What sparked your fascination with the "Golden Era"?

[TraditionalFrog]

I can not really say with absolute certainty what really prompted my interest to begin with. I have had an interest of sorts for the old almost as far back as I can remember.

I first recall developing a serious interest in things old whilst reading the Little House series of books.

I also came to appeciate the Victorian Era due to living in a Victorian for a time as a child. In fact I have always thought that old things were more interesting and beautiful than the new or modern.

Also, as a note, both of my parents are history buffs of sorts, so history was always around me growing up.

As far as the Golden Era... My grandfathers both served in the Army during WWII (paternal grandfather was at SHAEF HQ then in the 2nd Armored Div, almost died in Battle of the Bulge. My maternal Grandfather was in the US Army Air Force, he repaired guns on aircraft after they returned from bombing runs). I developed my love of Big Band/Swing from them, and ultimately an interest in WWII. Because of them, I developed my love, respect and admiration for WWII veterans. Salute!

My biggest influence though had to be my (sadly, recently deceased) great aunt Mildred "Micki". Born in 1912, she remembered WWI (as a small girl), the Dust Bowl, Depression and WWII. She definitely lived the mottos "waste not, want not" and" use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without"! She saved containers, plastic bags, elastic/rubber bands, etc. She also melted down and reused soap slivers, grew and canned most of her own vegetables. She made a good portion of her clothes by hand, and always hung her wash out to dry. This until her early 90's!

Aunt Micki lived in a Golden Era house, thus visiting her was like going in to the past, as much of her furniture was period original or Golden Era "flavoured". Her kitchen, excepting the refrigerator (it died and she had it moved to the basement and used for storage) was period, as were most of her appliances, gadgets, and cookware/dishes. I loved her vinatge range/oven in particular and old style breakfast nook off to one side. She still used the pull down ironing board as well.

Outside of the fitted wall to wall carpeting in her lounge (living room) and a television (somewhat hidden out of the way) her house had changed little. She listened to a table top radio occasionally when cooking, one she purchased in the mid/late 1950's. Not really true Golden Era but it was beautiful compared to the "made in China" junk that calls itself a radio today. She even used an original Western Electric rotary telephone until hers went wonky sometime in the mid 1990's (she allowed me to take her old one).

In the late 1990's she moved to a much smaller house, so much of her vintage she gave away. I got a few things, but I don't think she realised just how interested in the Golden Era I really was. I really, really, really wish I could have talked to her before she gave much of her beautiful vintage away to local neighbours and thrift/charity shops.

One thing I did find before she moved were some ration books that had fallen behind and under a desk drawer (good clue as to how long she had the desk), but I was unable to obtain the books at the time (not sure what she did with them as her grand daughter did not come across them after she died).

After she passed away, I was able to obtain some of her cookware (which I use) and a few other items from her grand daughter. There were more items but despite my "extreme" interest, they were never offered.

Another memory was she always would dress up before going out, even to the local food shop, or just a walk around the block. If she discovered she was out of something whilst cooking, she would go "freshen up" and change if needed before going out, even if she changed back in to her house dress and apron upon return. She almost always wore an apron when cooking. She also usually wore gloves when driving.

It was much the same when I was staying with her. I would have to clean up and put on "proper" clothes when going out with her, even if I changed back to play clothes upon return. She always looked classy, even when in her house dress, but especially when dressed up.

I could go on, but I don't wish to bore eveyone or clog this thread. Suffice it to say, as I stayed with her often when growing up, I too was able to be for several weeks of each year a Golden Era child.

Aunt Micki, thanks for the memories, love and life lessons. You are missed.

 

[Big Man]

... Aunt Micki lived in a Golden Era house, thus visiting her was like going in to the past ... Suffice it to say, as I stayed with her often when growing up, I too was able to be for several weeks of each year a Golden Era child.

Aunt Micki, thanks for the memories, love and life lessons. You are missed.

This, too, was the way I grew up. While reading your post, I could "see" my own grandmother and aunt is similar situations. We were truly fortunate to have had the opportunity - or rather the privilege - to have been able to experience this kind of life.

