Brooks Brothers Great Gatsby Collection

[Orgetorix]

Allow me to pull a quote from the BB site:

"Brooks Brothers has now adapted Ms. Martin's innovative, period-inspired costumes for the film into an ultra-sharp modern menswear collection.

"It is a reflection of the immediacy and modernity of Fitzgerald's work that the clothes in this movie based on his work can find a modern reinterpretation in this new Brooks Brothers collection."

- Catherine Martin


Criticizing the non-vintage details in these clothes is like criticizing the modern Ford Mustang for not being close enough to the original. You're perfectly welcome to prefer the old cars, but you are missing. the. point. if you are judging these clothes for not being what they are not intended to be.

 

[Flat Foot Floey]

Ok, fair enough. So we just daydream about the possibilities and don't blame BB for not taking them.

[huh]

What about the movie which pretents to take place in the 1920s? They didn't translate it into modern times like Romeo and Juliet, did they?
So I think it is fair to say the costumer only did a "meh" job.

 

[Feraud]

Going back and forth over the details is a big part of the Fedora Lounge raison d'être.
It's kind of "our thing" to nit pick what is good and bad about modern versions of the vintage styles we favor.

The brown loafers, white buck wingtip, and shawl collar cardigan are very cool. As usual the rise on the trousers appear absolutely horrible. When are designers going to recognize this detail and provide men with a proper trouser rise!?
The suit silhouettes don't look particularly period to me but I appreciate seeing dressing well portrayed with shirts tucked in and inseams that aren't pooling around one's feet.
I'm a fan of color and pattern. Seeing striped blazers and colors like cream and pink available is good to see.

 

[DamianM]

Allow me to pull a quote from the BB site:

"Brooks Brothers has now adapted Ms. Martin's innovative, period-inspired costumes for the film into an ultra-sharp modern menswear collection.

"It is a reflection of the immediacy and modernity of Fitzgerald's work that the clothes in this movie based on his work can find a modern reinterpretation in this new Brooks Brothers collection."

- Catherine Martin


Criticizing the non-vintage details in these clothes is like criticizing the modern Ford Mustang for not being close enough to the original. You're perfectly welcome to prefer the old cars, but you are missing. the. point. if you are judging these clothes for not being what they are not intended to be.

I did read that, and asked myself why they even bothered to look at the archives if your just going to make mocks of the real deal?
I mean its right there in the archives would it be so much to just do it and not re-interpret the look ?

 

[mimesis2nemesis]

I guess in the end, Big Brands and designers will keep on playing it safe and stick to the current fashion... At least shoes and accesories are pretty unique. Also, I think this gives those of us who always wanted to wear stuff like a straw boater an opportunity. So, all in all... It could have been worse (Not that it offers any comfort...)

 

[Edward]

The problem as I see it is this.... Fashions move and change with the influence of popular culture. Most people, however, don't really notice.... even folks wearing the damn things often regard a suit as a suit as a suit and genuinely don't notice to sort of differences over which our sort will fight tooth and nail! So when a collection like this is peddled under the film brand, most folks will simply assume this to be correct. Even if they do want to wear the Twenties styles they fall for on screen, most will think these are they.... and there is no impetus for the producers to move on and do something different. Surely, though, sooner or later someone MUST go with a higher aist again.... we can but hope. Most High Street suits are utterly unwearable to me because of this alone nowadays....

 

[Matt Deckard]

At least they have a pink suit in the lineup. I'm guessing the movie shall showcase one as well... By the book!

 

[Feraud]

Surely, though, sooner or later someone MUST go with a higher waist again.... we can but hope. Most High Street suits are utterly unwearable to me because of this alone nowadays....

I've been praying for this detail for years! It's a real chore to find an acceptable OTR option.

 

[DamianM]

At least they have a pink suit in the lineup. I'm guessing the movie shall showcase one as well... By the book!

In the trailer Dicaprio is wearing a dashing light pink suit.

 

[Orgetorix]

Brooks Brothers has to reinterpret '20s looks for a modern collection, because otherwise it would not sell. Brooks isn't a tastemaker; they don't have even the marginal power of a high-fashion designer like a Giorgio Armani or a Tom Ford to shape trends and make people want something they don't want right now. I'm not gonna argue that they couldn't have gotten some cosmetic details better or tried a real natural shoulder on the jackets, but if they'd come out with a Gatsby collection full of high-waisted trousers, it would have been a commercial disaster. Nobody would have bought them. Most of us here at the Lounge couldn't afford it, and virtually nobody else wants trousers cut like that. Let's face it, Matt Deckard and Indy Magnoli may be doing good work with their vintage-repro stuff, but they aren't getting rich off it. The public isn't clamoring for those cuts. They're gone, and in many respects the proportions of the Golden Age are never, ever coming back.

 

[herringbonekid]

They're gone, and in many respects the proportions of the Golden Age are never, ever coming back.

well, there it is.

 

[DamianM]

well, there it is.

So then this little niche market stays looking so darn good

 

[Tommy]

The Gatsby films thus far created have been short of the mark in matching the imagery conjured in the novel, and the zeitgeist of the times. Hopefully this film version meets the mark.

Whether or not it meets period specs, the collection of jackets as modeled are not long enough. If there is one rule I've learned and will never break is that of jacket length at a minimum meeting buttock bottom.

 

[Flat Foot Floey]

http://www.vogue.co.uk/news/2013/04...tsby-collection-and-exhibition/gallery/963292

 

[Fastuni]

If there is one rule I've learned and will never break is that of jacket length at a minimum meeting buttock bottom.

During the very early and again during the later 1930's it was fashionable, in Continental Europe at least, to wear very short jackets that did not fully cover the bottom.

 

[Flat Foot Floey]

Yes but if it is the only rule he knows don't confuse him too much.
Since it us not allowed to criticize the great Gatsby wardrobe department or Brooks brothers we should just find a new hobby. One that is less critical and more positive.

 

[Two Types]

During the very early and again during the later 1930's it was fashionable, in Continental Europe at least, to wear very short jackets that did not fully cover the bottom.

Exactly. I am always surprised when I see German vintage jackets, to find how short they are compared to British jackets. At first I thought 'must have been for a short man' but since (I believe) mid 20th century Germans were on average a couple of inches taller than Brits, then I would expect to find the jackts are longer. But they are usually short.

It doesn't bother me: I have short legs and a long body, so a shorter jacket and high waisted trousers helps to even out my proportions.

 

[herringbonekid]

i've also seen a lot of British suits with short jackets. going by the back length of 28" you'd think the suit would be a short, but no, the sleeves are 25" and the inside leg is 31" which is a Reg length.

anyway, jackets in the early 20s - at least in America - were on the long side, so these BB jackets are incorrect for their time frame.

 

[herringbonekid]

also, i'm an elitist snob... the last thing i want is to see 20s-30s-40s clothes available in Top Man. i like the fact that it's a niche, cultish interest and we have to work a bit harder to find modern equivalents, or make our own, start our own labels etc.

 

[Fastuni]

While I don't consider myself an "elitist snob" at all, I do think that having accurate 20-40's clothes available as mass-produced "mainstream" fashion (which is IMO not going to happen) would take out a lot of fun, if not the "soul" of the hobby/interest. The researching, hunting, scavenging and do-it-yourself aspect of it all, is just as important as having "nicely styled clothes" to me.