What sparked your fascination with the "Golden Era"?

[kiwilrdg]

My grandfather was an antique picker who ran a farm that was full of his finds and my grandmother grew up in lumber camps and a boarding house. My father was a professional musician when I was growing up. As you can imagine we had family friends that had told me lots of interesting things that they had done. Since I grew up hearing so many interesting things about the golden era I can put a face to it and identify with people I have met. The antiques at the family farm meant that as a child I would play with items from earlier times so I look at 1930s and 1940s toys and machinery in the same way other people my age think about 1960s toys.

 

[suits lover]

For me, it have all began when I was 17 years old with the Sean connery James bond movies. I was fascinated by thesuits, ties, slicks hair, how thing were back then. After that I have discover Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Fred Astaire, Bing Cosby etc... Since that time I have still not find better music than big band with Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw and so much more. People in that era were so different than today younger generations. They were well mannered, well dressed, hard worker, gentleman and ladies. I know people who have live in that era and I love so much speaking to them. I have better relationships with them than with people my age with who I have almost nothing in common. Today I'm 21 years old and live practicly like a men of the golden era. So, beside actors and musicians, it was the every day men and women of that time who have made who I'am.

 

[decojoe67]

I came from a large Italian family that constantly talked about "the good old days" back in Brooklyn and how great they were. The 30's and '50's especially. Between that and surrounded by antiques in my grandparents homes, it was only natural I would become a collector. It started slow for me and soon I would become a lover of "all thing old". The 30's especially has become an obession with me. I almost feel like I lived a past life in that time. The cars, movies, art-deco items, ect. My apartment pays homage to that era. Deco wooden radio's flanked by a slew of '30's cast ladies holding astrays and lamp globes abound. Pass my apartment on any givin evening and give a listen. With the sound of Jack Benny telling jokes or the "Whistler" introducing another spine-tingling story, you'll think you've gone back in time!

 

[Laura Hunt]

I grew up watching old movies as well as new, so I have to say it was the movies...more specifically, the clothes in the movies! I've always loved clothes and dressing up and was fascinated by the pretty dresses in the old films, so unlike the clothing in modern movies. Plus the old films were so *glamorous*. By the time I was in high school I was finding vintage blogs on the internet and discovered that people actually could dress like that every day. And that, coupled with my newfound hobby of sewing, sealed the deal. As I got more into it, it was the aesthetics of the time period that really grabbed me. Things back then were functional but they also had style. For me, there's no use in having something practical but ugly just as there's no use in having something purely for decorating purposes. It has to fulfill both requirements to satisfy me.

Also, I've always felt somewhat alienated from people my age because of my interests...and the Golden Era felt like the first place where I actually belonged. A lot of it is because of the values of the time period but also because I just prefer that culture to today's culture. Can't explain why, I just do.

 

[John in Covina]

For me it had to do with watching TV as a kid. My dad was born in 1922 so he was around for a lot of those years and could give some background info now and then. I watched a lot of Our Gang - Little Rascals, 3 Stooges, Laurel & Hardy, W.C Fields as well as B&W tv reruns like the George reeves Superman TV from before I was born. The era was different so the growing disdain for dressing up and looking like an adult was not entrenched. What i saw was in the 30's and 40's and even 50's were men well dressed, fabulous suits, heck even the BAD GUYS were well dressed in Superman!

So my concepts of a well dressed man and woman comes from the 30's and 40's mostly thru movies and the TV.

 

[scottyrocks]

. . . Also, I've always felt somewhat alienated from people my age because of my interests...and the Golden Era felt like the first place where I actually belonged. A lot of it is because of the values of the time period but also because I just prefer that culture to today's culture. Can't explain why, I just do.

I thought you explained it pretty well.

 

[decojoe67]

I second that! I also could say the same thing. The majority here on the forum could likely relate! We're "old souls" as they say!

 

[Laura Hunt]

That's the phrase I was searching for! I can't remember how many times I've been branded with 'old soul'--sometimes nicely, sometimes snarkily. It's lovely to be in similar company here!

 

[LizzieMaine]

For me it had to do with watching TV as a kid. My dad was born in 1922 so he was around for a lot of those years and could give some background info now and then. I watched a lot of Our Gang - Little Rascals, 3 Stooges, Laurel & Hardy, W.C Fields as well as B&W tv reruns like the George reeves Superman TV from before I was born. The era was different so the growing disdain for dressing up and looking like an adult was not entrenched. What i saw was in the 30's and 40's and even 50's were men well dressed, fabulous suits, heck even the BAD GUYS were well dressed in Superman!

