Is the vintage crowd the drunken costumed crowd? A thread for "squares"

[nulty]

The Golden Era had its share of "squares" as well. They were called prohibitionists.


(Funny thing is, the American Prohibition Party still exists, and fronts a presidential candidate every four years. Never wins, though. It's just too square for today's self-named "squares".)

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Oh yeah they are out there...I pay them little heed except for a watchful glance out of the corner of my eye...

And then you have to wonder who are the true squares these days...

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Oh yeah they are out there...I pay them little heed except for a watchful glance out of the corner of my eye...

And then you have to wonder who are the true squares these days...

Their presidential candidate buttons are eternally available on eBay.


Fun fact: their official mascot/symbol is a camel. (A "dry" animal. Get it?)

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[nulty]

That's rich....lol

and you know they probably think it's a really cool symbol...

 

[LizzieMaine]

I think it all depends on how you define "square." There's those who use it in a perjorative sense, as a way of mocking those who don't share their own particular hipper-than-thou tastes on one subject or other, be it music or drinking, or whatever -- but to me "square" is something different entirely. It has nothing to do with what music you listen to or where you like to go for an evening out or what you like to drink. To me, a square is simply someone who always puts their responsibilities first -- and I think that's the most positive thing you can say about anyone.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

I think it all depends on how you define "square."

Yep. I have no idea how to define it in this case. Since PrettySquareGal introduced the term here, we could perhaps ask her what she means by it.


What LizzieMaine approvingly calls "square" I approvingly call "solid". (A rose by any other name ...)

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[PrettySquareGal]

To me, a square is simply someone who always puts their responsibilities first -- and I think that's the most positive thing you can say about anyone.

THAT is how I define it, too! I also see it as one who does not judge another by glitz and glamor; they do not mistake charisma for character. A square can go out to party or stay in, but responsibilities first! I also see it as one who does not feel ashamed to be "plain" and "ordinary" yet by focusing on important matters can be quite extraordinary.

 

[patrick1987]

: But you don't have to worry in the state of New York. I can't smoke in a bar even if I own the place [huh].

When you come to Rochester give us a call. Not only is the club we go to open after hours, you can smoke indoors. You'll see at least one girl in an evening gown, I promise you.
Everything in moderation, I say, including moderation. I like to get dressed up and go out every night that the joint's open and I haven't missed a responsibllity yet.

 

[reetpleat]

Yep. I have no idea how to define it in this case. Since PrettySquareGal introduced the term here, we could perhaps ask her what she means by it.


What LizzieMaine approvingly calls "square" I approvingly call "solid". (A rose by any other name ...)

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Solid meal, square meal. I see it. I think the name drifted from being good "on the square" to bad, as in, someone who is too square.

I think someone will soon start another forum to reclaim and redefine the word. Does Cad bring back any memories?

 

[reetpleat]

I dunno....back in the day before TV the local joint was the places folks would go to socialize. Jackie Gleason said it was TV that destroyed the atmosphere of the local bar . I used to love going down to the the corner watering hole with a pack of smokes and an old fedora on my noggin and just sit there talking to guys. Great sprawling conversations...you could just rip the whole word apart and make a friend you might never run into again.

I often think about what places like that were like back in the day before suburbia robbed us of our individual souls....

Much like the Irish pub, bars tended to be more like that back in the day. Thee days, it is only a certain type that frequents bars. i don't mean going out for drinks with friends. I mean hanging out at a local in your spare time. Nothing against it. but i am too busy for that, and think that most people who do such are probably not quite my type. But i am sure some are.

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

THAT is how I define it, too! I also see it as one who does not judge another by glitz and glamor; they do not mistake charisma for character. A square can go out to party or stay in, but responsibilities first! I also see it as one who does not feel ashamed to be "plain" and "ordinary" yet by focusing on important matters can be quite extraordinary.

I knew that from the start. Squareness could also be synonymous with simple maturity.

