When you're not dressed vintage...

[Senator Jack]

Part of the problem is that Austin is a terrible city for good vintage

Though I've never been down there I should think Austin would be a treasure trove. The one thing I like about going down south is that men wore their good suits only on Sunday and their best suits on Easter. Everything I found was in great condition. At first I did wonder why I wasn't finding a lot with rot but figured people just threw them out before bringing the good stuff the Salvation Army. Are you hitting the tag and estate sales? It's a lot more legwork but sometimes you strike gold.

I'm with Wild Root though. I've been wearing vintage so long that I can't wear anything new unless it goes with my vintage stuff. Once in a while I find new black flat front slacks that'll pass for 60s, but I can't remember the last off-the-peg shirt I bought new. I do buy my shoes new though, and undergarments, which was always the one line I wouldn't cross.

Cheers,

Senator Jack

 

[Vladimir Berkov]

I have been doing some estate sales although not as many as I would like.

I should probably qualify my statement to say that "Austin is a terrible city for pre-war vintage." If you like post-war stuff or like women's clothing then Austin is great. There are a lot of vintage shops and such that have tons of the stuff.

 

[Biltmore Bob]

I don't own anything vintage...

However my wardrobe is vintage inspired. My workwear of late has been either Chinos or Dungarees (Wrangler Rugged Wear Relaxed Fit Jeans), chambray or denim shirt, khaki military web belt with brass military slide buckle or leather 1 1/4 inch garrison belt, brown leather Wolverine work boots, 8 1/4 Newsboy cap. When the weather cools down a bit here in Southeast Texas, I plan to wear a brown or gray herringbone suit jacket, neither of which are vintage but I think they will pull off the look. The look I'm going for is the 30s 40s working man. For church I wear modern suits with fur felt fedoras, sometimes a Newsboy cap.

 

[MudInYerEye]

Horsehide halfbelt jacket, Levi's redlines, 2 inch garrison belt with clipped corner buckle, plain white v-necked t-shirt, rough-outs, newsboy cap, Willson shades.

 

[Wild Root]

I wish I could wear vintage every day but I have nowhere near the amount needed. I don't even have one completely vintage outfit.

Part of the problem is that Austin is a terrible city for good vintage and also that I don't really like wearing things which are damaged or deteriorated. It has to look new which rules out most of the decent vintage items I do find.

Say, I could have sworn that you had one nice pinstriped suit to wear!
Any way, about the vintage that is flawed, no one notices that! I wear suits and pants with holes in them some times and I always get complements like crazy. One has to remember that vintage is just that, vintage. If you truly love the era, you want the original stuff. Pre war vintage is hard to find but, some of the post war stuff is just so cool that it?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s hard to believe that there are people who would pass it up just because it?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s from 1946 to 1950. It?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s still better looking and better made then modern duds and is still really classy.

To wear vintage every day, one has to have lots of it. Also it?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s nice to have the casual stuff like gab shirts and pants, ringer T-shirts, nice dress shirts to sport those killer ties and what not. It?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s not that hard if you know what you?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢re doing. If you?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢re really good at what you do, you can make most modern shirts and such look old just by wearing vintage pants! Shoes also play a part in the game. Find some nice modern dress shoes that have a good vintage style about them and you?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢ll be doing ok.

WR.

PS. It's not always about wearing suits! Nice slacks and a crisp shirt with a nice vintage tie will always get mad props!

 

[ITG]

Wild Root, I was exposed to the skirt-jeans combo the other day. One of my students had it on. I asked her if that was the new style. She just giggled and said "No I don't think so." Her particular combination looked silly on her, as the skirt looked like something she may have outgrown length wise about 3 years ago.

I usually wear nice slacks and a nice blouse to work. Sometimes a skirt or dress but maybe once every 2 weeks. Fridays-Sunday, it's jeans and tshirt or shorts on the weekend. I love wearing my lowtop black Converse shoes.

