When you're not dressed vintage...

[Lauren]

I agree. Most of them are DANG ugly. And I don't get the Von Dutch thing either. Arg. I think girls can look cute in caps, unless they're on top of their head, just sitting there, or engulfing their entire head (like my picture ) I'll have to track down one of what I really look like not in vintage, but that and one other silly one are the only ones I could find at the time I was posting.

 

[Big Man]

... girls can look cute in caps ...

I agree, too. But would add that only CUTE girls can look cute in caps (as evidenced by your photo).

 

[Dr. Shocker]

What an interesting thread.....I now many of us would love to wear vintage 24/7 if money and availability were not a factor....I myself slacks and a dress shirt durring the work week with (somtimes futile) attempts to be vintage inspired and to relax slacks and a bowling/lounge/work shirt.....I do own one pair of jeans and a couple of dickies for dress down days but not to often....one thing I do that turns heads mostly cause it confuses folks is to wear nice slacks a dark grey t-shirt and a black vest its comfy and I have always liked the look but I don't wear it to often cus it seems grungy to me.....

as fo Von Dutch he was one hell of an artist......for a paranoid dugged out drunen biggot......but I guess the rappers and pop stars support this type of behavior.....then again if he liked you you were his pal ill the end from what I hear.....in the greasier side of the sub culture there is a shirt floating around with the flying eye above it it says no respect below it in small text for the name.....meaning they respect the man not the brand

 

[Biltmore Bob]

I don't even know who this Von Dutch character is. Am I missing something?

 

[Patrick]

I was really biting my tounge on that cap. Glad to know it was borrowed.


...and what a sad thing Von Dutch has become. The master pinstriper died penniless, and now people are becoming filthy rich off of his name. I still have shirts that I bought before Britney and the rest of the trend whore crowd made the brand popular, I hesitate to wear them now.

Bucking the trend is fun or me. That's why vintage is fun. I wouldn't be caught dead in a "West Coast Choppers" shirt or cap. NEVER!

P.

 

[Biltmore Bob]

Oh, I see....

I Googled up Von Dutch...some kind of artist, lived in a bus or something.

I don't wear 'nutin with any kind of logo or printing on it anyway.

 

[BellyTank]

Vintage, or semi-vintage is my everyday- I have enough to keep the momentum going. But- I don't wear a lot of suits- I wear mostly seperates, vintage denim('20s/'30s), workwear and leather, work jackets a lot.

Mufti wear-
Sometimes I wear Indian clothes; (I have Indian in-laws)a kurta pyjama or what have you. Sometimes I walk around locally in Indian clothes and sunglasses and see if I can not get stared at by real South Asian people. They seem confused...

B
T

 

[Biltmore Bob]

That's funny BT...

For some reason I had thought y'all were of Indian decent. I had you pictured as an Indian who grew up abroad, so to speak, educated in London and lived in NZ, and Northeastern Europe. Oh, well, my bad...

 

[Wild Root]

My every day wear is in now way a suit. When I?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢m off of work, I wear jeans around the house with the classic ringer-T?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s from Old Navy. I have seen so many photos of guys in these types of T?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s from the 40?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s so, I feel it?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s appropriate. My jeans are dark blue with white stitching and I cuff them up nice to give the right look.

When I?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢m going out of the house, I?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢ll put on some nice high-waisted slacks with a nice 40?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s or 50?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s Gab shirt or a plaid wool long sleeved shirt. I also have some of those rare cable knit shirts from the late 40?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s that I wear some times.

I only wear a suit to a dance, Job interview, church or when ever it?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s cold out side and I want to sport a suit and fedora. Kind of depends on how I feel that day.

So, for those who have thought that Wild Root parades around the house or what have you in a three piece suit, I?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢m sorry to disappoint you all.

But, I?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢m pretty faithful to the 40?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s fashion even when I?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢m not dressed in my best.

WR.

