Apparel Arts and Esquire Images

Read all the excellent articles written by the LL style scholar, Etutee.
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alden
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Sun Jan 26, 2014 8:59 pm

In this video with Edwin and Matt from Steed you can see a 650 gms Reid & Taylor suiting from the 60s or 70s called The Bronze Eagle. I am very comfortable indoors wearing this exceptional heavy herringbone fabric. It is a true classic and bears a striking resemblance to the fabric in the illustration above.



(Note: Sorry about the sound, you will have to crank up the volume to hear anything.)

Cheers
hectorm
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Sun Jan 26, 2014 11:22 pm

davidhuh wrote: I had one made up last year. The tailor said it was challenging.
I'm green with envy, David.
In the mid 90s, not long after I had commissioned my second dinner suit (a DB with peak lapels) I saw a photograph of Agnelli wearing his signature DB shawl collar and realized that I should have gone that way. I already had a shawl collar DJ in SB, and I though I needed variety. Well...
Enjoy your DJ while Jazz clubbing :)
BTW, did your tailor cut the shawl collar in a single piece (without a seam at the back)?
davidhuh
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Sun Jan 26, 2014 11:57 pm

hectorm wrote:
BTW, did your tailor cut the shawl collar in a single piece (without a seam at the back)?
Dear Hectorm,

funny that you ask this question :D - I was tempted to ask for it. Because I know a very old tailor who manages the technique. When he told me that the commission was a challenge due to lack of experience over many years, I decided not to overcharge the boat.

Now you may ask me why I did not commission the DJ from the old tailor then. I don't have a very convincing answer. The old gentlemen will soon receive a white tie commission, and I thought that they should all get their fair share 8)

Cheers, David
Minh
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Tue Jan 28, 2014 6:23 am

It's great to see Steed and the magnificent 23 ounce Reid & Taylor Michael. It is true vintage cloth in weight, quality, and beauty.

We continue our tour of 1936 with the November issue of Esquire. On the left is a district check ulster with a grey tweed suit. On the right, a fur collar tweed ulster and brown cheviot suit.

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(L), a champagne silk shirt, silver blue worsted suit, and shepherd's check tie. (R), a fly front chesterfield coat, dark grey worsted suit, and Charvet tie:

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This is a familiar illustration from the great Etutee, which I've included in the interest of being comprehensive. The paddock coat on the right has two inverted side pleats, which give freedom of movement without opening the legs to the cold. Hugoe posted about it earlier on the LL: viewtopic.php?f=4&t=8695&hilit=paddock&start=30

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Clothes for hunting and shooting. Note the shetland trousers on the figure in the lower left:

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Clothes for fox hunting. Stunning boots:

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Even the cartoons were elegant, with this gentleman wearing a covert overcoat with a grey chalk stripe flannel suit:

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Some of the best illustrated ads were for hat companies:

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In the black and white photos from the era, we miss the bright and bold colors:

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The dressing standards of the time called for a tailcoat when women were present, but allowed for the more informal dinner jacket on cruise ships, the tropics, dinner parties at home, and stag parties:

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The tailcoat with ribbed silk lapels. The white waistcoat should not show below the tailcoat, and the tails should end at the knees. Notably, the armhole is cut high but with "fullness of cloth under the arms" for comfort and freedom of movement.

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The woman's style in the above picture reminds me of Marlene Dietrich and Josephine Baker:

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Cufflink79
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Tue Jan 28, 2014 4:44 pm

Dear Minh:

Thank you kindly for sharing the AA photos with all of us.

These works of art are a wonderful treasure and the looks are still good in today's world.

The quality of the art shows the quality in the clothing as well and I don't think we'll ever see an era like that again, which a real shame.

Hope you can find more photos to share.

Many thanks again.

Best Regards,

Cufflink79
Minh
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Thu Jan 30, 2014 7:36 am

Thanks Cufflink, I'm happy to hear that you're enjoying the illustrations. Michael, it's always a pleasure to see Edwin DeBoise's work.

Gentlemen, I present Esquire, March 1936.