Who else hangs their t-shirts up in the closet instead of folding them and putting them in a drawer?

I hang up the tshirts that I wear in public with jeans. My shirts I wear at night for my pajamas (mostly old college tshirts) are kept in a drawer.

 

[Vladimir Berkov]

Yep Root, I do have the suit. But I am still scouting around for a real vintage hat, brown & white spectators and the like to create an entirely vintage outfit from head to toe.

If you are patient and a bit picky you can make a vintage-esque ensemble from modern clothes if you know what you are doing. For instance in this outfit (one of my favorite) the only vintage item is the tie. I had the coat tailored a bit and it had many 30's details already, and the trousers were originally about 2 sizes too big giving them that 30s baggy university look.

You can't really just buy a bunch of stuff off the rack and expect it to look good though, most modern stuff just "looks" modern much of the time even though I can't put my finger on why.

 

[Sefton]

I have a limited amount of vintage clothes at the moment. I own a dated 1947 medium blue DB jacket and an assortment of vintage pants from 1930s~1950s.

For daily wear it's Bill's khakis (reg.khaki or British), a pendelton work shirt or modern white dress shirt. Web belt with brass slide buckle. Bostonian brand oxfords in black or cap toe brown. Once in a while a pair of Chippewa brand wellington cowboy work boots.

Modern levis denim jacket or oldish (1970s)black Derby brand jacket (the style that Clint Eastwood wore in the film "Dirty Harry"). My lid is either a fawn color Akubra Federation or an 8 panel cap. Vintage 'windows' ,1940s wire rim eyeglasses

I am still waiting for my Aero reprodution 1942 contract A-2, horsehide. Waiting,waiting,waiting....

I had a nice pair of vintage 1950s suspenders. That is until the second time that I tried to put them on and they ripped and fell apart :cry:

I will keep looking for vintage. A good suit or even a nice SB jacket still escapes me...

I'm going to Japan soon and will be looking for vintage style work boots and Levis/Lee repro's

 

[rubyredlocks]

Lauren-It's been so long since I've gotten to do a true vintage hairstyle,I'd jump at the chance to do your pincurl set for practice no charge.
I think I'll try the apron a couple of times a week on my not-so-busy days.
See how it feels.

Austin is great for mid-40s to early 50s and later. I need to make a trip down to replenish my wardrobe.

Question for the gang that does wear vintage 24/7:
1.Is it just your preference for yourself?
2.Do you view those that do not or can not wear it 24/7 differently?
3.How about dating? Is vintage attire preferred or required?

Even though I'm not in this category,I'll answer my own questions.

1.Absolutely,but I do appreciate it when I find someone who is like-minded.
2.Nope,means more vintage finds for me.Selfish,I know.
3.I married someone with similar interests.Lucked out there.Vintage attire is preferred,I do not like his taste in modern clothing,but he's still adorable regardless. So,it's definitely not required.

 

[rubyredlocks]

Vladimir-That's one of my favorite looks on a man.I have yet to find an argyle vest for my husband that isn't just a big square shape.Yours looks great!

 

[flat-top]

Question for the gang that does wear vintage 24/7:
1.Is it just your preference for yourself?
2.Do you view those that do not or can not wear it 24/7 differently?
3.How about dating? Is vintage attire preferred or required?
My answers:
1. Totally my preference.I've been wearing vintage so long, that's it's not even a choice at this point, it's just me! Plus, I think I would look ridiculous in modern styles.
2. My gal loves vintage style (duh), but doesn't have much of it herself.It just doesn't work for her lifestyle, but she does want me to help her build her vintage wardrobe for when we go out and stuff! YAY!
3. See #2
flat-top

 

[Vladimir Berkov]

Vladimir-That's one of my favorite looks on a man.I have yet to find an argyle vest for my husband that isn't just a big square shape.Yours looks great!