So my concepts of a well dressed man and woman comes from the 30's and 40's mostly thru movies and the TV.

A lot of us who grew up in the sixties and early seventies will remember that there was a tiny window of time in there -- about 1970 to 1972 -- where the Thirties were mainstream again: you couldn't turn on the radio or the television or pick up a magazine or a newspaper without reading something relevant to 1930s popular culture. And because a lot of the celebrities of that time were still very much alive, you suddenly started seeing them as guests on all the variety shows, or Dick Cavett would be interviewing them, or they'd be back on Broadway or in new movies, or making new records. If you were becoming aware of the world around you just then, it was like there were two separate strings of popular culture you could choose from -- the hippy-dippy-acid-trippy Woodstockian stereotype that's become associated with that period, or this Second Thirties movement that was sweeping the media. If you were already being raised by people who came of age in that period, you had plenty of additional reinforcement that thirties culture was yours as well.

The whole Thirties Revival ended very abruptly, when "American Grafitti" triggered the fifties nostalgia craze -- suddenly everything was rock-and-roll and greasers and hot rods, and Rudy Vallee was no longer a popular talk show guest. But on many of us who were the right age for it, a permanent mark was left.

 

[JWS34]

My interest stated as a child with an interest in the Second World War. My maternal grand-parents were both WW2 veterans. Grandpa served in the Solomons, Leyte, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa as a crew member on APA transports and LSTs. My Grandma served as a WAC in Cleveland at Crile Army Hospital, working as a surgical tech. I learned more about their service when I was older. At Easter and Thanksgiving we went to a large family gathering at my great aunts farm. There were people who were family friends that had been attending since childhood in the 20's. My Great Aunt passed a year back and was the last of that generation in our family. I am constantly surprised by the things I learn about 1914-1960 and it always leads to another discovery.

 

[texan]

I grew up like most, hearing my parents stories of being raised on the cusp of the Depression. My father grew up just outside of Dallas and for him and his four sisters and brothers, it was abject poverty; there were no trips to the cinema, foray's to Lake Buchanan or shopping spree's. His father was a Deputy Sheriff who had taken the job for the extra $10/week. There was no money. And little food. I noted that when Mom and Dad talked about this time period, there were never any good reflections. Every ten years Dad would give me a nugget; something would spring from his sub coscious and he would get that crease in his brow, and tell me something about the late 20's and 30's, before Alzheimer's closed in and cut him off forever. In the early 80's (when I was in High School) I came home, threw my books down and went to the fridge (like any teenager) and say the usual, "there's nothing to eat here!" Dad walked into the kitchen, sat down, and told me how he and his brother had a fist fight over a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Due to hunger. "Thats how hungry we were" he said. "I can't describe anything other than the hunger. You see there was no food and, well, we went at it for that sandwich. Thats all I'll say about it". He put a tooth pick in his mouth, sat back and stared off into space. I wasn't hungry after that.

From these small bits of information I received from my parents, I began peicing together, their history in North Texas, and it eventually led, to an interest in a period I knew nothing about (nor cared about). I began studying the era and came to understand not only the Great Depression but in many ways, my father as well.

 

[KenCarsonCowgirl]

I've always been intrigued with 'old' music. I'm a songster, so I sing all the time and am constantly looking for good music to add to my repertoire. So when I discovered Roy Rogers's movies and the songs in them (Sung by the immortal Sons of the Pioneers mostly), I became hooked, and went on to become the pseudo-biographer of Ken Carson, one of the Pioneers, whose career started in 1932 or so and ended when he died in 1994. In researching Shorty (Carson), I've become immersed in the Golden Era, and have become increasingly interested in dressing in those styles. So much class packed into such a short time span!

~Dolly

 

[fashion frank]

For me it was my love of Swing Jazz.
Then I started looking up all of the bands that I liked and when I saw how everyone dressed decently back in the day and I realized what a "bum" I looked like that from there it spread to my clothing etc .etc. till what you see before you today is what I am.

