Lost art of proper relaxation

[Wire9Vintage]

My grandfather was something of a couch sprawler (born 1901). He had a black Naugahyde sofa by the fireplace with a little table that held his smoking and reading gear. No one sat on his couch unless expressly invited. My grandmother sat on the other couch by a lamp and NEVER sprawled or did anything but sit properly. Ever. No one sat in her spot on the couch. The only other place to sit in the room was either the other end of Grandma's couch or a tiny rocking chair by the phone. As a kid I sat on the floor in front of the TV (which was a "new" TV that sat on top of the old cabinet TV that stopped working but had such nice woodwork they wouldn't throw it away).

My grandfather never stood on ceremony, and if you didn't like his undershirt or hat indoors, or whatever, it was your problem and not his. It was his house and he would relax in it as he wished. My grandmother, however, had work clothes for being out in the garden, house clothes for being in the house, and town clothes for town. She always dressed appropriately even if she changed a few times a day. Her clothes were rarely new, many homemade, and nothing fancy, but always appropriate. I really don't know how they stayed married so long!

 

[2jakes]

Last spring I went to a favorite seafood restaurant by the coast. On the walls were numerous photos
from the past similar to the ones here. Everyone had a coat & tie.
I have always been curious if these gents went home, put on their Sunday best & came back for the kodak.
Or was these the way folks dressed back then even when relaxing & going fishing [huh] ?

 

[Stanley Doble]

The second picture must be the old boy's oldest suit. Either that or the fish put up a heck of a fight.

Wait till you see some pictures of English archaeologists from the twenties and earlier in the Egyptian desert at 110 in the shade wearing dark suits ties and wing collars.

 

[LizzieMaine]

"It's my porch and I'll dress however I want."

 

[LizzieMaine]

Bridgton, New Jersey, July 1936

 

[LizzieMaine]

Last spring I went to a favorite seafood restaurant by the coast. On the walls were numerous photos
from the past similar to the ones here. Everyone had a coat & tie.
I have always been curious if these gents went home, put on their Sunday best & came back for the kodak.
Or was these the way folks dressed back then even when relaxing & going fishing [huh] ?

Upper-class people who owned yachts dressed that way when relaxing and going fishing. Ordinary people looked more like this guy:

Tuna fisherman, San Diego, Calif. 1937

 

[LizzieMaine]

Once you're aware of it, it's impossible not to notice how class-defined behavior comes thru in just about every aspect of a person's life. The lines were even more sharply drawn in the Era.

Here are some middle-class sport fishermen in 1940. Their equipment is new-ish, but not brand new, and not old and worn. Same for their clothes. They're wearing ordinary clothes, but not purpose-bought ensembles from A&F or LLB. The clothes, however, are not their everyday clothes, as the degree of wear is inconsistent with the sort of hard use working class men tended to give their garments. Hence, middle class, probably leaning to the upper-middle. Note that the man in the middle is wearing gym sneakers, which a working-class man would rarely have occasion to own, and an upper-class man would not wear away from the tennis court. The men also have wristwatches looped around their hatbands to prevent them coming off their wrists when casting their lines -- this is also a very middle-class sort of thing to do: the watches are obviously not cheap, and the men are concerned about losing them.

The man at the far left seems to have a kitten sleeping on his head, which is not a sign of class behavior. All decent people of any class love cats.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

The father-in-law of one of my friends was a doctor and you never saw him wearing anything except a gray suit which he wore every day even when relaxing at home on weekends! He must have had a closet full of these suits.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Here we see 21-year-old Frankie Germano of Brooklyn in 1940, relaxing with a ballgame at Ebbets Field. Frankie is dressed up for the occasion in the manner of a young working-class man -- sporty plaid pants and a tucked-in knit shirt. He's trying to make a good public impression, but he knows a suit and tie would be over the top for a man of his age and social station. His companion for the afternoon, however, National League umpire George "Meathead" Magerkurth, is garbed in the traditional dark blue wool serge suit of his profession.

The leather-jacketed man at the rear is a member of the ballpark grounds crew. To his right is a park policeman, and to the far right is an Ebbets Field usher, all of whom are enjoying a bit of relaxation during their workday.

 

[Stanley Doble]

Speaking of class distinctions... there is a leisure organization called the Tin Can Tourists that dates back to the 1920s. It was founded by campers and trailerites who spent the winter in Florida.

A common crack was "they come down here with one shirt and a $20 bill and don't change either all winter". LOL.

In response, the Tourists called their fancier counterparts "white pants Willies".

Tin Can Tourists - white pants Willies playing shuffleboard

 

[emigran]

The point made about class and garb defining everything of a person's being is well taken... to the point where it could assist one to upgrade his appearance ...
My paternal granddad owned a brass and bronze factory during the depression and it survived (in different ways) in the family till just a few years ago. THe family survived the depression because of it.
Papa always had an "outfit " for whatever he was doing... when he came home from his job he would take off his suit and put on a clean white shirt which he would roll the cuffs up(just twice) neatly. if he was outside mowing the grass with the push roller mower he had a green gabardine over shirt and beige baseball cap. on Sundays he never took his tie off...
We children too had to ask if we could put our play clothes on... but only after dinner was completed...
I never remember my grandma sitting anyway other than straight up, even at the edge of the couch... or at a table leaning on her elbows only...

Great thread...

 

[F. J.]

Catching the Big One . . .

[...]
I have always been curious if these gents went home, put on their Sunday best & came back for the kodak.
Or was these the way folks dressed back then even when relaxing & going fishing [huh] ?

Here’s your answer, a Norman Rockwell from 1929:


He’s wearing a tan suit with an eight-button double-breasted vest, double-cuffs with links, wing collar, Lipton tie, panama. Sharp-dressed man!

My grandfather has a print of it on the wall near his bedroom and I grew up seeing it.

 

[LizzieMaine]

"Fella's got a Kodak, maw. Put your teeth in."

"Hell fire, paw, it's your day to wear 'em. "

 

[LizzieMaine]

"Seriously, Bill, a tie?"

"Why not? Somebody's got to set a good example for the Fedora Lounge."

 

[LizzieMaine]

"Oh, Bert, look -- I'm *slouching!* Isn't it just *scandalous!*"

"Slouch all you like, Gert. *They'll never know it's you!*"

 

[2jakes]

Rare photo of the first person to go out
in public minus a tie ! :eeek:

 

[LizzieMaine]

"I don't care if you *can* make the kid sound like Charlie McCarthy, it ain't the same since the finance company took the radio away."

 

[2jakes]

Dem goobers in marketin' kin jump
in the Sangamon River...

If de fellers in the Fedora says I don't need a tie..
.well sir...
...I ain't a-wearing one...
"Now...I've done said my piece & counted to three !"

 

[Stanley Doble]

Chili night at the lounge?

"Oh, Bert, look -- I'm *slouching!* Isn't it just *scandalous!*"

"Slouch all you like, Gert. *They'll never know it's you!*"

 

[Wire9Vintage]

I never remember my grandma sitting anyway other than straight up, even at the edge of the couch... or at a table leaning on her elbows only...

Great thread...

There were, of course, certain undergarments that did not allow for slouching, no matter how much one may have wanted to slouch'