 

[staggerwing]

I'm curious what things (whether in pop culture or elsewhere) sparked Fedora Lounge members' fascination with the "Golden Era".

My past life. The one just before this one. No, really....

 

[CherryKrissy]

I spent much of my youth being raised my my grandmother, and spent summers with my Aunt. Both we're young wives during the 50's. I remember my grandmother talking to me about her youth. I always used to watch old movies, and Lawrence Welk with her, and loved to listen to "old" music. I guess it's just something that's always been with me

 

[scottyrocks]

For me, I believe it was movies.

Back in the 60s, when I was a kid, channels 9 and 11 in New York often had old movies. There was a 4:30 afternoon show, and it was almost always on. If I was in the house, I always saw at least parts of movies.

I think the first actor to make a huge impression on me was Jimmy Stewart. It's a Wonderful Lifecompletely sucked me in. For years, way before VCRs, everything about it - Stewart, the story, the acting, the dress, the entire small town periodness of it, kept me glued to it every time it was on.

The acting methodology was so different from what was becoming contemporary as I was growing up. The clothing from the earlier age fascinated me. I was always a hat-wearer, and the fedoras were amazing. No one I knew wore them anymore. Sure, there were what we now call stingy brims, on the archtypical Madison Ave ad execs, but they did not arouse the same emotions in me as the wider brims of the 30s and 40s.

Newsreel footage of baseball games made me think. I didnt care about the games. I always looked for the short clips of the stands. Mostly all men, and everyone in a suit and hat. Even a relatively young man such as myself wondered why men didnt dress like that anymore to go to stuff like baseball games.

 

[Widebrim]

Much the same as others. My parents, now 89 and 91, were Depression kids, and always full of stories about that time. Big Band music was a near staple when I was a youngster, and my dad would tell me about the various band leaders and singers. He would also talk about the great sports figures of those days, and in addition helped me to identify the classic cars that we would often see on the streets. We watched many old films on TV in those days, particularly on channels 5, 11, and 52 (the latter specialized in Warner Bros. flicks), which helped to romaticize my view of the past.

I loved pouring over the old family photographs, comparing the clothing from one decade to another. My mother always seemed to be immaculately-dressed in those photos, and my father often sported a double-breasted suit (one of which I now own) and a wide-brimmed fedora. My father, a WWII Army combat vet, kept his war photos in a special album which I now possess, and I came to idolize the service and its uniforms. His stories about Attu, Kwajalein, the Philippines, and Okinawa (as well as glimpses into stateside post life) fascinated me to no end. As a boy, I would draw lapel buttonholes on drawings of suits, cuffs on trouser bottoms, and fedoras on the tops of male characters that I would find in comic books, as well as hood ornaments on drawings of contemporary autos...

I bought my first "work" fedora at about age 14, and my first dress fedora at about 17 (a used Penney's Marathon, which I still have). I was taunted in Junior High for wearing a pocket watch and fob, and two-tone dress shoes, but kept right on until High School, when my dress became more surfer in nature (although I sometimes wore a white newsboy cap). My dress habits have changed over the last 25 years, but I have returned to the "classic style" of my youth.

That's my nickel's worth...

 

[Elizabeth.F]

A $2 Charlie Chaplin DVD in K-Mart of all things. It had "The Kid", "Sunnyside", and "A Day's Pleasure" on it. I was 12 years old so my Mom bought it for me. I watched it as soon as we got home and was absolutely hooked on every pre-1930s! Just a few months later and I was ransacking the local libraries for books and silent movies. About a year after I saw silents for the first time I decided that I wanted to dress vintage as well, but it isn't until just now that I'm actually buying, knitting, and sewing myself a proper 1920s wardrobe.

 

[BombshellBella]

I can't really pin the reason why to a certain time... My parents are immigrants to the US and I have such a colorful family history that I was just in LOVE with my families past. That kind of drove me to learn more about them and their times... Looking at old family photographs, and that my mother is a total classic clothing lover... even though I always had a thing for black and white movies (both American, Turkish and Arabic)... I never came to realize that my style is totally reflecting this era. It was like a subconcious thing, until recently where I discovered that I REALLY CAN look the part and its easy to find the clothing that I saw in the movies and old family photos... I prize all of my old vintage ottoman jewelry, etc.