All the Best ,Fashion Frank

 

[splintercellsz]

Vintage automobiles is where it started for me (my family builds/owns some). Then I peaked an interest in older currency. As time progressed, I became more interested in history, and started to fall in love with the pace of live then, the values and morals. Now here I am, slowly adjusting my wardrobe, and furnishings as best as I can to match my interests.

 

[The King of Cool]

What started the love of this era for you?

Personally for me its two fold -

1) My Dad was born in 1926, I was born in 1979. So he was outside the norm , when he had me. With him living life through the 30-50's he portrayed that lifestyle to me though his stories of life during those days, the movies he watched, and the music he listened to. He also displayed this in the cars he would drive So growing up, this was the norm for me, making me the old soul that I am today.

2) My wife several years back started doing professional make up on the side. She eventually grew into the rock-a-billy and pinup genre. Being a looker herself, she started to move her fashion sense into this realm. So I started to feel underdressed when we would go out and she would dress to the nines in her pin up attire and I in just shorts and shirts Hence my move into trying to dress more dapper to match her better.

3) With the love of listening to older Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, and Louie Armstrong recordings and watching tons of classical movies of Martin & Lewis, Marilyn Monroe, Sophia Loren, Cary Grant, and Clark Gable to name a few. I longed for the era that I never lived in and wished I could live in those yesteryears. Most of my friends and family can not relate to this because it so far in left field to comprehend - lol

I hope to get to know most of you guys as I being a noob to the boards, lookinf forward to hearing your reason of the love for the The Golden Era.

 

[Doctor Strange]

There's really no need for a new thread on this subject - this existing one in the same forum was just active yesterday:

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/show...ked-your-fascination-with-the-quot-Golden-Era

 

[The King of Cool]

What started the love of this era for you?
Personally for me its two fold -

1) My Dad was born in 1926, I was born in 1979. So he was outside the norm , when he had me. With him living life through the 30-50's he portrayed that lifestyle to me though his stories of life during those days, the movies he watched, and the music he listened to. He also displayed this in the cars he would drive So growing up, this was the norm for me, making me the old soul that I am today.

2) My wife several years back started doing professional make up on the side. She eventually grew into the rock-a-billy and pinup genre. Being a looker herself, she started to move her fashion sense into this realm. So I started to feel underdressed when we would go out and she would dress to the nines in her pin up attire and I in just shorts and shirts Hence my move into trying to dress more dapper to match her better.

3) With the love of listening to older Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, and Louie Armstrong recordings and watching tons of classical movies of Martin & Lewis, Marilyn Monroe, Sophia Loren, Cary Grant, and Clark Gable to name a few. I longed for the era that I never lived in and wished I could live in those yesteryears. Most of my friends and family can not relate to this because it so far in left field to comprehend -

I hope to get to know most of you guys as I being a noob to the boards, lookinf forward to hearing your reason of the love for the The Golden Era.

 

[The King of Cool]

My Bad - Still getting use to the site - I copied and posted my item in that post

 

[Doctor Strange]

No problem. Folks who are new here don't realize the enormous depth of detail that's already available. These forums have been very active for quite a while now!

 

[fashion frank]

3) With the love of listening to older Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, and Louie Armstrong recordings and watching tons of classical movies of Martin & Lewis, Marilyn Monroe, Sophia Loren, Cary Grant, and Clark Gable to name a few. I longed for the era that I never lived in and wished I could live in those yesteryears. Most of my friends and family can not relate to this because it so far in left field to comprehend - lol

I hope to get to know most of you guys as I being a noob to the boards, lookinf forward to hearing your reason of the love for the The Golden Era.

Hello King of Cool and welcome to the Forum.
You are with kindred spirits here on this Forum, most of us feel just the way you do.
My adventure started out pretty much the same as yours.

I love swing music , have close to 400 plus c.d.'s and counting.
I started researching some of my favorite bands and noticed in all of the pictures of the bands and the people in them that they were what I like to describe as dressed "properly " as compared to today's standards .

Then one day I had a flashback from the past of a memory of when I would go to my Grandma's house on Sundays for dinner and when I showed up she said to me " did you go to Mass looking like that you look like a bum" !

From that point in time going forward I started gathering my wardrobe and now I'm up to 21 suits half brand new but vintage looking and the other half are actual vintage , 5 overcoats, 13 pairs of shoes then it spread to hats ,20 something and counting and that is how I wound up here !
Hope you enjoy your stay with us here on the Forum.

All the Best ,Fashion Frank