(L): A Scotch check tweed suit with a cravenetted raincoat. (R): Single-breasted, fly-front, peaked lapel overcoat of heavy tweed, worn with grey flannel trousers and an oxford button-down shirt:

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The tan, green, and brown swatches on the upper right are fabrics for a covert coat:

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The covert coat theme continues on the right with a grey Saxony suit, foulard muffler, capeskin gloves, and black cap-toe shoes. The pockets are straight in place of the slanted pockets on the previous covert coat. On the left is a double-breasted Shetland overcoat in brown and black herringbone worn with a brown worsted suit, bold check Spitalsfield tie, tan shirt with starched collar, and buckskin gloves.

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A magnificent illustration from a London club. A double-breasted fine herringbone worsted navy suit with a long lapel roll. The dinner jacket on the other gentleman is worn with a high wing collar and plain gold studs in the shirt.

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By the way, the double-breasted shawl label dinner jacket from February 1936 might be a 4x1. It's hard to tell, though, even in the original illustration (it could very well be a 2x1).

A double-breasted navy overcoat with a belt (known as a guard's back). The lapel is long and rolls to the bottom button.

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Just when we thought Lord Snowden invented the turtleneck and jacket look in the 60s. Here's a grey turtleneck beneath a three button grey Cheviot sportscoat in a colorful Glen Urquhart pattern. Go plaid or go home.

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Tweed for the golf course:

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Clothes for golf, continued:

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Clothes for riding, part 1:

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Clothes for riding, part 2:

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A double-breasted 4x1 navy suit with red stripe. In this model, the drape is cut with extra fullness under the arms instead of in the chest.

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This is a famous illustration for Esquire, a classic symphony of greys and blues. In the foreground is a peak lapel suit in a soft, fine Saxony wool. The pattern is a grey herringbone. Underneath is a grey alpaca vest, blue broadcloth Glen Urquhart spread collar shirt, and dark blue Spitalsfield tie. The other gentleman wears a dark oxford grey double-breasted suit and a blue broadcloth shirt with white starched collar.

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angelo
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Thu Jan 30, 2014 10:20 am

Dear Minh,
there are no words to express the sense of gratitude for the great gift that You, like previously Etutee, are doing to the community of people interested to classical masculin elegance. In many of the outfits one can easily envisage the brilliant mark of the Duke of Windsor.

Angelo
Minh
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Fri Jan 31, 2014 5:32 am

Angelo, the only group I could imagine sharing the Esquire images with are you, Michael, and our fellow members of the London Lounge.

Today, we have the October 1935 issue, beginning with this stunning overcoat in a "typical Savile Row model." The coat is grey herringbone, peak lapel, fly front. The suit is a grey worsted with a red windowpane.

The overcoat looks like it's in a warm shade of grey with hints of brown.

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It's surprising to see, but these are high school aged students dressed in evening wear. Moving clockwise, we see a midnight blue double-breasted dinner jacket with turndown collar, a tailcoat with double-breasted waistcoat, a shawl-collared single-breasted dinner jacket with wing collar, and navy guard's coat (one of the most elegant coats a man can wear). The guard's coat is chinchilla, not the fur, but the thick overcoating fabric made of wool.

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All classic outfits with superb style. A lovat tweed jacket with grey flannels; a covert topcoat with buttondown collar shirt and wool tie; a brown herringbone double-breasted suit with a checked pattern spread collar shirt and wool tie; a windowpane raglan coat.

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A soft Shetland topcoat, a brown sharkskin suit, and a checked pattern tab collar shirt.

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Whenever I look at these images from the 30s I'm inspired by new color ideas and combinations:

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Shirts and ties from Arrow. Note the three-piece double-breasted suit:

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A navy suit with peak lapels and a twilled weave wool. The dress shirt is blue batiste with a detachable white spread collar. Shoes are black plain cap-toes.

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A model rarely seen today: a three-piece double-breasted suit. The fabric is a worsted grey herringbone.

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Shirts, ties, and accessories for the fall season to coordinate with brown, tan, and the autumn foliage. The suiting is a Saxony plaid. An interesting detail, for those of us used to bright blue shirting, is that the dress shirts are in greyish, less saturated colors: a Glen plaid broadcloth, an oxford buttondown, and a flannel plaid:

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A Prince of Wales check sportscoat with short side vents. The color is a pink shade that the Duke of Windsor liked to wear.

