My Favorite Years.

[MK]

The Art Deco Years. Everything looked great. Clothes, clocks, and cars,to appliances, aircraft,and art.

Men were men and women were women. Music was classy. Oceanliners were the only way to cross. Everything had style.

So what do you love about this golden era?

 

[Nathan Flowers]

I like the movies of the era. Speaking of which, we're going to watch Grand Illusion tonight.

 

[fedoralover]

favorites

I liked about everything, but one of my favorites are the light fixtures from the Art Deco era. We Live in a 90 year old house and have tried to make everything look like it's from that time period. Scouring antique malls and ebay has brought me in touch with the elegant lighting they used to do in that era. Truly amazing fixtures.

fedoralover

 

[MK]

Originally posted by Zohar
I like the movies of the era. Speaking of which, we're going to watch Grand Illusion tonight.

I don't recall that one. Who is in it?

 

[Nathan Flowers]

http://www.suntimes.com/ebert/greatmovies/grandillusion.html

Jean Renoir. It's a film about French POW's in a German camp in WWI. Influenced a lot of films after it, like Casablanca.

 

[Renderking Fisk]

What else can be said besides the style? A man wouldn't dare walk out of the house with out a fedora or other lid.

The movies were better. They had better scripts and seemed to do more with less.

I would rather see a black and white classic then a new conteparary flick most of the time.

 

[Minnesota_Jones]

My favorite art deco would still have to be the art deco streamliners that graced the rails of the 20's and 30's. Steam Locomotives done up in fancy deco styling, passenger cars with all the latest innovations, truly traveling in style. The Milwaukee Road's Hiawatha's 1939 edition had an "Express Tap" as the first car after the locomotive. It was 1/3 baggage at the front, 2/3 bar! The bar itself was up on the bulkhead against the baggage area, all art deco. The rest of the car was the lounge area. Truly the way to relax on the 6 1/2 hour trip from the Twin Cities to Chicago at over 100 m.p.h...

 

[MK]

Now that sounded like a cool train. I don't think I have seen anything like that. One of my writers is a huge train fan. I will have to ask him about trains from that era.

 

[Minnesota_Jones]

The 1939 edition of the Hiawatha was completely styled from Locomotive to Observation car by Otto Kuhler. He gave the train lots of Deco refinements - from Moon Visor fins on the back of the Observation car over two large windows to look out of, to the styling of the locomotive. I'm not sure if he did the interiors thou. But the whole train was Art Deco. May take a day or two, but I have a number of pictures of this train I'll try to get scanned in and post in a Hiawatha Thread...

 

[Renderking Fisk]

Does this active rail have it's own website?

 

[Imahomer]

Personally, I like the attire. Everyone and I mean everyone dressed well. Even the bums on the street have a hat on. Plus the men had flare and style.

 

[happyfilmluvguy]

Does this active rail have it's own website?

I'd like to know this too!

Art Deco architecture is amazing. I always wonder if it can still be made the way it was. I'm sure there's a place somewhere that is NEW and is of the art deco resemblance

 

[Nathan Dodge]

ART DECO! (I live in Miami!) Seriously, I like most everything from the 1930s to early Forties and become absolutely paralyzed if a movie from the era like, say, The Ex-Mrs. Bradford comes on, you can count me "out" of whatever I was supposed to be doing/going if anything from the era is brought to my attention. Of my many interests, the "vintage" era is something I never tire of learning about and its been a lifelong passion.

 

[cookie]

Frank Lloyd Wright

I have a bit of an obsession for this guy - FLW.

He was too much of an individual to be called Art Deco but the story of the design of Falling Water showed that when he was 60 years old in the 1930s he could still blow them all the way as a Modernist.

Then you see the move he made to the Usonian. The adaption to life without maids and a simpler less formal family life.

The saddest thing is to see how few of his plans and buildings came to fruition for multifarious reasons like the Great Depression etc.

The Art Deco was a fabulous style and in the USA they went further with the Streamline Style into the 1950s. The cars the buildings etc all the max!

The continuing fascination with Art Deco can be seen in every bookshop.

But trying to get the architecture profession to go there is a lost cause. A moment in time. Enjoy what they did in Miami and congrats for restoring that wonderful town!

 

[Miss Sis]

Well, just everything, really!

Particularly, the clothes for both men and women and the whole Art Deco movement applied to architecture and items in daily use such as furniture, lightshades, kitchenware. It is just so pleasing to my eye and I never feel tired of looking at it.

 

[Steve]

What I love most about it, aside from what everyone else has said, is the sense of all-around propriety that men and women were expected to hold up. The kids weren't raised to dress like ghetto rappers the way they are today, and dressing appropriately for occasions was expected.

 

[Amy Jeanne]

The late 20s to the early 40s is my favourite time period, too. I'd have to say I have a weakness for the architecture, especially old movie houses. The round curves and the straight lines are just beautiful. And everything seemed to shine.

I find the films from this era are also the most entertaining. I love looking at the art-deco and moderne style rooms, especially office buildings! The glamourous clothes are to die for. I LOVE art deco style shoes! And I agree that men were men and women were ultimately feminine women. And people knew the meanings of those roles, too.

 

[jitterbugdoll]

Everything really--the architecture, the clothing, the popular colors. As Miss Sis said, I find it very pleasing to the eye as well, and never seem to tire of looking at it. Everything seemed to be so rich and saturated in fine details, and these modern times simply pale in comparison to me.

 

[Brian Sheridan]

The Art Deco Years. Everything looked great. Clothes, clocks, and cars,to appliances, aircraft,and art.

Men were men and women were women. Music was classy. Oceanliners were the only way to cross. Everything had style.

I totally agree BUT if you were black, poor, a woman, or gay...you probably had a harder life than you would today (not that living today is a piece of cake).

What we should bring back from that period (beside the music, clothes, and style) are the manners and decorum. That seems to be something that we can do no matter your status in life.

BRS

 

[HadleyH]

I agree, Art Deco is simply stunning !!!

And when it comes to my favorite years ,it's the 1920s for me ...."beautiful jazz babies, champagne baths, midnight revels, petting parties in the purple dawn, all ending in one terrific smashing climax that makes you gasp"... Wow.