And like others on the forum, I really wish that our era had as much style as yesteryear (although I probably romantacise much of it.) Everything now is so nouveau riche, so cliche and cookie cutter

 

[Miss Sis]

I've always had an interest in history and 'old' stuff, but it was really cemented by my Nana, born 1911. She had a fantastic memory and would tell me alsorts of stories of her life. I loved looking through old photos with her and hearing about the characters who were my family.

When I was 12 I did a school project on the Depression, so naturally I went to my Nana to hear first-hand stories from someone who was there at the time. From there my interest has grown and grown to encompass all aspects of the 1930s. However my interest is not limited to then - I am interested in many different eras.

I often wonder what my Nana would say if she could see me now when I'm all dressed up in vintage. I think she would laugh! Maybe she'd see a bit of herself when she was young in me.

 

[Lillemor]

It must've been a childhood thing. I remember taking a tape recorder with me and interviewing my maternal grandmother about her youth. I regret that I didn't think it was important enough to save.

This is a strange thing to say as a Christian but nothing she said really sounded new to me but as soon as she moved beyond 1963 I lost interest. I just didn't feel a "connection" with the time after that and I've often thought about that feeling.

 

[draws]

It must've been a childhood thing. I remember taking a tape recorder with me and interviewing my maternal grandmother about her youth. I regret that I didn't think it was important enough to save.

This is a strange thing to say as a Christian but nothing she said really sounded new to me but as soon as she moved beyond 1963 I lost interest. I just didn't feel a "connection" with the time after that and I've often thought about that feeling.

Just an observation. How many instances of those times have been lost forever other than being kept in our fondest memories. Shouldn't we all take some time to sit with our children, grandchildren and, most importantaly, great grandchildren to share these distant memories to be passed down. The past was so important to our cultural development.

It is claimed that we do not have a culture in the states like many of our foreign lounge partners yet we are today what our parents and grandparents instilled in us. If we don't share and/or document these life stories, the world will soon forget.

Oh, I'm just a sentimental old fool, I guess.

 

[kampkatz]

It is essential to know something about history. Customs and activities of years ago give us a peek into the lives of our ancestors. It wasn't all the "good old days" but we learn how people strived and coped with the circumstances of their times. The "Golden Age" is just part of that past, well worth remembering. Some of those values(hard work ,trust, pride in excellence, knowing that we all need to do our share,etc) are well worth striving for today.

 

[Lotta Little]

For me, my fascination with the Golden Era may have something to do with the fact that I did NOT have older relatives to talk to about it. I heard a little about them here and there, like my mother's grandparents smuggling liquor from Canada into Detroit during Prohibition. I always wished I had known my grandparents, but they all died either before I was born or when
I was a child. Learning about and collecting objects from this era is probably my way of making up for the family heirlooms I don't have and the connections that I missed.

 

[MrNewportCustom]

For me, I think it was a poster that I had on the wall when I was in junior high school. It showed a stately two-story mansion of brick with white columns and a lush garden, and parked outside the gate of the brick wall was a big, black, late 1920s limousine.

Across the bottom, the poster read, "My tastes are simple: I like to have the best."

Oh, and . . . the Marx Brothers. Somehow, even at a young age, I've always been able to understand vintage humor.


Lee

 

[Sapphire]

Guesse I am only here for the flying...[huh] And the fun of getting to know people all over the world!

It started a bit similar for me, although on the civilian side of flying... what sparked my interest in the "golden era" were stories about travelling, especially flying but also voyages by car, ship, train at that time. I could read about air travel in the 40s and 50s, e.g. on the Boeing Stratocruiser for hours. Simply no comparison to the "great unwashed" (as said by Mike O'Leary, CEO of the low-cost airline Ryanair) rushing aboard a 737 on a 0.99EUR flight...

Nevertheless, besides collecting paper (books, brochures, photos) our collection of vintage clothes is now growing as well, albeit still very small.

