Is British style not what it was (or maybe never was in the 1st place)?

[vintage.vendeuse]

Let me know nearer the time and if your in my neck of the woods I'll do a bit of digging around to see what's on vintage wise locally and point you to a few places where vintage can be found.
I believe you can fly in to Manchester airport from the USA? trains run to Chesterfield and our local Casa hotel is often used by American visitors....we have a very good antique flea and collectors fair every Thursday in our open air cobbled market granted a license in the 12th century.....surrounding countryside is pretty stunning with quite a few castles and stately homes close by.....oh and we have a Crooked Spire the only one like it in the world.

How kind! I'll send you a PM with a bit more detail this weekend.

 

[IXL]

Would I be fair in asking why Americans don't wear cowboy boots and big-brim hats like they used too?

I guess it all depends on where you are, pardner.....

 

[BruSwain]

Well, Mr. Nabaro was certainly natty and wow, that mustache! The MP to whom I referred was in the House maybe 10 to 12 years ago?
Bruce

 

[BruSwain]

At the risk of being called a Curmudgeon by some, I assume we are all aware that the terms "British" and "English" mean different things and are not interchangable?

M'lud: I did try to avoid using "English" as comprehensive of everyone in the U.K. and am also aware the Scots and Welsh wouldn't be happy if I called them British, either. Is "Briton" a better choice, or does that term also exclude others? How do people feel about "Brit?"—My inclination is that Brit isn't insulting necessarily but not all that polite, either, so I avoid it.
Bruce

 

[Guttersnipe]

I don't think the term "brit" any more impolite than the term "yank" or "yankee," which folks outside the U.S. often use when referring to any American, irrespective of it's regional specific meaning the States. Irreverent, maybe...?

 

[Shangas]

Australians typically call them 'Yanks', and have done for as long as I've been around. I still do. Although we're more prone to calling our northern cousins 'Poms' rather than 'Brits', although we do that too.

 

[Lord Flashheart]

Being Scottish I am by default British so I don't have an issue with Brit or Briton. The only issue I have with the term "Brit" or "Briton" is that it is often used in the same context as "English" and that does not tell my story. Here in Oz the media does not seem to know the difference. Terms like English Army, English Navy and English parliament has my bladder boiling. Also Pom and Brit are not the same either.

Sorry to hijack this thread with my rantings!

Garry

 

[esteban68]

Firstly i am from Brimington or Braems farm as it appears in the Domesday book, secondly I am from Chesterfield the town or Cestrefeld as it was called from Roman times up until fairly recently, then I'd be from Derbyshire a north Midland county and proud to call myself an Englishman though definitely working class and when needed a 'Brit' , when it suits I can be from the UK and I suppose a European of sorts!

 

[Hal]

The open neck worn with a suit looks so naff, I really don't like it.

...it strikes me as unimaginative if the wearer is wearing a white shirt and a dark business suit, and done so often. It's a look that's become too commonplace to have any novelty to it, anymore, and the white tieless shirt is rather naked looking with a suit. I could get behind it for sports jackets, occasionally, but to put on a whole suit, I feel as though I may as well complete it. Ties are really far more creative than modern creative types give them credit for.

I very strongly dislike the tieless look, with sports jackets as well as suits. Dark business suit with white shirt and no tie is MORE uniform and LESS imaginative (perhaps this is why bosses don't object - the style undermines individuality). Why forego the opportunity of a bit of colour and a bit of individuality? The aversion to ties is, quite simply, nothing but fashionable prejudice.

M'lud: I did try to avoid using "English" as comprehensive of everyone in the U.K. and am also aware the Scots and Welsh wouldn't be happy if I called them British, either. Is "Briton" a better choice, or does that term also exclude others? How do people feel about "Brit?"

Being Scottish I am by default British so I don't have an issue with Brit or Briton. The only issue I have with the term "Brit" or "Briton" is that it is often used in the same context as "English"...Terms like English Army, English Navy and English parliament has my bladder boiling.

Most Scots and most Welsh don't object to being called British or Britons (or even "Brits"). Northern Ireland Unionists are often very vocally British. Lord Flashheart's last sentence makes the most important point; there hasn't been an English Army, Navy or Parliament since 1707.

 

[Edward]

At the risk of being called a Curmudgeon by some, I assume we are all aware that the terms "British" and "English" mean different things and are not interchangable?

