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Dad would never go out without a Fedora!

PADDY

I'll Lock Up
Bartender
Messages
7,425
Location
METROPOLIS OF EUROPA
Welcome to Jurassic Park, chaps!

My goodness! you know you have touched a nerve with people....when you come back on in the morning and find 17 strands to a posting.

I guess, judging by the response there, that we should all be thinking of buying an island or taking over a minor south american country, and renaming it "The Lost World!" or "Jurassic Park."

Chas, I hope you don't mind me saying, how much, for whatever reason, your mentioning of your grandfather touched me. We Irish are still abit locked in the middle ages (as the tribalism, gangerism and fighting in the North has sadly demonstrated, often more like 1930s Chicago!, but definitely not rose coloured or romantic at all...).

But, you reminded me of how we still lay out our dead loved ones to pay homage and honour them in Ireland. Images of my loved grandfather and dad spring to mind, where we would have an open coffin sitting on the bed, and friends and family visit. I know the person has long gone and it's merely a shell, like a statue, but to me, dressed in their finest suits and hat, these are the statues of emperors, and a fine tribute to fine men and honourable lives. So maybe, we Irish, in our old fashionedness, still have a place in this modern world, where respect, loyalty and honour are only to be found in dusty museums or on the battle flags of long gone regiments.

What I do find reasurring, having stumbled upon this site by total accident, that there are still men and women out there, who through their own lives try to carry the torch that embodies all those fine attributes that their fore fathers and mothers took for granted and helped forge a semblance of democracy and free will that allows us to enjoy these things that we now do.

For better or worse, free will and free speech comes at a price, and allows for those who want to, to flagrantly rubbish protocol, decorum, etiquette and respect for others, through slumming it in their WallMart visiting day outfit of nylon tracksters and tee shirt.

So thankfully, this site, and a couple of others I visit, thanks to the power of the internet (a great modern invention!), are truely a 'home to the brave!'

Where I was working up until a week ago (just made redundant!), changed the dress code so that people could dress 'casually.' To me, that meant going for my khaki chinos, matching khaki sports coat/blazer, white starched hanky in top pocket, starched shirt with cufflinks and a tie. Casual, but smart!

To the rest of the gang, it was straight into old jeans, sweat stained tee shirts with graphics, old NIKE trainers..etc. They totally rebelled at the first chance! And I was getting the daily dig, " Oh Paddy, you look so smart, thought about losing the tie?"

Personally, I think that how you dress somehow affects how you behave and act. If I dress sloppy, then my interaction with others will be sloppy and unprofessional. Doesn't make me stiff with a broom handle up my bottom!! lol. But it somehow focuses me, and if I feel I look good, then I feel good and feel confident in my self. Dress like a bum and I'll act like a bum, and frankly, I don't want that option.

The other interesting thing in this work scenario, is that all the management still continued to wear suits and ties, now, wouldn't you say there is a psychological power game going on there? They knew that people would revert to type, given the chance. The workers thought they were just being give free will, and played into the hands of the suits! (tribal or what? lol..!!!).

Guys, I'm happy in my 1930's / 1940's bubble as far as dress and standards go, and how I treat others (giving the seat up for the old lady on the bus, or holding a door open for a lady, or holding the chair for a lady to sit down on, or standing up at the meal table when a lady approaches). Funny thing is, I rarely get the thanks from many young girls now, when you hold the door open. Just cannot win sometimes!! lol.

Just before I go back to BED-ROCK VILLE, I would never, even consider going to church without a suit and tie. Guess I was conditioned as a lad, call me old fashioned but, just wouldn't do it, just wouldn't feel right guys! We always had out own seating place too, every family sat in the same seats, so God knows what visitors did when they came in and sat on someones seat!!! ha ha.

And HONEST, I'm not as starchy, right wing and Ivy League as this all sounds. But is it asking too much for folk just to follow a few conventions that shows respect to their fellow human beings? as we all have to live together, happliy I hope!

If you want 1930s America, go down to the old southwest of Ireland. Also, I hear that parts of rural New Zealand are still in the Twilight Zone, where you can travel backwards in your beatup DeLorean time travel machine!!

Nice meeting you guys, by the way! Back to my Expresso and Ella Fitzgerald singing "My Funny Valentine!"
 
Yes, you did touch a nerve in some of us.
Your post also gives us a look into the difference of what is acceptable and what is right. I am heartened that some of the people my age and younger have gotten tired of the "hippie" fashions and have decided to move toward looking more polished. That does not mean that all of them are moving in that direction though. Some of them are a disgrace and I wonder what their parents think sending them off to school looking like that. It makes one really consider the benefit of school uniforms. :D

Regards to all,

j
 

havershaw

Practically Family
Messages
716
Location
mesa, az
I think I've always been different in my fashion sense. (My friends used to get mad at me when their girlfriends said to them, "why can't you dress more like Bob? He's got style.")

I went to an all-boys prep academy-type thing, where one had to wear a suit all the time. I loved it, needless to say (this is going back some twelve years, and my interest in vintage clthing is only about five years old). Even as a little kid, I couldn't wait to wear a suit. All the coolest people wore them in movies.

At boarding school, we didn't have a uniform, but we had to wear a jacket and tie every day. I was poor (it's a long story how I was able to go to this private academy, but trust me, we were poor), so I only had two or three jackets to wear, but I was thrilled to be able to 'dress up' every day. And I was always the last one to change out of school clothes on any given day.

Even when I don't wear a suit, I always wear a button-up vinatge shirt, long or short-sleeved, and vintage trousers (now that I have six pair of high-waisted, I wear those more than the others). The shirt is tucked in, always.

I've taken to wearing a suit to work, though...and as I own a recording studio and work with young rock bands constantly...well, it provides an interesting contrast! People really stare when we all go out to lunch together!
 

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