Do We Let Celebrity Determine Style ???

[MAB1]

Do We Let Celebrity Determine Style ???

Sadly... I think we do.

I grew up watching cowboy movies and TV. My preference for cowboy is more of a front pinch than the center crease side dents. Perhaps because of all the ganster/PI movies filled w/fedoras.

My grandfather did the center dent. High in the back and low in front like, Tom Mix... his cowboy movie hero. That's how he'd shape his OR's.

60's Hippy... Dennis Hopper in "Easy Rider" Aussie snap side. Big and floppy to go w/ the big hair. Just the opposite of Frank Sinatra the itty bitty guy in the stingy. Frank looked good in a stingy brim cause he was such a tiny fellow.

Other than seeing a couple of my guitar hero's in newboys, I can't remember many white guys keeping hats alive, in the '70's.

I think we all owe the black community a debt of gratitude for keeping hat making alive, during the down time.

I know... it all sounds crazy but... I'm right on the mark. Or close to it.

 

[Mike in Seattle]

We let celebrity determine style...if we let them.

Am I going to dash out tomorrow and buy a pair of camoflague, knee-length, prewash, preworn, tattered "shorts" just because David Beckham or Orlando Bloom or whatever celebrity du jour is wearing them? No. Let me rephrase that - hell no.

Will the masses? Probably. But do I want to follow the crowd, or will I go with a classic, more conservative well-dressed and a "dressed up" look. Yes. Most definitely. Do I want to look like the rest of the slovenly-appareled pack, or do I want to look appropriate for the ocassion? Would I show up at the Academy Awards in jeans & t-shirt, or would I have enough respect for my fans (if I had any) to wear a nicely tailored, appropriate tuxedo and shave that day? Yes.

I'm one who looks at pictures of these various celebrity-filled ocassions and just roll my eyes and think, "Couldn't so & so have washed their hair and run a comb through it? Can't they even take the time to shave? Can't they show just a modicum of respect for their fans by getting cleaned up and dressed up?"

In the 40's and 50's, I think it was Joan Crawford who said something about she wouldn't have walked out on the back porch to put a bag in her trashcan without without being well-dressed and well-groomed because she owed that to the fans.

I went on a job interview this week at a "business casual" location. I wore sport coat & tie. Most of those there wore things I wouldn't have been caught dead in to do yardwork. Ugh! And the pay they were offering for entry level positions was insane. All I could think was "First paycheck would cover the house payment, groceries for the month, car payment and have enough left over for a couple pair of Allan Edmonds shoes..."

 

[J.T.Marcus]

Case in point: In the "Golden Age" of hats, an extremely popular style was a fedora with front brim down, rear up, and a center crease with no front pinch or side dents. Think fedora with a Homburg crown. (Watch for it on the "Hat Channel."). Yet hardly anyone here has posted that look in the past year. Why? Probably because none of our heroes wore that style.

 

[leo]

I wouldn't worry too much about people whose self-worth is based on the accomplishments of others.

Certainly, we all have influences on our lives, especially in our younger years. But if you choose to dress well for your own satisfaction, others may even look to you as the style setter.

Bill

 

[citRon]

...just ask the stupid kids wearing their pants down around their knees because the idiots in the rap videos were doing it!

 

[Kaosharper1]

Case in point: In the "Golden Age" of hats, an extremely popular style was a fedora with front brim down, rear up, and a center crease with no front pinch or side dents. Think fedora with a Homburg crown. (Watch for it on the "Hat Channel."). Yet hardly anyone here has posted that look in the past year. Why? Probably because none of our heroes wore that style.

Bigman just posted one on the Art Fawcett Hall of Fame thread. I have to admit, I like the look.

 

[BigSleep]

Always have. Always will.
Just the way it is.

 

[J.T.Marcus]

Bigman just posted one on the Art Fawcett Hall of Fame thread. I have to admit, I like the look.

I just checked it out, and told Big Man how nice it is. Thanks for letting us know about it.

 

[Peter J.]

I think most people copy a style just to fit in with a certain group. In 1979 I looked like I came straight out of the fifties because I like (old) rockabilly music and the way they dressed. The celebrity responsible is (young) Elvis.

Guess it's the same for the kids today.