Cheers,
Tom

 

[Tiller]

My Grandfather and Grandmother on my mother side. When I went through a rough path in my life it was my Grandfather who helped me through it, with his stories of the Great Depression, the war, and then making it from there. The story of a boy who had to drop out of school at the age of twelve because his father died, and get a job who eventually got far in life was something for me to admire, and look up to. I always had the feeling that my Grandfather was a well respected man, but I had confirmation of it when he died. Over 5000 people (a lot for my small town) attended his two day calling hours, and the funeral home director said he has never seen such a huge crowd. People stood in line for blocks as far as the eyes could see. I heard stories from people he helped over the years, people who worked for him, friends, and neighbors. All of whom talked about how My Grandfather had helped them out, and how good of a man he was to the community. Since then I've more or less emulated him in many ways. Not to mention our State Senator who was friends with my Grandfather their entire lives together.

My Grandmother is still alive, and I get to hear lots of older stories from her as well. From how she lost her brother on D-Day, to what it was like raising six kids lol. My Grandmother was known for being "feisty" in her time. She was one of the first women in our area to learn how to drive a car, she was independent and earned her education, she worked for everything she ever wanted, and got married in a woman's pantsuit back in the 40's because she didn't like any of the wedding dresses available lol. She is one of a kind.

So more or less it is my admiration for them, and the times that made them. Combined with my complete distaste for most of my generations style, and music (I hate rap with a passion. I believing it being little more then Jazz's bastardized moronic offspring.).

To me a basketball jersey, untied air Jordans, and unbent baseball caps turned sideways can't hold a candle to a fine tailored suit, patten leather shoes, and a fine fitting fedora. IMHO the best evidence against evolution in humans can be seen by looking at fashion, and watching its utter decline starting at about 1964-68. lol

As far as pop culture, I'd say the Sherlock Holmes series by Grenada, and Agatha Christie's Poirot. One of my favriote quotes from the series is when Poirot says, "Hastings when high collars fall, so will civilization!" One again Poirot was correct lol.

 

[docneg]

My past life. The one just before this one. No, really....

Staggerwing, seriously?
If you really mean it, we have to talk...

 

[AmateisGal]

When I was in elementary and junior high school, Silver Screen Classics would be on my local PBS station on Saturday nights. I loved watching those old movies. I've always loved history, especially 18th and early 19th century history, but it wasn't until I started delving into World War II that I really got interested in the Golden Era.

And since I've developed that interest, it is great fun to talk to my grandmother about it. We sit and chat about movie stars from the Golden Era and swoon over them! She was a big movie-goer when she was younger. I've always been close to my grandmother, but this shared love has only brought us closer.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

The 14th-century castle near Antwerp that belonged to my great-grandmother and her husband, the heir to a Belgian shipping fortune. I spent some summers there as a kid and teenager.


The castle was filled with closets and drawers whose contents hadn't been moved since the 1920s. Over there, I slept on heavy linen, monogrammed sheets from around 1900. They were still perfectly serviceable.


The greatest summers of my life. I'd wander around the forest and stumble across trees with the names of World War I and II soldiers carved into them. With a borrowed metal detector, I'd find uniform buttons from Napoleon's infantry. (They'd camped overnight on the castle's grounds on the way to Waterloo.)


No longer in my family, alas. For the curious: a 17th-century engraving of it, and some recent photos.

.

 

[chanteuseCarey]

it was my first big crush in 7th grade...

on Fred Astaire. I discovered Fred and Ginger movies on TV in 1971-72 when I was in jr. high school. I have listened to and sung the "standards" for as long as I can remember. In H.S when everyone else was listening to Elton John singing "B-B-B-Benny and the Jets", I was listening to the Glen Miller Orchestra and my LPs of the Paul Weston Orchestra playing Gershwin and Jerome Kern. I've always liked the Victorian and Edwardian eras for clothing, but now am primarily focusing on the 1930s and 1940s for vintage accessories, hats and clothes, as are DH and our two young teen children. We're all social ballroom dancers here, my favorite is the Foxtrot!