Calling all Rustics!

[KittyT]

One can settle on a specific period and stick strictly to it, if one wishes, but don't judge too harshly someone who wears a late Thirties ties, a mid-Forties suit and shoes from 1950 -- you can rest assured that plenty of people back in the day dressed just that way.

Thank you. This is the sort of thing I was thinking about, and I apologize to Forgotten Man that I was unable to state it as concisely as Skyvue.

 

[Forgotten Man]

I give up.

Bartenders, close this thread please, the towel has been tossed and is laying on the bathroom floor.

My point of view will never be understood, no one ever really understands me or why I do what I do... I'll do all of you a favor and bow out of this whole thing... I'll stick to my guns and you can all fend for your selves.

I simply wanted to know who’s out there that may have some things in common with me, never wanted to step on anyone… with all the threads in this dive that cater to all walks of life, I wanted to see who’s out there that enjoy putting the extra effort in to look authentic because of their deep passion for it.

Just read my signature... it sums it all perfectly.

 

[scotrace]

Bartenders, close this thread please...

Not on your life, Pal.

 

[Lady Day]

I simply wanted to know who’s out there that may have some things in common with me, never wanted to step on anyone… with all the threads in this dive that cater to all walks of life, I wanted to see who’s out there that enjoy putting the extra effort in to look authentic because of their deep passion for it.

But thats the thing, what IS your standard? DO you have a standard book? Ive seen your look, and you do put a lot of effort into it, and I respect that. It just seems no matter how someone replies, they are not going to meet your criteria.

I think skyvue hit the nail on the head, cause thats what I do. I set a 'time' for myself, say...1945, and I dont wear anything younger than that. But everything older is fair game.

The one exception is my hair. Period or no, I REFUSE to straighten my hair.

LD

 

[reetpleat]

Jeez, why is everyone taking so much offense. One problem on the lounge is if someone posts a thread about how much they like stetson hats, five people will chime in on how stetsons aren't so great and dobbs are better. It can get a little annoying if you actually want to discuss something, not weather you should like it or not.

I saw no offense intended, and the only reason I chimed in is because I saw others had already done it. And I wanted to mention my little purist attitude about some things. and I also sensed that there was not going to be a lot of discussion otherwise, a I think there are very few purists as pure as he is looking for.

I still see nothing offensive about his insistence that yes, he has the right to be a purist and no, he does not have to agree to like or appreciate or even tolerate people who mix and match or are not as pure as he is. He has been a long time member and has never been inclined to criticize people or put them down for their own approach. But he does not shrink from sharing his own opinion about things which is fine with me.

So, don't take offense, lighten up. I imagine he would most like to have a discussion with like minded folks if he can find a few. But if you must post, why not say "wow, that is cool that you put that effort in. It is a discipline much like martial arts or being an installation artist and I think it is cool that while I do not, someone somewhere is doing this for their own fun and the enjoyment of people that might observe or know them"

 

[reetpleat]

Bartenders, close this thread please, the towel has been tossed and is laying on the bathroom floor.

My point of view will never be understood, no one ever really understands me or why I do what I do... I'll do all of you a favor and bow out of this whole thing... I'll stick to my guns and you can all fend for your selves.

I simply wanted to know who’s out there that may have some things in common with me, never wanted to step on anyone… with all the threads in this dive that cater to all walks of life, I wanted to see who’s out there that enjoy putting the extra effort in to look authentic because of their deep passion for it.

Just read my signature... it sums it all perfectly.

I think you were treated a little unfairly, and I will stick up for you, although I know it is unneeded. But I gotta say, firstly, I am not surprised at how things went and as a longer time member than me, I am a little surprised you didn't anticipate it yourself. And secondly, I would suggest that you try to not have too much of a persecution complex. It may also apply to your attitude about time. There is a big difference between "I love the golden era and want to live my life as closely as possible in it" and "I hate the modern era and am going to try to block it out and live in a different era." Not saying this is you, but my general observation is that the first is powerful and should lead to real self fulfillment and personal happiness that no one can take away from you. The second is just an extension of a persecution attitude that will lead to unhappiness and feeling all alone, which would be sad because you have many people who think well of you here.

 

[reetpleat]

We did kind of hijack his thread. But then again, welcome to the internet.

 

[poetman]

Well, I finally did it. I want to find who’s out there that are died in the wool period purists! I’m all about the details, doing the hair right, getting authentic clothing and looking as if I stepped right out of the past. Also, trying to make my home as close as possible to the eras I adore. Hiding as much modern amenities as I can… and using as much vintage appliances and items as possible.

