Second-thoughts on vintage wearing in public...

[Twitch]

Yes a straw will be great, as I mentioned too. There are so many ways to dress in your mindset and be comfortable. Vintage or retro Hawaiian shirts are a natural for amusement parks. More people actually wore them than suits in the 50-60s. But to each his own. Have a hell of a good time!

 

[JustJen]

Hey, now, Old Navy isn't THAT bad.

Wal-Mart has exclusive rights to the Ford truck people.

lol, are you kidding? I've outfitted two small children from that store. Should've just bought dang stock! I will say however, he does NOT have a NASCAR sticker on his truck so he tends to stick out when he does go into Wally World....

 

[Joseph Ciotti]

Don't be embarassed... You think it's bad wearing it huge gatherings? HA! Try being a freshman in high school and wearing it around here. You get a lot of odd looks and made fun of.

 

[mysterygal]

lol you call it Wally world too? They've got great clothes for kids..cheap and cute. All my girls go through clothes extremely fast it seems!
A nice straw is casual, yet dresses you up a bit. You know, just wearing a clean buttom up shirt with jeans/slacks looks good

 

[Twitch]

Hmm? It's all perspective I suppose. Every Old Navy commercial I've seen shows hoirrid crap that I wouldn't wear to be cremated. But that's me at my age. Those young whippersnappers seem to like it.[huh]

 

[Feraud]

Yes it is all about perspective and "time and place". I can think of situations where I would wear a pair of Old Navy jeans or board shorts. Then there are the places where you would not want to wear 'em. That is the trick. Knowing when and when not to wear certain clothes.

 

[mysterygal]

I've only been in an Old Navy store a couple of times, and both times was not at all impressed with what they had. The clothing seemed to be more on the sloppy side...Not at all what I would wear for daily attire, but, say, if I was heading to the coast, some of the outfits might work.

 

[cherry_bomb]

I have the hardest time feeling comfortable in vintage in the one place I spend the most time- work. I'm an assistant designer for Mimi Maternity and everything we design (and everyone I work w/) is very "fashion forward" which personally I hate. I think it's very sloppy, has too much glitz and glitter (especially for the expectant mother), and too little individuality. The people I work w/ dress like the clothes they produce. Most of what we actually put into stores are direct copies of what comes out of our designers closets. There are lots of "vintage" t-shirts, sloppy mismatched layering, jeans w/ tears, etc... I just can't!!

I would much rather wear a nice pencil skirt and blouse, stockings and heels to work. But I've tried it. I get stared at. My biggest complaint though, is that I'm not taken seriously. I'm too "vintage" and not enough "retro" for the people I work w/. "Retro" is in. I'm not being "fashion forward" enough. Confusing isn't it?

fftopic: On the another note, I've been doing my research into vintage maternity styles and pulling some of those lovely pintucks, pleats and gathers from the 40's and 50's into my new designs for this coming fall... keep your fingers crossed that they're actually approved!!

 

[mysterygal]

any improvement in maternty clothes would be great! Although they have come a long way from what they were! Good luck Cherry bomb!

 

[Feraud]

I think it's very sloppy, has too much glitz and glitter (especially for the expectant mother), and too little individuality.

Those are the perfect words to express to your co-workers if they ever comment on your sense of style! You can let your co-workers know that people with Style do not worry about being "fashion forward". Vintage folk never look back and say, "I cannot believe I ever wore that!!"

 

[Marc Chevalier]

If you want to wear a suit at, say, Disneyland because you like wearing suits -- then do it. Orthodox Jews like to wear a lot of clothes too. So do Jehovah's Witnesses. I've seen Mormon kids in Tahiti wearing white shirts and ties with dark swim trunks and flip-flops. Hey, whatever moves you.

HOWEVER ... if you want to wear a suit at Disneyland because you think that it's the "Golden Era" thing to do ... well, you don't need to. Fact is, men and boys in the Golden Era could be quite informal. Nicely-dressed, but informal.

Take a look below. These are shirts and pants from a Spring/Summer 1931 catalogue. Just the thing to wear to Coney Island in June ... or Disneyland.

 

[Wild Root]

Amen! That's what I'm talking about! Those are pre Disneyland though but, totaly Coney Island!
=WR=

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Coney is as Coney does!

(Or something like that.)

 

[cherry_bomb]

any improvement in maternty clothes would be great! Although they have come a long way from what they were! Good luck Cherry bomb!

They really have come a long way!! No more A-line tents! But I agree- there is a need for improvement. Thanks- I'll do my best!

 

[cherry_bomb]

Vintage folk never look back and say, "I cannot believe I ever wore that!!"

It's true! *except when they look back to the time BEFORE they started wearing vintage!*

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

Take a look below. These are shirts and pants from a Spring/Summer 1931 catalogue. Just the thing to wear to Coney Island in June ... or Disneyland.

I'm still looking for classic style casual clothes like these. The best I've been able to find thus far are Dockers, which in my size (52, but they're getting baggy on me) have a high enough rise to approximate the old style fit.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

It's true! *except when they look back to the time BEFORE they started wearing vintage!*

:eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap lol

 

[Twitch]

Yeah Coney!

 

[Tourbillion]

If you want to wear a suit at, say, Disneyland because you like wearing suits -- then do it. Orthodox Jews like to wear a lot of clothes too. So do Jehovah's Witnesses. I've seen Mormon kids in Tahiti wearing white shirts and ties with dark swim trunks and flip-flops. Hey, whatever moves you.

HOWEVER ... if you want to wear a suit at Disneyland because you think that it's the "Golden Era" thing to do ... well, you don't need to. Fact is, men and boys in the Golden Era could be quite informal. Nicely-dressed, but informal.

Take a look below. These are shirts and pants from a Spring/Summer 1931 catalogue. Just the thing to wear to Coney Island in June ... or Disneyland.


QUOTE]

Those outfits would be a big improvement on that one Coney Island photo that I found.

I've seen photos of opening day at Disneyland (in fact my mom was there), there were lots of what looked like jeans and khaki trousers on the men, usually paired with nice short sleeved shirts (it was 1952, after all). They were neatly dressed. There were boys in shorts, and the girls wore cute gathered skirts and dresses.


I am a mostly former vintage wearer (it reached a high point in high school for me). My mother would say to wear a suit or a fancy dress to Disneyland for anything other than a wedding, or to go to their top-secret bar is an affectation--which is just about the worst thing my mother would say about someone.

Here is my suggestion, my grandfather's idea of casual wear: