tuesday about the effects of clothing on cognitive processes misstated the name of the journal that published a recent study showing that wearing a doctor’s white coat led subjects to pay sharper attention. It is The Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, not The Journal of Experimental Social Cognition. The article also described the findings of an earlier study incorrectly. In that experiment, people who held a hot drink in their hands rated others personally warmer; it is not the case that people were rated personally warmer if they held a hot drink.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So when a nation like the United States starts to dress like slobs it's likely that nation will also think and act more and more like slobs and vice versa.
The question here is which came first: the slobby dresser or the slob?
"Clothes invade the body and brain, putting the wearer into a different psychological state..."
An interesting article with which I agree. I've always said that dressing well for a special occasion like, say, a job interview or even for church every Sunday prepares us for the task at hand. It's all about mindset: preparation to get that new job or humble ourselves to worship our Creator.
So wearing one's 'Sunday Best' now has scientific data to support it.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/03/science/clothes-and-self-perception.html?_r=1&ref=science
By SANDRA BLAKESLEE
Published: April 2, 2012
If you wear a white coat that you believe belongs to a doctor, your ability to pay attention increases sharply. But if you wear the same white coat believing it belongs to a painter, you will show no such improvement.
So scientists report after studying a phenomenon they call enclothed cognition: the effects of clothing on cognitive processes.
It is not enough to see a doctor’s coat hanging in your doorway, said Adam D. Galinsky, a professor at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, who led the study. The effect occurs only if you actually wear the coat and know its symbolic meaning — that physicians tend to be careful, rigorous and good at paying attention.
The findings, on the Web site of The Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, are a twist on a growing scientific field called embodied cognition. We think not just with our brains but with our bodies, Dr. Galinsky said, and our thought processes are based on physical experiences that set off associated abstract concepts. Now it appears that those experiences include the clothes we wear.
“I love the idea of trying to figure out why, when we put on certain clothes, we might more readily take on a role and how that might affect our basic abilities,” said Joshua I. Davis, an assistant professor of psychology at Barnard College and expert on embodied cognition who was not involved with the study. This study does not fully explain how this comes about, he said, but it does suggest that it will be worth exploring various ideas.
There is a huge body of work on embodied cognition, Dr. Galinsky said. The experience of washing your hands is associated with moral purity and ethical judgments. People rate others personally warmer if they hold a hot drink in their hand, and colder if they hold an iced drink. If you carry a heavy clipboard, you will feel more important.
It has long been known that “clothing affects how other people perceive us as well as how we think about ourselves,” Dr. Galinsky said. Other experiments have shown that women who dress in a masculine fashion during a job interview are more likely to be hired, and a teaching assistant who wears formal clothes is perceived as more intelligent than one who dresses more casually.
But the deeper question, the researchers said, is whether the clothing you wear affects your psychological processes. Does your outfit alter how you approach and interact with the world? So Dr. Galinsky and his colleague Hajo Adam conducted three experiments in which the clothes did not vary but their symbolic meaning was manipulated.
In the first, 58 undergraduates were randomly assigned to wear a white lab coat or street clothes. Then they were given a test for selective attention based on their ability to notice incongruities, as when the word “red” appears in the color green. Those who wore the white lab coats made about half as many errors on incongruent trials as those who wore regular clothes.
In the second experiment, 74 students were randomly assigned to one of three options: wearing a doctor’s coat, wearing a painter’s coat or seeing a doctor’s coat. Then they were given a test for sustained attention. They had to look at two very similar pictures side by side on a screen and spot four minor differences, writing them down as quickly as possible.
Those who wore the doctor’s coat, which was identical to the painter’s coat, found more differences. They had acquired heightened attention. Those who wore the painter’s coat or were primed with merely seeing the doctor’s coat found fewer differences between the images.
The third experiment explored this priming effect more thoroughly. Does simply seeing a physical item, like the coat, affect behavior? Students either wore a doctor’s coat or a painter’s coat, or were told to notice a doctor’s lab coat displayed on the desk in front of them for a long period of time. All three groups wrote essays about their thoughts on the coats. Then they were tested for sustained attention.
Again, the group that wore the doctor’s coat showed the greatest improvement in attention. You have to wear the coat, see it on your body and feel it on your skin for it to influence your psychological processes, Dr. Galinsky said.
Clothes invade the body and brain, putting the wearer into a different psychological state, he said. He described his own experience from last Halloween (or maybe it should be called National Enclothed Cognition Day).
He had decided to dress as a pimp, with a fedora, long coat and cane. “When I entered the room, I glided in,” he said. “I felt a very different presence.”
But what happens, he mused, if you wear pimp clothes every day? Or a priest’s robes? Or a police officer’s uniform? Do you become habituated so that cognitive changes do not occur? Do the effects wear off?
More studies are needed, he said.
This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:
Correction: April 6, 2012
An article on Tuesday about the effects of clothing on cognitive processes misstated the name of the journal that published a recent study showing that wearing a doctor’s white coat led subjects to pay sharper attention. It is The Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, not The Journal of Experimental Social Cognition. The article also described the findings of an earlier study incorrectly. In that experiment, people who held a hot drink in their hands rated others personally warmer; it is not the case that people were rated personally warmer if they held a hot drink.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So when a nation like the United States starts to dress like slobs it's likely that nation will also think and act more and more like slobs and vice versa.
The question here is which came first: the slobby dresser or the slob?
Saturday, April 7, 2012
...Or Maybe This is the Best Tie...
I love the old western ties. Can't really put my finger on it, but I just like them.
Maybe it's the oddness of the thing: who in their right mind would wear a tie with a bucking bronco on it, or a steer's head, or leather stitching along the edges?
I guess it's the character of the tie, character that few others have. Few ties today have character like the mid-1950s tie shown above. It's tastefully artful and fun without being grotesque, absurd, or childish like so many modern novelty ties.
Not to mention it grabs the eye like none other.
Maybe it's the oddness of the thing: who in their right mind would wear a tie with a bucking bronco on it, or a steer's head, or leather stitching along the edges?
click image to enlarge
I guess it's the character of the tie, character that few others have. Few ties today have character like the mid-1950s tie shown above. It's tastefully artful and fun without being grotesque, absurd, or childish like so many modern novelty ties.
Not to mention it grabs the eye like none other.
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