Half the English aren't. ;-)

 

[mattface]

I very strongly dislike the tieless look, with sports jackets as well as suits. Dark business suit with white shirt and no tie is MORE uniform and LESS imaginative (perhaps this is why bosses don't object - the style undermines individuality). Why forego the opportunity of a bit of colour and a bit of individuality? The aversion to ties is, quite simply, nothing but fashionable prejudice.

I'm gonna have to beg to differ here. I LIKE wearing ties, and I have more of them than I know what to do with. Unfortunately I also have a very big neck, and finding a shirt that fits well in the chest and shoulders and also closes at the neck is tricky. The best compromises I've found are usually a half inch too tight at the neck, making wearing a tie either uncomfortable, or the look quite shabby. Still because I like the look I go to extra lengths to find shirts that fit well, and endure a bit of discomfort. Most people these days do not like ties that much, or are at best indifferent, and many find them uncomfortable even though they may not have quite as much trouble with it as I do, but where I live anyway, folks are generally more concerned about comfort than fashion. I wear a tie maybe once or twice a week, and that's once or twice a week more than most of my co-workers. My main point though is that I don't think their aversion to ties amounts to "fashionable prejudice" as much as it does to a preference for comfort, and an indifference (at best) to them as a fashion accessory. It also bears mentioning that ties tend to be ridiculously expensive for such a little piece of frip, and I definitely feel folks can be excused for choosing to spend their money instead on something they actually like.

 

[cordwangler]

With greetings and felicitations from the slobocracy, I look forward to your comments.

Bruce

Sorry we're not up to your ancestral standards, mate. Although if you only get your views from TV and so on, you'll probably always be slightly skewed vis-a-vis the actual world.

Visit and make things better by setting up a style outpost. Teach us how!

 

[Vampyre Master]

M'lud: I did try to avoid using "English" as comprehensive of everyone in the U.K. and am also aware the Scots and Welsh wouldn't be happy if I called them British, either. Is "Briton" a better choice, or does that term also exclude others? How do people feel about "Brit?"—My inclination is that Brit isn't insulting necessarily but not all that polite, either, so I avoid it.
Bruce

As an Englishman now living in Wales, I can say that English, Irish, Scots, or Welsh, are quite happy to be called British. The four nations would obviously wish to be addressed for what they are. Many people see Britain as English but that is only one of the four.
VM

 

[Edward]

As an Englishman now living in Wales, I can say that English, Irish, Scots, or Welsh, are quite happy to be called British. The four nations would obviously wish to be addressed for what they are. Many people see Britain as English but that is only one of the four.
VM

55% of the Scots, maybe. As for Northern Ireland, good luck fi ding anyone there who identifies as both British and Irish.... Two completely conflicting identities in the eyes of the vast, vast majority.

 

[tropicalbob]

Ah, identity politics. Where would we all be without it?

 

[Stanley Doble]

Would I be fair in asking why Americans don't wear cowboy boots and big-brim hats like they used too?

Who says they don't? A business suit, Stetson hat, string tie and cowboy boots is still correct business attire in Texas and the Southwest, and possibly in the west generally if you own enough land and cattle.

There was a thread on this last year.

 

[Yesteryear]

Who says they don't? A business suit, Stetson hat, string tie and cowboy boots is still correct business attire in Texas and the Southwest, and possibly in the west generally if you own enough land and cattle.

There was a thread on this last year.

Don't overanalyze it. You can also find an Englishman in a 3-piece bespoke suite and a bowler hat, but it's not the norm.

 

[Edward]

Ah, identity politics. Where would we all be without it?

To be fair, back in the 70s and 80s we used to ask that a lot.

 

[Stanley Doble]

Don't overanalyze it. You can also find an Englishman in a 3-piece bespoke suite and a bowler hat, but it's not the norm.

But in certain parts of the country, it is the norm. I dare say in certain parts of England the 3 piece suit, bowler and umbrella are the norm.

The Western look was never something you saw all over the US, it was only seen in certain regions.

One exception was Stanley Harold "Wacky" Arnolt. In the 1950s he was a businessman in Chicago where he manufactured outboard motors and military gear, and was an importer of British sports cars with Italian bodies which he sold under the Arnolt name. He customarily wore cowboy boots and cowboy hat with a suit and tie, one reason he was called "Wacky". He had an electric organ in his office, on which he liked to play and sing hymns.

 

[Edward]

But in certain parts of the country, it is the norm. I dare say in certain parts of England the 3 piece suit, bowler and umbrella are the norm..

Nowhere I've ever encountered. The bowler is all but dead outside of a small proportion of vintage revivalists and some ex-military functions.