Who’s out there in Fedora Lounge land that is striving for this? Who realize it takes more then putting on an old suit, hat or dress! Those who know that doing the hair, grooming or makeup is vitally important to achieve an authentic or classic look! To make old clothes not look “Costume” and to make them look legitimate! Those who love to read old magazines, finds the modern world a cesspool of ugly and boring and horrible attitudes? Who here aches for days gone by? Who feel it a drag to use modern junk, that feel they were born too late? I wanna hear from them! Most importantly; those who do it not to show off but, those who do it from just a pure interest and passion for the past.

So, for those who aren’t die hards, please enjoy the read and maybe you could learn something… but please do not post contradictive things… I want to keep this thread on track and find those who are obsessed with a specific time period and who live it i.e. 1920s to 1950s. Feel free to share photos of your impression and such... I want to see those who take this stuff serious!

So, calling all purists, Olly, Olly Oxen Free!

Thank you!

How about some pictures of this pure vintage lifestyle. That's always thrilling.

 

[Forgotten Man]

Thank you for backing me up Reetpleat.

Something that I must share before I continue. Ever since I was a kid, I was interested in other things... the past has always had a hold on me. I loved trains, old trains... then it became what it is today. I never really cared for many of the new things other then the normal kids obsession with video games wile growing up and such... but those things pass and I am really not excited about so many things these days. I feel like a transplant... I get the chills when I hear the sound of a steam whistle, I cry when I hear a favorite song... the sound of the bells ringing on my old telephone sounds familiar... why is that? For me it's deeper then just trying to replicate a time period, it's who I am. I try and treat people fairly, honestly and justly. I get annoyed with people but, I always try and be courteous... but some persist to annoy me and I just don't understand.

All I want is to know who are detailed oriented... I HAVE put a lot of effort into finding my style, my style isn't from any movie star, or particular person of the era, it's my taste, it's who I would have been had I was really born in those years.

So, with respect, I ask that those who are fanatics about something from the past, please share. I will try and keep my temper down as long as I don't hear the SAME banter from those who feel it their mission to educate people like me who knows full well that I wasn't born 80 plus years ago... maybe I wish I was... If I think of being dead by now, I don't really see a problem with that.

I love my family, my friends and those who are close to me, they are what makes living now worth wile... because they except me for who I am and not what I am not. I except them for who they are and I love them for it.

One thing I can not stand is to be talked down to... I try not to do it my self but, when I get people telling me stuff that I've heard before, it cheeses me off king sized! I'm 30 years old, not a baby... I've been around the block a few times and more times to come.

With sincerity and respect,

Robert Smith

 

[Foofoogal]

Respectfully I do not and am not a purist but I could be as I have alot of the stuff.
I do think you look dapper in your outfit.
I also am a fanatic about trains and they are at the top of my list and I have stated that here before.
I have to say I have never seen such a crazy year in my life. I only wish people would all be purists in every way. I think memories of safety and a time of perceived safety is why many people are drawn to the vintage life and stuff. I know it is very deep with me. This may be why it is an issue with you as well. I just want to get back to basics.

 

[Forgotten Man]

.

How about some pictures of this pure vintage lifestyle. That's always thrilling.

That photo is of me... for those who don't know. Taken last weekend in Redlands CA at the Smilly Library.

Here are more photos from my myspace page:

A picnic with Katie and John at Hollywood Forever Cemetery after a Valentino memorial service. Everything in that photo belongs to the era... besides our selves.

Now the happy couple being silly

Me with one of my 30s Hoover Cleaners:

At work as Edwin Hubble at the Griffith Observatory's original 1935 Zeiss 12".

At home late at night:

At Eagle Feild:

Driving in a '42 Ford jeep with one of my best pals in Redlands:

Posing with my car and SF 3751

Now on a vestibule kissing my lovely girlfriend:

Enjoy.

 

[reetpleat]

Thank you for backing me up Reetpleat.

Something that I must share before I continue. Ever since I was a kid, I was interested in other things... the past has always had a hold on me. I loved trains, old trains... then it became what it is today. I never really cared for many of the new things other then the normal kids obsession with video games wile growing up and such... but those things pass and I am really not excited about so many things these days. I feel like a transplant... I get the chills when I hear the sound of a steam whistle, I cry when I hear a favorite song... the sound of the bells ringing on my old telephone sounds familiar... why is that? For me it's deeper then just trying to replicate a time period, it's who I am. I try and treat people fairly, honestly and justly. I get annoyed with people but, I always try and be courteous... but some persist to annoy me and I just don't understand.

