1920's

[Vladimir Berkov]

I agree, and would say that the influences of the Edwardians are also often overlooked. In many ways, what we like about the 30s and 40s are really just extensions of what was being innovated during the Edwardian and Jazz ages.

I would also say that this time period is the earliest time period in which one can dress "period correct" and still be reasonably modern enough not to be wearing a costume. Victorian and earlier fashions are so far removed from the current ones that they normally cannot be worn except as costume. Some of the Edwardian styles are that way as well, but by the 1920s most of the "modern" styles had evolved and thus they can still be worn today without too much attention given to them.

 

[Wild Root]

Ah the 1920’s. Well, as for me, I enjoy going into the closet and digging out some of the 20’s stuff. I really love the look of Knickerbockers! I wear them mostly in the summer months seeing it’s the only thing that comes close to shorts I own in my collection.

Detachable collars were still being worn and sold all the way into the 40’s far as I know. Most of the pictures and movies I have seen from the 20’s still had detachable collars. The cashual shirts however did have attached collars. I have seen some original white dress shirts that did have attached collars but they are not as common as the ones with detachable ones.

Something about the 1920’s and early 30’s clothes I love. Can’t say really what it is, but if I was to guess, I would say that it would be the look of simplicity! Men’s suits and also sport outfits such as Knickers and such look so functional and comfortable. I have a few photos from the late 20’s of Glenn Miller with some of his friends from Ben Pollack’s band standing out side a store front in 1928 or so. Not one of them are wearing suits! They have just long sleeved button shirts, some with bowties and some with no ties at all! They all had hats on such as Boaters and cloth 1 -8 panel caps. I’ll have to scan it in soon and post it.

Here is a great photo for you guys to tide you over,

Root.

Amelia, nice photo of her!

A Senior class of 28.

October 6, 1928.United States President Herbert Hoover

c1926. Colorado Republican Governor Clarence J. Morley (bow tie) 1926.

 

[Vladimir Berkov]

That last suit on the right just looks really strange. I can only assume the man had sort of a beer-belly going on and had the coat cut to accomidate it, which made it flair out like that. Still, it is just wierd looking.

 

[Wild Root]

Hey Vladimir, I know what you mean! I thought that coat looked weird too. But, you know what, I love it! May look some what ill fitted but, that’s how most men wore a suit back then. I sometimes feel that we have been indoctrinated to believe that in the 20’s to the 50’s clothes just fit perfectly by images from movies and advertisements. The fact is that by looking at the politician in the last photo with the bowtie, how he is wearing his coat with only the bottom button buttoned is a sign that most men wore clothes how they felt comfortable then to what was proper. Men were men even back then. Some were Dandy’s and some were slobs. All walks of life my friend, all walks of life.

Fact is that clothes are just that, clothes and to those men, they dressed up because it was what they had to do. Some men put a lot of time into their outfits but most just threw on what ever they had which may account for the sloppy fitting coat. A man of his nature could have gotten up, showered, and then dressed in what his wife laid out for him. The fit may owe its self to his wife’s good cooking or maybe spending to much time at the bar buying drinks for his friends to reelect him. A man hardly went out and bought a new suit when the pants got snug or the coat was not fitting perfectly. That wasn’t the mind set of that generation in many cases.

All the best,

Root.

Here is a photo of the 1925. Heavyweight boxing champion Jack Dempsey and his wife, actresses Estelle Taylor,

 

[Vladimir Berkov]

Is that an unbuttoned double-breasted jacket I see? Sort of a proto-Letterman style I suppose.

By the way, that coat in the other pic actually reminds me a lot of a coat William Randolph Hearst was wearing in a pic I saw at Hearst Castle this summer. It too had the odd sort of flair at the bottom.

 

[Wild Root]

Hey man, yeah, that is a double breasted suit Jack he is wearing. It's a three piece and I have seen photos of men wearing them unbuttoned. They liked to show off that watch chain I'm sure.

Yes, the odd shaped coat. More then likely was a nice shaped coat till; the man started to wear it all the time and didn't watch his diet.



Root.

 

[Vladimir Berkov]

That's a good point. In movies made in the 20s and early 30s you see a great deal of double-breasted suits with vests but later on the vest pretty much disappears. In this case, anyway, I believe it is a good idea. There is absolutely no reason to wear a vest or sweater with a double-breasted suit because you would have to wear the jacket open to see it, and double-breasted coats look terrible worn open.

 

[Wild Root]

That's a good point. In movies made in the 20s and early 30s you see a great deal of double-breasted suits with vests but later on the vest pretty much disappears. In this case, anyway, I believe it is a good idea. There is absolutely no reason to wear a vest or sweater with a double-breasted suit because you would have to wear the jacket open to see it, and double-breasted coats look terrible worn open.

I know what you mean. I don't wear my double breasted open for that one reason. But, I do have one D/B that is a three piece and I wear the coat closed most of the time. Some times I wear it open but not much.

Most men back then wanted to have access to their vest pockets and inner pockets. I'm sure they closed it up when they were going to meet some one or what not, but I'm sure Jack was a victim of a snap shot and wasn't ready to pose for a photo

Root.

 

[jamespowers]

The bell out at the bottom of the double breasted jacket makes me wonder if he neglected to button the inside button. That would cause the bottom to be uneven and lay that way.
There is a bit of strain at the buttons though. Maybe it could be a combination of both the weight and the unbuttoned inner button.

Regards to all,

J

 

[scotrace]

The other fellow

The guy in that Dempsey photograph, behind them, on the train...

That's the third time I have seen a brim snapped that way. Truman Capote, Johnny Depp, and now this guy. He also has the Billy Sunday Squished crown going on. (Root: ok, yes, I saw your pic that way too. Now hush.)

I kind of like it, but it looks artsy, like it needs to be worn with a cape.

 

[Matt Deckard]

One more thing in regards to their jackets, they are all fitten in the shoulders and have very little if any padding, that is why many of the men look narrower at the top than they do in later decades.

 

[scotrace]

Oh yes, and this sap