 

[BellyTank]

Bob- I'm a 'Caucasian', white, whatever NZ'er of English ancestry- non educated- lived a good few years in England, then moved here- to Denmark.
My Wife is of North Indian (Sikh) decent and Danish born.
Her parents moved here in the '70s-

I really love India.
If you'd have seen my wedding photos, you surely would have me pictured as an Indian-

Educated in London... Bwahahaaaaa...hahaaa..!!!!!
-sorry- :hamburger

B
T

 

[Lauren]

Indian textiles are truly beautiful. I understand why you would like to dress like that.

 

[BellyTank]

So, for those who have thought that Wild Root parades around the house or what have you in a three piece suit, I?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢m sorry to disappoint you all.
WR.

That's funny 'Root, I'd imagined you sleeping in a Top hat-

B
T

 

[Wild Root]

Sleeping in a Top Hat.... Whahahahhaha! Yeah, I think I have once but that was after a dance and I was so tired and bla bla bla.

Some times I have gotten back from Church and I was just wiped! So, I just took off my suit coat and took an old fashioned nap in my suit pants with tie and all. I have to say that the feel of vintage wool is rather pleasing to me! I sleep rather well wile in vintage.

Oh well, on with the show!

WR.

 

[DanielJones]

I was really biting my tounge on that cap. Glad to know it was borrowed.


...and what a sad thing Von Dutch has become. The master pinstriper died penniless, and now people are becoming filthy rich off of his name. I still have shirts that I bought before Britney and the rest of the trend whore crowd made the brand popular, I hesitate to wear them now.

I have a few mechanic shirts with the VonDutch Logo on them, bought before it was trendy to wear his name. I only wear them because my pop used to ride with him back in the late 50's early 60's. Most of the people who wear the VonDutch logo really know who he was. Got to meet him when I was a kid, talk about impressed. The man who painted my pops helmet be cause he thought it was ugly. Not only was he a master pinstriper, he was a great mechanic and gunsmith. He was the man who created the multi functional hand gun in "The Man From U.N.C.L.E.". I'm sure he's spinning in his grave knowing that his psudo-name is being cashed in on.

Cheers!

Dan

 

[Big Man]

At the office, it's usually a suit (sometimes a 3 piece) or at least dress pants, shirt and tie, wingtips, and a fedora. At home, it's usually jeans, a "recycled" dress shirt (one that's too worn to wear to the office, but not near too far gone to throw away), work boots, and a fedora. When running fire/rescue calls, it's turn-out gear and a helmet (the fedora has to stay in the vehicle, but comes back out once the scene is secured ).

On another note, those who wear original vintage clothing on a regular basis (or, for that matter, at anytime other than an occasional "special" occasion), is there ever a concern that wearing clothing that is 60 to 80 years old will eventually destroy the clothing? I know when Civil War reenacting first became popular, there were many, many people who wore original uniforms and used original weapons. At the time, the clothing and accouterments were 80 to 100 years old, and there was a respectable amount of them around. However, now that original Civil War clothing is approaching 150 or so years old, its availability is less and less.

My point is that what is now just "old cloths" (i.e. 30's and 40's things), will be true "antiques" in the not too distant future. Just a thought.

 

[nightandthecity]

I have indeed thought about this many times Big Man.

Firstly, there is a much more sympathetic attitude to recent antiques and 20th century collectables today, which means an awful lot of this stuff is now safe in museums and private collections. I myself have a large collection of original WW2 RAF and USAAF flight jackets, for most of which I have the individual history and most of which I never wear. They are purely collector items. But I keep a few that I do wear. These are ones with no individual history and no special characteristics, and I am very aware that there are thousands the same lovingly cared for in museums and private collections throughout the world, so I don?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t lose any sleep over it. Also:

(a) I treat my ?¢‚Ǩ?ìwearing?¢‚Ǩ? vintage very carefully indeed. I wear it carefully and I clean it and store it carefully. I wouldn?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t wear an original flight jacket in the rain for example, or leave it on a hanger or a coat hook (b) in normal life I wear a lot of reproduction and traditional (vintage style and quality) items. Things like LVC jeans, and welted footwear made to exactly the same patterns and quality as 60 years ago (c) I have an awful lot of vintage items so no individual item gets too heavily used. I realize this isn?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t easy for everyone, but it is one of the perks of being a dealer.

