What are you wearing today??

[Two Types]

Eddie, tell us about the outfits.
Mrs Eddie is smiling because the sun is shining and she's dressed for the weather. You, on the other hand, were still dressed for winter!

 

[Retro Spectator]

Today, I am wearing this very green outfit. Nothing is vintage except for my tie clip (which was my Grandfather's.) The hat is the modded hat I modified a few weeks ago, but I stiffened the brim with hair gel since. The tie is one I made.

 

[Eddie Derbyshire]

Thanks gents!

Esteban68 - I'm not one for the aristocrats but they have done a good job refurbishing the outside of the house, and down by the river there is lovely in the right weather! Just a shame about the prices to go in (and the fact they've managed to call it a 'charity'!).

TT - Can do!
The first: the jacket is a DB cotton-canvas by TOAST. It's great for the hot weather, and only looks better the more I wear it. The tie is a 'The Shirt Co.' all wool vintage. The trousers are some 1950s/1960s thornproof tailored ones, I assume they used to be part of a suit, but I picked them up for a fiver from amongst a lot of others from the same guy - they're in really good condition. Boots are Loakes, dyed black. It's the usual kind of garb I wear to the archives, and its either that jacket or my belt-back corduroy.
The second - The suit is by Smalley's of Nottingham, and Brandon the proprietor is now a friend of mine and a mutual vintage enthusiast, so is very open to sorting out the details on a suit. It's in a charcoal chalk stripe cloth from Abraham Moon - a fabric that I have had trouble with but is light enough that I can wear it in 25C like in the picture. Shirt is just a modern one, but with a collar-pin and the tie is a vintage wool one, but no label. I'd put money on it being a Klipper or Trias. Shoes are John Whites.

I dress almost the same all year-round. I've trained myself to withstand the heat!

 

[Eddie Derbyshire]

Today, I am wearing this very green outfit. Nothing is vintage. The hat is the modded hat I modified a few weeks ago, but I stiffened the brim with hair gel since. The tie is one I made.

Hair gel to stiffen the brim!? I've never heard of that before.

 

[esteban68]

Agreed Eddie and I believe they get to live their gratis..
We as a nation own such places in reality even if it costs a fortune to get in!

 

[Metatron]

Nice outfits Eddie. I appreciate when someone can look casual in a three piece suit, of course the nap of the flannel helps, but there's no denying your carrying it off effortlessly.
But I have to second Two Type's comment, I feel like fainting looking at your second picture! Get yourself some linen, or at least please make sure you stay hydrated!!

Coming back to the suit, I think your tailor did a very good job. Did you go in equipped with photos and illustrations etc?
I feel like I should do something similar, I am somewhat lacking in the suit department, and sometimes feel like life is too short to wait for the perfect fitting vintage suit with all the features I want!

 

[Retro Spectator]

Hair gel to stiffen the brim!? I've never heard of that before.

Nor did I, until I read an ancient thread somewhere here. In a post by a fellow who didn't have many posts, they said that they managed to stiffen their crushable hat with hair gel and water. I decided to try it, as I had a tube of useless hair gel (I hate hair gel personally, and I find it totally useless. Brylcreem is way better.) All I did was soak the hat, then apply lots of hair gel to the brim, then shape it. I let it dry naturally. It seemed to work pretty well. I wouldn't try bending the brim, however, as that might make it stop being stiff.

 

[herringbonekid]

like the cotton DB jacket Eddie. is it a 40s one ?

 

[Eddie Derbyshire]

Thank you HBK. No it isn't vintage - it's from Toast, the designer clothes firm. Occasionally they do runs of really nice stuff inspired by period designs - this is one of them. I picked it up in a sale. There were trousers to match, but I avoided them because of their typically low waist.

I think Ralph Lauren has done a similar run of stuff recently? Cotton DB belt-backs and the like? I've been keeping my eye out for them.

 

[Eddie Derbyshire]

Nice outfits Eddie. I appreciate when someone can look casual in a three piece suit, of course the nap of the flannel helps, but there's no denying your carrying it off effortlessly.
But I have to second Two Type's comment, I feel like fainting looking at your second picture! Get yourself some linen, or at least please make sure you stay hydrated!!

