NYPOST: A TOUCH OF CRASH (DEPRESSION-ERA CHIC)

[PSK123]

Ditto to the two chaps above.

Personally, I think it works Not sure on the flip flops but hey...lol

Its not purist, but not a whole lot of us on here are

 

[Vintage Betty]

Real Depression style was when you tried to look your best every day because it was the only way you could have any pride. If you had only one hat or suit you were ashamed, and if you had more than one, you were even more ashamed.

I don't think that kind of shame will be coming back, which is probably a good thing, but neither will the style.

Untitled (Sixth Avenue, NYC). Ben Shahn, ca. 1932.

Every fall there is some variation of a man's tweed suit. This is no different, though the flip flops have to go. I like the bag, actually.

There is a story in our family that my Grandmother was a great seamstress (my Grandfather was a tailor and haberdasher who made men's hats, among other things). Anyway, she apparently could have won one of the reality shows which requires contestants to sew their way out of a feedsack.

She could take one look at a trendy item and reproduce it with one glance. So, on a depression era budget, she used to make clothing and cute dresses for my 5 year old aunt on a -nightly- basis out of old drapes, left over material, etc. Eventually, the primary school teacher had to tell her to "stop sending her to school in new clothes" because the other children didn't have anything. But according to family lore, she didn't buy any new fabric, she just remade things. [huh]

 

[Sunny]

Works for me. [huh]

I like this one much better.

It's the sheer sloppy, saggy, baggy look of the first that gets me. That and the sleeveless shirt, for some reason. (It is modest because it covers enough, Baron, but the outfit wouldn't be flattering to me, and I'm not entirely shapeless.) But the "newsboy" look has been around for years and it can be quite attractive. I even dare to say it wouldn't be cross-dressing back in the day, either. Trousers weren't as rare in the 1930s as some people proclaim; nor were vests. Both became very mainstream in the early 1940s. The suitability and situation are another matter, but it wouldn't have been super strange.

 

[Feraud]

That said, it can sometimes provide some good stuff to cherry-pick from....

Agreed. As the trends come and go I usually find something interesting to wear.

 

[Fletch]

Trousers weren't as rare in the 1930s as some people proclaim.

What do you bet RKO's publicity department put out that line, to burnish Katharine Hepburn's reputation as a style setter...