What is your favorite retro look on a handsome man?

[Berlin]

Miss Sis, I take that as a compliment! And I think my boyfriend will too. He has as much as I do with passed era's!
I would love to see a scanned picture of your dad !

 

[*martini*time*]

Two words: Service uniforms.

HAHA! YES! I hate watching Grant leave for work in the morning...but i LOVE to see him walk away...meeeeee owwwww.

 

[Lauren]

Ooh. I also love my husband when he wears vintage western wear. Cowboys are so cute

 

[PS]

My husband was getting dressed this morning, and standing in his unbuttoned dress shirt, undershirt, boxer briefs, and socks and garters he made the most delicious picture. Mmmmm. I wish we weren't running late this morning...

LOL! My husband wears shirt stays and don't tell him, I think he totally adorable with them on before his pants come up. I call them garters even though they aren't the same as sock garters.

CYNROUX! You two are a damnnnnn sexy couple! He really knows how to wear a hat.

 

[Lorena B]

Army uniforms ,,,,,,,( looooooong sight,)

 

[La Julia]

lol, we need more pics

 

[Fletch]

guy alert

Not that any of you ladies asked, but this habit some of you have of falling head-over-heels for steely-eyed hardasses with reinforced-concrete jaw lines is pretty damned depressing to us comparative Untermenschen who have to get by on half-formed killer instincts and rapidly fading charm. Kinda makes us feel like the gal at the big dance with the straight brown hair and the noticeable lack of décolletage. Know what I mean?

Just thought I'd speak up for the other side.

 

[Lotta Little]

Can't speak for others, but rapidly-fading charm wearing newly-shined shoes gets at least one dance out of me...

 

[dgenevieve]

I have a BIG thing for the collegiate look:

Love the cheeky grin and posture of the boy on the left! Dishy! :essen:

Found them in a box of miscellaneous ancestors. lol Here they are again hiding behind a bush (?!):

Also love the "outdoorsy" type:

And a sucker for a man in a sharp uniform:

And if I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times... there is NOTHING as dapper as a man in a white suit:

 

[Lauren]

I don't know if I can speak for the other ladies, but I have to say that manners and a good person is much better than tough eye looks. I never found them that appealing myself.

But I'm biased- I think my husband is the handsomest man

 

[Fletch]

Lauren, dgenevieve - those are all men I would like to look like. But as much as we like our own little part of the era, we have to admit that we are finally caught in our own time as far as our own gender ideals - for ourselves or the opposite sex.

What I'm driving at, I guess, is that in the world we all have to live in today, masculinity - whether in men's definition or women's - no longer allows for certain kinds of elegance and refinement.

More than ever today, appearance is reality. If a man does not wear his strength, physicalness, and simplicity in the most unmistakable, even crude way, men and women both will lose confidence in him. He will be seen to be less worthy to lead, his counsel and opinion less wise, his companionship as friend or life mate less valued. Because appearance is reality, his appearance will make him less of a man.

In an era when many believe that simple determined strength is all that will save civilization, the idea of sophisticated masculinity is more and more without meaning.

Now, all that said...in our own personal lives, we have the right to make our own choices. But society is such that the quality of our lives often depends on making the choices society rewards. I know. If I were a simpler, stronger-appearing man, someone of fewer words and bolder actions, my life would be better, and it's all due to appearance. It's not right or fair, but there's no getting around it.

 

[chanteuseCarey]

Mr. BenS looks gorgeous here! YES, I also LOVE a tuxedoed man... especially with a nice pencil moustache. And if he can dance- oh yeah. The steel jaw is not a requirement... Hey, what can I say I'm a Fred Astaire fan! A charming smile, a kind heart, a man that is a gentleman with the ladies, has good manners, who looks nice in vintage styles. Sigh.

Oh, and men in proper black tie. Hey, I'm biased too.

 

[chanteuseCarey]

Said it ain't so JOE! Dear Fletch, gosh why do you think some of us gals are HERE? I respectfully disagree with some of what you say here. I personally agree more with Lauren. I'll take a kind, charming dancer, a fun loving musician, a sensitive book-learned gentleman; who is well mannered, well clothed and well groomed, that loves beautiful architecture and gardens and appreciates a woman for the amazing creation of God she is, that has character- than a modern day roughly clad, crude mannered, disrespectful to women, tough looks kind of guy any day.

Give me Ralph Fiennes, Alan Rickman, Mr. Darcy and Captain Wentworth!

I think masculinity should allow for certain kinds of elegance and refinement. Gosh, the gentlemen in our local Art Deco Society all exude that, and all the women love it! Pity more men aren't like that.

If somehow,someway I could live like the Summer England 1938 week that Lauren, her hubby, Paddy, Miss Sis and BenStephens went to, or our ADSC's Gatsby Summer Afternoon all year long I would...

Lauren, dgenevieve...
What I'm driving at, I guess, is that in the world we all have to live in today, masculinity - whether in men's definition or women's - no longer allows for certain kinds of elegance and refinement...
More than ever today, appearance is reality. If a man does not wear his strength, physicalness, and simplicity in the most unmistakable, even crude way, men and women both will lose confidence in him...
In an era when many believe that simple determined strength is all that will save civilization, the idea of sophisticated masculinity is more and more without meaning.

 

[lolly_loisides]

it's all due to appearance. It's not right or fair, but there's no getting around it.

Welcome to a womans world.

 

[ThesFlishThngs]

I must agree mostly with both chanteuse and lolly-loisides; to a point, there's no getting around looks. We women know that from day one. There's always a sharper, sexier, more stunning female around the corner, and spending time in comparison never ends well. The most we can do (as women OR men) is make the best of what we are, whether it be garments, grooming, mannerisms, education, or a combination.
Speaking for myself certainly, and perhaps a number of ladies, I'll tell you this: a man can look the absolute business, but if he lacks manners, charm, kindness, warmth, it won't matter at all. While we all have certain elements of exterior presentation that appeal to us, it's the heart of the matter that matters the most.
Sadly, it's most often men who ditch their fading women in favor of a younger, more outwardly appealing trophy wife. (And I'm not accusing any FL fellows of this at all; just considering the lovely, 'middle-aged' female friends who have been abandoned by their husbands, and never for an older, less attractive model.)

And why can't I type lolly without it becoming a laugh icon?

 

[lolly_loisides]

You need to check the box that says "disable smilies" (underneath submit reply box) - and had I realised this I would never had picked my name as lolly.
LOL

 

[lolly_loisides]

Oh, and to get this thread back on track I always think an elegant, refined man in a boater looks lovely.

 

[dgenevieve]

Fletch, I posted my reply before I saw your post, but I want to say that I really admire your white suit.

That being said, I'm not so sure a Powder Room thread is the best place for the discussion you've started.

P.S. True charm never fades.

 

[Miss Sis]

YES, I also LOVE a tuxedoed man... especially with a nice pencil moustache.

I keep trying to convince him to grow an Errol Flynn moustache, but he is steadfastly refusing! I guess it takes a bit of work to keep it looking sharp.

There is NO man who doesn't look better for being dressed in black tie. I'm talking the old fashioned kind, not some modern 'interpretation'. Trousers high waisted, a nice waistcoat, a well-fitting jacket, winged collar. That's the business.

 

[Lorena B]

Errol Flynn's mustache!! oh, how much i love it too. Unfortunately my guy doesn't like it