I?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢d be interested to hear how fellow wearers approach this problem. Or whether they think it is an issue at all.

 

[Wild Root]

Very good point Big Man. Seeing I being one who wears vintage daily I?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢d only be to happy to tell you my ideas on the subject.

Now, I?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢m going to only talk about Men?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s clothing in this one here seeing that it was made a little tougher then most ladies apparel.

Vintage clothing was made better then modern threads today. Gabardine, wool, worsted wool, wool serge and the like were made so much better back then and had a longer life. That is one reason why we still have it around today. Now, vintage clothing does and will wear out if not cared for. I can wear vintage more often because I have lots of it. And it gets cycled through every week. By that it means I?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢m not wearing the same pair of pants and shirts every day. Giving most of my collection one or two wears in a week really cuts down on the wear factor. I also change out of my vintage threads when I come home if I know I?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢m not going any where later. So, there again saves them for a longer life.

Dry cleaning also plays a roll in weakening the fibers of the cloth and thus taking life off of an original garment. So, I only dry clean them when they get a stain on them or after a few wears. If they get wrinkled, I steam iron them. If I sweat in a suit, I turn it inside-out to air out and dry. There are tricks to caring for vintage clothes. 30?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s-50?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s clothing is considered by many to be antique. What they?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢re passing off as vintage today is 60?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s to 80?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s clothing. That is what today is considered ?¢‚Ǩ?ìOld Clothes?¢‚Ǩ? but, what I wear is truly vintage or antique. I have a suit coat dated 1923! I never wear this because it?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s such an old piece and I don?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t really have many 1920?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s events to attend any longer. I?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢d only wear that coat to attend the Silent Movie house in Hollywood but, they?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢re not doing much over there any longer.

My every day work wear is a pair of high-waisted slacks from the 40?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s, a new white shirt (Vintage white shirts are impossible to find in my size and in good condition) I also wear a vintage tie and vintage shoes. Since I work in an Antique mall, I?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢m sitting most of the day so, I?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢m not doing much physical work that would put strain on my clothes.

Lastly, vintage clothes will age and deteriate weather we wear them or not. Moths will try and eat them; they can get dry-rot and just rot off the hanger. So, I feel that if we take the time to care for them, we?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢ll prolong their life in the long run. When wearing vintage one becomes a little more careful of what he or she does and that prolongs the life of the garment.

WR.

 

[Vladimir Berkov]

Working in an antique mall must be cool. Do you get first dibs on all the good stuff that comes through?

 

[Wild Root]

You know I do! But, I?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢m not buying anything right now. It?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s a killer job and I love it but, the money isn?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t that great. So, I have to sacrifice my appetite for old stuff for now. Let me tell ya, it's not easy! Well, I haven't any room for more stuff too so it's not an issue.

WR.

 

[Mimi Thomas]

Just like modern clothes, vintage clothing comes in many levels of quality.
I own a few new designer pieces and find the quality exceptional, and I own a few vintage pieces that would have been considered practically "dimestore" quality. I buy what I like, across all levels, and it all suits a purpose for me.

What I look for are pieces that I will actually wear regularly, things that flatter me and things that look to have some life left in them. There are some pieces that get treated specially, and some pieces that get washed and dried/hung out, just like everything else I own and wear. The thing is, I am not careless with any of my clothing. I read the labels and I've been doing laundry for many years and I've gotten pretty good at it. Plus, my Mom has been a great teacher, since she was around back then and can tell me first-hand how to handle the stuff!

Personally, I do not collect anything just to collect. All of my stuff is used daily--my dishes, my linens, my clothing-everything. We have a small 50s house and there just isn't room for "collections" per se. I like things simple and uncluttered, so I try to find just one of things, in excellent shape, that will last. One of these days, when we buy "The Big House" I'll fill it with stuff!