All I want is to know who are detailed oriented... I HAVE put a lot of effort into finding my style, my style isn't from any movie star, or particular person of the era, it's my taste, it's who I would have been had I was really born in those years.

So, with respect, I ask that those who are fanatics about something from the past, please share. I will try and keep my temper down as long as I don't hear the SAME banter from those who feel it their mission to educate people like me who knows full well that I wasn't born 80 plus years ago... maybe I wish I was... If I think of being dead by now, I don't really see a problem with that.

I love my family, my friends and those who are close to me, they are what makes living now worth wile... because they except me for who I am and not what I am not. I except them for who they are and I love them for it.

One thing I can not stand is to be talked down to... I try not to do it my self but, when I get people telling me stuff that I've heard before, it cheeses me off king sized! I'm 30 years old, not a baby... I've been around the block a few times and more times to come.

With sincerity and respect,

Robert Smith

It is always fascinating why things appeal to people. I have no idea why I walked into a vintage clothing shop twenty years ago or so and bought two vintage suits, and just was in love with them. years before my mom bought me a bag of vintage forties ties from the thrift store. I didn't know anything about them but I loved them. I don't know why I felt inclined to slowly start wearing vintage clothing all the time and slowly start upgrading my wardrobe towards more and more authentic stuff.

Perhaps we had past lives that are still strong in our soul's memory.

 

[reetpleat]

Great pictures. I have often had the idea of life lived as art. Sometimes I think that many famous artists are more famous for what they lived than what they produced.

In your case I would consider your life to be a living museum or a work of art. good for you.

And thanks for sharing a little about your life. It seems to me that So Cal must have been a sucky place to grow up if you felt that way, but on the other hand, you were able to find some vintage culture and lots of it at much younger age than if you lived somewhere else.

 

[Guttersnipe]

It's worth keeping in mind that most wardrobes are accumulated -- and certainly most homes are furnished and accessorized -- over a long period of time, so while wearing only Forties ties with Forties suits is fine, if that's the way one wants to go, a man who bought a new suit in 1943 may well have already owned a favorite tie he purchased in 1938 that went just dandy with it. Would he have tossed out that five-year-old tie just because it was from the Thirties?

Not likely.

Similarly, most homes then, just like today, were filled with objects and furnishings that were acquired over a five-, ten-, fifteen- or twenty-year period (or even longer) -- a sofa from 1933, a toaster from 1938, a radio from 1942, curtains first hung in 1944.

One can settle on a specific period and stick strictly to it, if one wishes, but don't judge too harshly someone who wears a late Thirties ties, a mid-Forties suit and shoes from 1950 -- you can rest assured that plenty of people back in the day dressed just that way.

As for how purely vintage a home or wardrobe is pure enough, that's a slippery slope. No matter how committed one is, you can rest assured that somewhere there's someone who takes it even more seriously than you do, who would consider you a poseur for even owning a computer (a sentiment you'd likely and understandably resent, as some will likely object to your exclusionary attitude in this thread).

Perhaps you should compose a list of required possessions and articles of clothing without which a poster should not even post in this thread. Otherwise, it's a gradient scale, and you're likely to grow awfully frustrated as poster after poster fails to live up to your very high standards.

I don't think Forgotten Man was speaking so much about "true" purists sticking to an exact year but rather, sticking to a general era. And what's so wrong with minimizing modern things in your life? I challenge anyone to say the latest desk-top computer or TV is aesthetically pleasing.

I, for instance, am a fan of the "bold look" for men and the corresponding trends in industrial and interior design. However, there's no concrete demarcation line for the beginning and end of this or any era, it can be a useful tool in communicating my area of interest...

...for instance, a well dressed young man in the late 40's, perhaps a veteran of the "Big War," who was excited to put the depression and the war years behind him, would most definitely want his clothes to reflect the optimism of the era - that is to say, a well cut 40's suit with a bright and wide 40's tie!

 

[pdxvintagette]

So far in my life, I have tended to be a purist in small parts. That is to say, that if my living room is furnished in late 30's style, the whole entire room is that style, as much as I've been able to do. But one bedroom has a mid-century desk and lamps, and the other is WWII-era pieces.

I would like to have a home that is either more coordinated, or where at least, the eras are separated by levels of the house. (Mid-century tiki bar basement, Deco on the main, 40's or older in the bedrooms. Something like that.) I also want my future living room to have much more COMFORTABLE vintage pieces than what I currently own!