Coming back to the suit, I think your tailor did a very good job. Did you go in equipped with photos and illustrations etc?
I feel like I should do something similar, I am somewhat lacking in the suit department, and sometimes feel like life is too short to wait for the perfect fitting vintage suit with all the features I want!

Thank you! I always think it's best to try and look 'every-day' even in what would typically be 'smart' wear. I prefer caps over felt hats on most occasions. But come what may, I can handle the heat

With regards the suit, yes I did go in with some photos and some illustrations I did. It's an odd set-up that my outfitter has. He takes the order, with all the details and measurements you can think of, and then sends it all off as an order to the tailoring firm. It means you get a near-tailored suit, but for MTM price! But he is himself very knowledgeable about the period features, and collects suits and all manner of things. If you're around Nottingham you should check him out! If I had the money, I wouldn't bother with vintage suits and just go for that service. But alas! Money remains an object for me.

 

[dh66]

.... But alas! Money remains an object for me.

If it makes you feel any better.....you are not in that boat alone.

 

[Eddie Derbyshire]

Makes the bargains all the more sweet I suppose

 

[LadyBaltimore]

Eddie, I love your archive outfit, especially those glasses! Don't think it's a mismatch at all (but really what is "matching" anyway? in many places I've traveled overseas, they think the whole concept of only some colors match with other colors, is ridiculous)!

This is one of the last photos I took, with my "everyday" little digital camera, before I accidentally sent it to its death, dancing around my living room with a 2 year old who had begged me to put a record on (and who might be one of the few 2 year olds today, who knows exactly what a phonograph is, and what it does, even when it's closed up).

Vintage cheongsam and 1940s straw bag (which I'm sure you guys have seen me wear before, in this thread, as it's my favorite).

The camera I accidentally broke was just a $100 point and shoot, and I did replace it, but with this:

So, not really a practical camera for everyday snaps like what I wore, but taking those kinds of pictures don't excite me very much anyway. And after considering buying a nicer digital camera, I thought, if I was going to put serious $$ into a camera, might as well make it one of the cameras of my dreams. I've shot 35mm for years (it's what I use when traveling overseas for anything "serious" I really want to capture), but this is my first foray into medium format, and I'm really excited.

And now I'm on an unrelated tangent, sorry! Back to the regular programming.

 

[Fading Fast]

LB, great outfit and killer bag (but remember my earlier admonition to smile in your pictures as you have a wonderful one). But the star is that "new" camera.

My girlfriend has that camera on her must-have-at-some-point-in-my-life list and, despite my offers to buy it, she wants to pick out the exact one herself but says she isn't ready yet. WASPs are funny people in that many of them require a period of waiting - even if not monetarily necessary - to believe they have "earned" something they want. Being a great American mutt, I am only giving my interpretation of the philosophical underpinnings of her self-enforced waiting period - but it is consistent with how my very WASPy (in the sense of old-world work ethic and puritan views on materialism, but surprising ahead-of-her-time social views) Grandmother approached buying things.

Enjoy the camera, it is beautiful.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

Very nice LB. That look suits you really well.
HD

 

[handymike]

That Rolliflex is actually one of the best cameras ever!
Used by Richard Avedon among many others.

 

[triple-d]

Picture perfect LB...........Grats!!!!!

 

[Eddie Derbyshire]

Eddie, I love your archive outfit, especially those glasses! Don't think it's a mismatch at all (but really what is "matching" anyway? in many places I've traveled overseas, they think the whole concept of only some colors match with other colors, is ridiculous)!

Thank you LadyBaltimore! I think you're right - you needn't worry too much about colour matching if all the items are nice. It's just something that's been drilled into me by my Granny that you MUST match haha! No brown with blue etc. It's something I can't quite let go of in my head!

You look great yourself - a timeless look but with definite inspiration. And a nice looking camera. Although the amount I know about cameras could be written on the back of a digital camera!

 

[HadleyH]

very casual last week in South America!

 

[Fading Fast]

Hadley, you can never go wrong with the classic Breton stripe - especially in such a gorgeous setting.