 

[Geesie]

The "oft-ridiculed square way of life" is the bedrock of this joint and by far the dominant point of view. For all intents and purposes, it is the house ethos, the house management and the the house rules. The forum's owner and essentially all of its moderators/bartenders ascribe to it.


In short, this thread is the Fedora Lounge itself.


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Some of us just like the hat...

 

[Tiller]

Some of us just like the hat...

Which is fine, it takes all kinds lol.

 

[Tiller]

When you come to Rochester give us a call. Not only is the club we go to open after hours, you can smoke indoors. You'll see at least one girl in an evening gown, I promise you.
Everything in moderation, I say, including moderation. I like to get dressed up and go out every night that the joint's open and I haven't missed a responsibllity yet.

I'll take you up on that offer! Sounds awesome.

 

[Geesie]

Which is fine, it takes all kinds lol.

I use "the hat", of course, as synecdoche for the vintage aesthetic. My meaning is that I don't get too tied up about who's a square, a curmudgeon, etc. I think that the 20s-40s were the pinnacle of design and I like to surround myself with beautiful things.

I like to drink and I like to have a riotous good time once in a while. I also like to sit at home with a Weimer-era film. If you lean way more to one extreme or the other, that's great. I don't impose on anyone to be more drunkenly riotous or to be more sedate as long as they keep it off my wave.

 

[ClaraB]

When you come to Rochester give us a call. Not only is the club we go to open after hours, you can smoke indoors. You'll see at least one girl in an evening gown, I promise you.
Everything in moderation, I say, including moderation. I like to get dressed up and go out every night that the joint's open and I haven't missed a responsibllity yet.

I realize you were talking to Tiller, but perhaps an Upstate New York get together is in order, or at least a possibility? [huh]

 

[scotrace]

Balance.

An evening out in swanky surrounds with everyone dressed in finery, music, hooch, gossip, (yes, even clouds of the dreaded smoke) is fun+tax. But I also LOVE an evening at home sorting through old magazines, chatting, gossip, having tea. It's probably all about the company.

To be all one or all the other? Boring.

 

[PrettySquareGal]

Balance.

An evening out in swanky surrounds with everyone dressed in finery, music, hooch, gossip, (yes, even clouds of the dreaded smoke) is fun+tax. But I also LOVE an evening at home sorting through old magazines, chatting, gossip, having tea.

To be all one or all the other? Boring.

Right, and anyone who squeezes themselves into a single stereotype, or others, is missing out.

 

[Subvet642]

Balance.

An evening out in swanky surrounds with everyone dressed in finery, music, hooch, gossip, (yes, even clouds of the dreaded smoke) is fun+tax. But I also LOVE an evening at home sorting through old magazines, chatting, gossip, having tea. It's probably all about the company.

To be all one or all the other? Boring.

Yeah, I'm with you. There are times when I love to go out with friends; dinner, drinks and such. Other times, I'd rather be at a ballgame (Guess which team , though I also follow a vintage amateur league, circa 1861). I almost never go out on work nights. Most nights I'm at home with the wife (she's my best friend), and in bed by 9:00 or 9:30.

 

[patrick1987]

I realize you were talking to Tiller, but perhaps an Upstate New York get together is in order, or at least a possibility? [huh]

I speak to everyone! The more the merrier! The one or two that were sort of planned in the past fizzled out.
On the topic, it burns my goat when people give unasked for advice about other's bed times as in you go to bed too early, you stay up too late, you sleep too late, you sleep too much, whether they like hats or not.

 

[Diamondback]

Well said, Patrick--if I say such things, I keep it clearly in context of a "curmudgeon act", and would say the big rule should be "do whatever, but show some consideration for those you gotta deal with. (Example: even though I'm frequently confronted with a restaurant dining-room full of drunks on Friday nights at my usual spot on Friday night I don't plug in the speakers and crank up MC Hawking's "Quake Master Mix"* or throw in The Punisher at full blast out of consideration for the waitresses who'd be caught in the middle, tempted as I always am to give the boozers a piece of my mind.)

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