 

[Desdinova721]

Case in point: In the "Golden Age" of hats, an extremely popular style was a fedora with front brim down, rear up, and a center crease with no front pinch or side dents. Think fedora with a Homburg crown. (Watch for it on the "Hat Channel."). Yet hardly anyone here has posted that look in the past year. Why? Probably because none of our heroes wore that style.

This is the crown my Panama Hat has. I like it just fine.

 

[donCarlos]

Can I be influenced by today´s "celebrities" if I don´t know them? I have voluntarily given up today´s culture, so I am nearly completely isolated from the "celebrities". I don´t know their names, I don´t know what do they look like and when somebody passes me some tabloid magazine, I just look at the clothes and say "that´s nothing for me".

However, there are still the golden era celebrities. Yes, they really influence my style.

 

[Ande1964]

Celebrities have a lot of influence on popular fashion, and why not? Most of them dedicate lots of time to how they look, and have some degree of professional help in that department.

In my case, I can't point to any celeb leading me to fedoras, but I do get a kick out of seeing someone in the limelight wearing one.

Anj

 

[indycop]

...just ask the stupid kids wearing their pants down around their knees because the idiots in the rap videos were doing it!

lol lol lol lol lol

 

[Big Man]

Bigman just posted one on the Art Fawcett Hall of Fame thread. I have to admit, I like the look.

Thanks.

 

[Jovan]

...just ask the stupid kids wearing their pants down around their knees because the idiots in the rap videos were doing it!

I don't know about you, but that trend is slowly fading out from what I've seen. Rappers are starting to trade in their oversized t-shirts and silver necklaces for well tailored suits and silk ties. Just ask Sean "P Diddy" Combs. I think he's the one who started this and others followed suit. No pun intended...

 

[MAB1]

P Diddy is trying to expand his clothing line.

I prefer JC Penny myself.

Goodwill actually has more styles to offer.

 

[indycop]

I don't know about you, but that trend is slowly fading out from what I've seen. Rappers are starting to trade in their oversized t-shirts and silver necklaces for well tailored suits and silk ties. Just ask Sean "P Diddy" Combs. I think he's the one who started this and others followed suit. No pun intended...

Thugs are starting to dress nicer now to change our "perception" of them.shakeshead :eusa_doh:

 

[MAB1]

Thugs are starting to dress nicer now to change our "perception" of them.shakeshead :eusa_doh:

Take it from a copper. :eusa_doh:

People from my era cut their hair to fall into a less conspicuous lineup.

The gangsters in the prohibition era prolly started out as kids wearing newsboy caps and made some money to buy nice suits and fedoras. But, I don't think that their attire kept em outa jail, if caught.

It is interesting how the lower classes and the underworld have affected the style of fashion throughout history. Celebrity, as in Movies and Recording Artists have only been around for the last 100 years.

 

[Jovan]

Thugs are starting to dress nicer now to change our "perception" of them.shakeshead :eusa_doh:

The thing is, I don't think most rappers really are "thugs." I've only heard of a few including 50 Cent who had troubled pasts.

Honestly though, is it a bad thing that they are dressing nicer? I don't see any problem. I may not think their music is my cup of tea, and sometimes neither are their suits, but it's a marked improvement over the way they used to present themselves. I think we should give them a pat on the back instead of a scoffing at. [huh]

The thing I've noticed on boards like this is that we are too quick to put down others (and yes, I have done it a couple of times) because they don't wear the three piece correctly, or their double breasted doesn't have wide enough lapels, etc. Why? It's certainly not a bad thing if celebrities' images encourage their fans to dress a little nicer, go off on their own, and perhaps go to boards like this to educate themselves a little more on the finer points. If we say things like this a lot, we may be alienating these people who want to dress better from doing it or seeking advice. Just my two cents.

 

[MAB1]

Indycop:

I was just backin you up... and now... you're backing down.

SCUM IS SCUM no matter how well dressed.

I grew up in an era of fashion revolt. Chambray prison shirts were the craze. In actualliity we were no different then than now.

Honestly ... I don't know where I'm going with this. I don't have the answer.

But... when you see trends repeating themselves generation to generation... There must be a pattern that we haven't recognized yet.

I'm not saying it's good or bad.