Retrocentrics' Club Emblem and Tie

[pvpatty]

On the other hand, I must also admit that what I saw at the beginning as a kind of vice – the shambolic way some discussions evolved – I tend to see nowadays, rather, as a special virtue in many discussions pursued in the LL: one starts off, for instance, with very interesting remarks about the difference between English and American terms for sartorial concepts (cf. ‘An Anglo-American Dictionary of Sartorial Terms’, authored by Sator, Sun Sep 07, 2008 2:37 pm) and some time later our attention is drawn to a new, no less interesting point in the context of the same thread.

Marcelo, this is just like any good conversation! One starts off with a certain topic, then as the discussion progresses, inevitably one thing leads to another, each person employing their own network of knowledge, until everyone ends up somewhere quite different, but not at all less pleasant, wondering how on earth they got where they are.

[ima]

Greetings to Retrocentric brothers! Looks like I have finally made it here! phew! did you all agree on the tie and logo front?

[storeynicholas]

Greetings to Retrocentric brothers! Looks like I have finally made it here! phew! did you all agree on the tie and logo front?

Ima - Given that there has been sufficient interest, maybe to form a serious group within the LL, the LL founder, Michael Alden has been asked about it all. The recent posts, above, explain more.
NJS

[couch]

In an earlier post I said that a pale lilac tie would be difficult to pair with a solid light blue shirt. As so often, I am corrected and instructed by one of the greats--Astaire. Dopey had long urged me to have a look at The Bandwagon, and I finally had a chance to do so. Among many elegant ensembles was this combination of dove gray DB flannel, solid blue OCBD, and solid lilac tie. Granted, this early 50s film has a slightly stylized palette, and several characters engage in "tonal" dressing, but Astaire would not have appeared in anything he did not approve. This ensemble is worn for the entire first 15 minutes of the film, including the famous dance with the actual Manhattan bootblack to "When There's a Shine on Your Shoes." Unseen in this shot (it was difficult to get a good closeup of the tie because Vincente Minelli has Astaire in almost constant motion) is the fact that his cornflower blue socks are the brightest thing by far on his person:



I think you'll agree that this combination of shirt, tie, and suit is quite elegant, if silghtly dressed down. Just for fun, I've added in the white pencil stripes as proposed for the club tie:



While I still think such a tie would show best against a white or white-ground shirt, this little experiment demonstrates again what etutee has often urged upon us, viz.: to adapt the techniques of the masters, in this case a very sophisticated manipulation of color.

Whether the Retrocentrics club (im)materializes or not, and whether or not this tie is adopted, I want to try this combination for myself.

Cheers, all.

[storeynicholas]

Couch - I can't get access to the links. The Band Wagon is a great film - a central romance; failure and disaster, turned to good account - because of fellowship and good will and enthusiasm. And what great performances from them all: Fred; Jack Buchanan; Nanette Fabray; Oscar Levant - from Fred getting that Shine On His Shoes to Dancing in the Dark with Cyd Charisse; Triplets (both Nanette Fabray and JB in severe back pain, dancing on their knees), I Guess I'll Have to Change My Plan and the the Jazz scenes and then the finale - That's Entertainment! It was also Jack Buchanan's swan song - often billed as 'The British Fred Astaire' - he couldn't dance like Fred Astaire; maybe he sang a little better (one needs to listen to the duets with Elsie Randolph to judge that) - but he acquitted himself here with charm and style and Fred was gracious enough to demonstrate with him a Vaudeville-type number, for which he is best remembered. He died not long after and if our children will know anything of the man who entertained so many and had the foresight to finance early television, it's probably in this film. It's nearly bedtime in the Sleepy Hollow but I shall raise my final glass in a toast to Jack Buchanan. Incidentally, if any members have not heard his ironic rendering of the song And Her Mother Comes Too I certainly recommend it for a gentle laugh!
NJS.

[RWS]

Thanks, Couch.

I reiterate my support for a lilac and white necktie (preferrably a diamond-end bowtie, if we must be limited to a single form).

[couch]

RWS:

Thanks! Try again; I did not succeed in getting the posting tool to insert the links correctly the first time, but I'm seeing them now. Let me know if you don't.

[storeynicholas]

Thank you - al links present and correct!
NJS

[marcelo]

I think you'll agree that this combination of shirt, tie, and suit is quite elegant, if silghtly dressed down. Just for fun, I've added in the white pencil stripes as proposed for the club tie...

Yes, I do agree with you. But would you wear a button down collar with a DB suit? The idea of adding virtual stripes to the master’s original tie was great. They seem to coordinate nicely with the ribbon on the boater. – In dancing, a soft collar might possibly convey an impression of flexibility and mobility, an impression which would, perhaps, be lessened by a more formal stiff collar.

[couch]

The button-down shirt with DB suit was a trademark combination of Astaire on and off screen; one of his techniques, along with throwing his hats against the wall to break them in, for "dressing down" or making a more formal garment seem friendlier--like the Prince of Wales's reverse-calf shoes with a suit. I would certainly feel free to follow Astaire's lead, though I seldom do--partly because I think the look requires the original long-point button-down collar, and I haven't had any made up yet. But you're right in suggesting that this is one of those "rules" that one should understand the logic of before setting out to break it.

[marcelo]

Mastering with a reasonable degree of competence the “rules” of true sartorial praxis requires a kind of scientific attitude; but the ability to flout with elegance the very same rules – as suggested in Couch’s observation concerning Astaire’s picture above – requires a different kind of talent, something of an artistic intuition.

[marcelo]

In the attempt to reanimate this thread, I would like to call attention to a more graphic view of the famous clock which used to decorate the premises of Eccentric Club. The image is not reproduced as a mirror image, ça va sans dire. This clock, it should be remembered, was mentioned a couple of times from the beginning of this tread. Indeed, to return to the beginning without ever having left it in the first place is on a par with the very spirit of the project this tread is about.

[ima]

[RWS]

So, gentlemen, where are we? At the point of enquiring as to the cost of having silken neckties (bowties, anyone?) made up in lilac with white pencil stripes descending from the heart every inch or so?

[David V]

How have I missed this?
How very interesting.