I have clothes ranging up to around the very early 60's (because every gal ought to have a wiggly cocktail dress or two) but I try to wear each outfit with the proper shoes, jewelry, and hairstyle. (Now, I don't judge those who don't do it like I do - I have a dear friend who will wear 30's dresses with 60's shoes and 50's jewelry and a modern hair-do.) In turn, she never faults me for my sometime obsessive purist style.

And when I go out on the town with my friend Guttersnipe, I do try to match the era of my clothes/hairstyle to the era of his ... or vice versa.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I don't think Forgotten Man was speaking so much about "true" purists sticking to an exact year but rather, sticking to a general era. And what's so wrong with minimizing modern things in your life? I challenge anyone to say the latest desk-top computer or TV is aesthetically pleasing.

I definitely go along with this. I live in a little never-remodeled working-class house, built in 1911, and frankly, modern appliances and furnishings just look ridiculous in that setting.

I mean, a big stainless-steel double-doored ice-water-dispensing modern refrigerator wouldn't even physically *fit* in my kitchen, let alone look appropriate there. So in that sense, the sense of wanting my surroundings to look comfortable and harmonious in keeping with my overall sense of aesthetics, well, call me a purist too.

 

[reetpleat]

I don't think Forgotten Man was speaking so much about "true" purists sticking to an exact year but rather, sticking to a general era. And what's so wrong with minimizing modern things in your life? I challenge anyone to say the latest desk-top computer or TV is aesthetically pleasing.

I, for instance, am a fan of the "bold look" for men and the corresponding trends in industrial and interior design. However, there's no concrete demarcation line for the beginning and end of this or any era, it can be a useful tool in communicating my area of interest...

...for instance, a well dressed young man in the late 40's, perhaps a veteran of the "Big War," who was excited to put the depression and the war years behind him, would most definitely want his clothes to reflect the optimism of the era - that is to say, a well cut 40's suit with a bright and wide 40's tie!

When I was more dedicated, i had certain ideas and looks as far as a character if you will. Just dressing vintage is the first step, but the higher level is dressing like a young college kid, or a jazz hipster, or a california hollywood type. Not a movie star so much as a film industry guy, or a midwestern regular joe banker, or a New York financier, or a working guy.

And some of those might be appropriate for mixing eras, in a carefully done way if you really want to get it right, while other looks would require the latest up to date styles.

 

[reetpleat]

I definitely go along with this. I live in a little never-remodeled working-class house, built in 1911, and frankly, modern appliances and furnishings just look ridiculous in that setting.

I mean, a big stainless-steel double-doored ice-water-dispensing modern refrigerator wouldn't even physically *fit* in my kitchen, let alone look appropriate there. So in that sense, the sense of wanting my surroundings to look comfortable and harmonious in keeping with my overall sense of aesthetics, well, call me a purist too.

Yes, but why not a 1911 icebox. I kid. I imagine a working class house in 1950 woulde probably be a 1911 house with some updating and a fw year old fridge.

As a real estate agent, I find it interesting how some people will be charmed by the 40s kitchen or bathroom or whatever in a 1918 house, thinking it is original. Truth is they would probably not find the original kitchen so charming. I also see a lot of bad attempts at modernizing craftsman homes with wrought iron and other fifties and sixties decor. Just looks all wrong. At least the trend today os to try and give a certain nod to the original style.

 

[pdxvintagette]

Yes, but why not a 1911 icebox. I kid. I imagine a working class house in 1950 woulde probably be a 1911 house with some updating and a fw year old fridge.

As a real estate agent, I find it interesting how some people will be charmed by the 40s kitchen or bathroom or whatever in a 1918 house, thinking it is original. Truth is they would probably not find the original kitchen so charming. I also see a lot of bad attempts at modernizing craftsman homes with wrought iron and other fifties and sixties decor. Just looks all wrong. At least the trend today os to try and give a certain nod to the original style.

Actually, I find 40's kitchens and bathrooms charming, particularly as done-in-the-day-updates. I adore old architecture, but love the look of 40's cabinetry and chrome. Now updates done in the 60's and later are something else entirely...

 

[LizzieMaine]

Yes, but why not a 1911 icebox.

Actually, my mother has one of those in her kitchen -- not a big fancy oak one, but one of those little Honeymooners-style white ones. It was in the house when we moved in in 1967, but now it sits in a corner with her microwave on top of it.

Honestly, she's hopeless.