More Vintage Menswear Illustrations...

[herringbonekid]

...coupled with the too-short trousers seems to turn these men into grown up boys. interesting to see the fore-runners of the classic 30s belt-backs we all know and love.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Those styles were a disaster for the menswear industry. Fashion forecasters had predicted that U.S doughboys returning from World War I would actually want to continue wearing suits that looked and fit like their military uniforms. Wrong, wrong, wrong! The only thing they liked about the uniforms was the soft attached collars on their shirts. Those suits pictured above absolutely bombed at the cash register.


The result was that suitmakers returned to looser fitting styles, and didn't change them at all for the next 10 years. It wasn't until the Depression that things really began to change again ... but that's another story.

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[Nonchalant]

Here's some pictures from the latter half of the 'twenties. At least I think this represents the looser fitting style that Marc is talking about. Much more natural, far less exaggerated in style, and surely a lot more comfortable to wear.

 

[herringbonekid]

check out mr. two-belts !
those extra-deep waistbands always looked a bit creepy to me (probably a 1970s association).

 

[Marc Chevalier]

... this represents the looser fitting style that Marc is talking about. Much more natural, far less exaggerated in style, and surely a lot more comfortable to wear.

Exactly. Men were very happy with this looser-fitting, more natural style. Then the Depression hit, and the U.S. menswear industry was especially hurt. Since suit styles hadn't changed since the early '20s, there was no incentive for penny-pinching men to purchase new ones in the dark days of 1932. What could be done to convince male customers to BUY, BUY, BUY?


Two answers:

-- ESQUIRE magazine

-- The drape suit


ESQUIRE, in league with the menswear industry, worked very hard to convince men that they had to buy new clothes and accessories in order to show themselves (and their neighbors) that the Depression hadn't gotten them down. ESQUIRE also reached out to women, so that they would goad their husbands into "rejuvenating" their wardrobes.


The drape suit, promoted heavily by ESQUIRE and the menswear industry, met heavy resistance from American customers. Its cut was a radical change from what had been the norm for the previous 10 years. No 1920s suit could be modified by a tailor in order to achieve the "drape" look; the only way to obtain the look would be to buy a brand new drape suit outright. For this reason, suit manufacturers strove mightily to convince American men to embrace it. Eventually, they succeeded.

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[Nonchalant]

check out mr. two-belts !
those extra-deep waistbands always looked a bit creepy to me.

And what's with the pattern on that(I mean those) belt(s)? Very odd...

Marc, didn't you start a thread on unusual fashions from the Sears cataloges a while back? Maybe you should revive that one, too.

 

[Rooster]

Here's some pictures from the latter half of the 'twenties. At least I think this represents the looser fitting style that Marc is talking about. Much more natural, far less exaggerated in style, and surely a lot more comfortable to wear.

You'll notice figure "E" has raised his arm and his head hasn't been enveloped by his coat shoulder.....lol

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Marc, didn't you start a thread on unusual fashions from the Sears cataloges a while back? Maybe you should revive that one, too.

Great idea. Done!

Also, the link to it is here: http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=9577&highlight=weird


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[Jovan]

Question: Did this ad sell socks or send gentlemen to another brand? (ca. 1912)​

That is now my display picture on MSN. ****ing priceless.

 

[Jovan]

That's right: skinny ****ed pants were NOT a 1960s invention.

I've been aware of this a long time. Trends tend to repeat themselves and I overall like the '60s style. (If my avatar doesn't say that already!)

 

[cookie]

20s shoes

Here's some pictures from the latter half of the 'twenties. At least I think this represents the looser fitting style that Marc is talking about. Much more natural, far less exaggerated in style, and surely a lot more comfortable to wear.

Some of those shoes look just like what the kids wear around in 2007!

 

[Baron Kurtz]

That is now my display picture on MSN. ****ing priceless.

Interwoven had (along with Arrow) had some of the most consistently excellent advertisement art.

bk

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Here's some pictures from the latter half of the 'twenties. At least I think this represents the looser fitting style that Marc is talking about. Much more natural, far less exaggerated in style, and surely a lot more comfortable to wear.

I have a deadstock jacket almost identical to the one marked B, but in blue. The button stance really is that high! Those jackets are pretty long, too.

bk

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Oh Happy Days!

reminds me very much of some of Vattriano's paintings:

bk

 

[Quigley Brown]

Other than the difference in material. This suit sure looks like something out of the 1970s...

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[Quigley Brown]

I think Thom Browne got the inspiration for his pants from this ad...

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[Fletch]

The twin-belt pant just looks ODD. Like you're seeing things.
Was belt failure more common in the 20s?
Did men wearing this notice people staring at their crotches?

 

[Jovan]

Nope. ****ed highwatered trousers were an Ivy League thing too, which is mostly what he seems to be inspired by. Besides which, they come unhemmed anyways. Some of his coats seem '20s inspired though, and look similar to the belted ones that button all the way in front. Take, for instance, this Batman villain at his show.

 

[Mr. Rover]

The short, fitted, wide-cuffed pants seem to have become popular in Italy...I've seen a lot of pictures of supposedly fashionable people in Italy wearing this style.

Marc, most of those pictures show a natural shoulder on the jackets. Do you know when roped shoulders became more popular?

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Do you know when roped shoulders became more popular?

Good question. Roped shoulders (and their variants) have been hovering around for a while ... as far back as the early 19th century, in fact. Some fashion-forward suitmakers tried promoting them in the mid 1920s, but few Americans took the bait.


It wasn't until the '30s that roped shoulders started coming into their own, especially with young 'collegiate' men. The style hung on into the '40s, then disappeared until the 1960s, when Carnaby Street designers revived it. French and Italian designers followed suit, and carried it into the 1970s: Yves Saint Laurent was a big promoter.


By the 1980s, roped shoulders had once again disappeared from the ready-to-wear market. They're the exception to the rule these days.

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