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As Angelo suggested, the Duke of Windsor (then the Prince of Wales) was the greatest influence on the style of the time. Here's a hound's tooth check coat with raglan sleeves, fly-front, and peak lapels in two tones of grey. It's worn with a gun club suit, monk strap suede shoes, and a dark repp tie.

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The inspiration for Esquire:

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Clothes for riding, including foulard stocks at the bottom:

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A covert topcoat, grey Glen Urquhart with red overplaid, foulard muffler, and suede quarter brogues. On the right is a hound's tooth jacket, medium dark grey flannels, a navy turtleneck, shepherd's check cap, and brown plain-toe blucher brogues.

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alden
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Fri Jan 31, 2014 8:53 am

Minh

Sam Houston! where to start....firstly by renewed thanks to you.

I would have two of everything in the Autumn Brown Ale illustration, even the hunting dogs.

What is referred to in all these illustrations as "silk foulard" is an item as chic as it is impossible to find these days. Shame! For the life of me I cannot understand why this is the case. What possible cruel, undemocratic meaning can be resumed in a strip of silk? Hermes has large scarves, mainly for women, but even they do not make the large, more rectangular foulard shapes anymore.

Reading all these illustrations over the last weeks, I get the feeling of an America or at least a NYC that was so much more attached to the Old Continent than it is today. The references to fashion there, the use of French and other languages in the text, gives the overall feeling of an America still very much dependent on Europe for its inspiration.

These texts have a certain wit to them. They are well written and have verve. Wit was appreciated, cultivated and not scorned. This was the time of Noel Coward, Charles Chaplin, Cole Porter....even Gershwin's music had wit. And this wit was evident in dress.

And yes, the thing that strikes me every time I am invited to study one of the great mills' archives from the 30s is the rich display of color. I really do admire these wonderfully attractive colors, the warm browns, soft greens, blues and grays of all shades, ochre, ...its an truly great palette to dress from.

Cheers

Michael
Luca
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Fri Jan 31, 2014 10:29 am

Lots of Debry/Bowler hats in many circumstances... just sayin.... :D
Frederic Leighton
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Fri Jan 31, 2014 12:41 pm

Luca wrote:Lots of Debry/Bowler hats in many circumstances... just sayin.... :D
I remember making the acquaintance of a man working in a vintage menswear shop of the west end. For the past 10 years, he's been part of a bowler society - a group of fellows wearing bowlers and meeting weekly. Despite the long-term membership, he didn't own a bowler until very recently, due to the unusual size of his head (his words). I guess groups of dissidents like this contribute to the beauty of London :D

EDIT: Oh yes, and he harshly criticized the grey fedora I was wearing that day. Of course! ..when you wear a bowler, fedoras are for beginners :wink:
Luca
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Fri Jan 31, 2014 2:19 pm

Bowler hat dissidents!
:lol:
I like the sound of that... And I agree that one of the great things about London is that you are "allowed" to be as picturesque as you decide you want to be.
I was walking around Milan around Christmas time and even a three-piece tweed suit worn with a very modest trilby attracted a few incredulous looks :mrgreen:
Not that I mind... 8)
jb
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Fri Jan 31, 2014 3:21 pm

Wow! Another treasure trove of ideas, Minh.

Frederic, that's a great story. Proper hats seem to be like vinyl records, hanging on and making steady growth. Optima Hats here in Chicago recently opened a second location in a higher rent area.

I wanted also to note that the man in the blue suit and overcoat passing the lady and the man in the next blue suit further down are both wearing brown shoes, suede in the first illustration. We often hear that described as Italian vs. City of London but it seems to have been well established in the 1930s, whatever the origin.

Cheers
jscherrer
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Fri Jan 31, 2014 5:23 pm

These images are a continual inspiration and reminder of how it could be again. I shake my fist at the arbiters of the fashion cycle who present goods like the pocket square and lapel flowers as "New!", "Unique!", "It's In!" when these types of things have been part of the classic style portfolio since those halcyon days of the 20's and 30's.
VRaivio
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Fri Feb 07, 2014 6:18 pm

Minh, I would save these photos for reference and value, but it would help ever so much if you'd add all of them into a zip and upload the file somewhere. Could I tempt you with this small task in exchange for kudos and the assurance that you'd do the right thing?
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