Thanks! It is actually a regular Brooks Brothers vest that I found at the outlet in San Marcos. I never saw it in the actual Brooks stores, maybe it was old stock. Either way it is one of my favorite sweaters.

 

[Mr. Rover]

I'm probably one of the youngest guys that visits this board regularly, so I will admit that the extent of daily ACTUAL vintage for me is usually with my fedora or newsie cap. I also part my hair on the right side using Royal Crown, Brylcreem, or Murray's. At school, I'm usually in a white pinpoint oxford shirt, a vintage tie, chinos, and leather jacket. I wear my modern stuff most of the time, although I get my vintage clothing in once or twice a week.

That is not to say the modern stuff isn't vintage-looking. I guess you can say it's sort of a preppy look? Yesterday I wore a polo shirt with khakis and keds repros. But I do wear Hollister jeans (at my waist or hips..not at my ankles or knees), vintage-style logo shirts (esp. comic book characters like spider-man and superman), and my lambksin Wested. I also wear red chuck taylor high tops most of the time.

I will admit I occassionally shop in the Gap- they're not that bad honestly. I got a pair of wide-legged herringbone pants there.

I do try to wear a collared shirt 75% of the time. I get them made here in Taiwan for about $30 a pop. That's cheaper than a beat-up t-shirt from abercrombie and fitch (where I do occassionally buy stuff from, too).
I wear a Marine surplus trenchcoat when it's cold enough or raining.

I also don't get the dress+jeans look for girls, that is not to say that some ladies I know pull it off well. I guess it's whatever suits you?

ray (preparing to be shunned by the rest of the Lounge)

P.S. I look ridiculous in ball caps.
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[Badluck Brody]

I miss those days!

I still even have my original chucks and a shredded pair of "life's-a-beach" yellow skull and crossbones.

However, my day usually revolves around my LEO uniform. (Man I hate polyester)

But this is the best time of the year for wearing what I want on my off time.

God I luv the Fall..!

Brody

 

[DanielJones]

Since I don't have a photo of my relaxed work wear I just show this shot.

This is about what I look like out doing a field survey minus the sledge hammer. Like I said, Carhart Man.

Cheers!

Dan

 

[Biltmore Bob]

I'm, the guy with the rope...

Trying real hard to look like I'm working while really not doing anything but walking around the worksite with a rope on my shoulder. I'm going for coffee...

Only with a big Cowboy moustache.

 

[Absinthe_1900]

Since it tends to get a bit warm down here, I go for vintage & vintage replica aloha shirts during the summer, sort of a "From Here to Eternity" look.

I'm slowly picking up other vintage items as I can find them, being 6'-2" & broad shouldered it gets a bit difficult.

 

[Mimi Thomas]

Lately, it seems to be about 50% vintage and 50% retro for me, for daily wear. I'm a housewife at the moment, so I wear whatever I want, and I like to be comfortable at home. Around this time of year, you'll find me in denim or khaki clam diggers (wide-legged), sleeveless or short-sleeved cotton blouse, and either barefoot or in ballerina flats. I got a pair of Minnetonka moccasins that I've been wearing alot lately, too, with rolled dungarees and a ladies' camp shirt on cool days. As it cools more, I'll probably start wearing the full skirts and stockings with sweaters around the house, or 40s slacks, but I don't do the silk blouse/nice skirt/high heels every day if I'm just going to be at home alone. But on marketing days, I do dress up to go shopping.
For going out, I go all out and it's always vintage. The Old Man doesn't own much vintage, he has a germ-thing a la Howard Hughes and can't wear used clothing, but we look hard and he looks just fine. He buys nice hats and nice shoes, has a good old Hamilton watch and some nice vintage ties. He's a big guy, too, so the 40s style works better for him. Also, he's a police officer with a plain clothes assignment, and he likes to look the 40s PI for work.

It's getting so much harder to find good vintage at an affordable price point, too...when I started collecting in high school, the thrift stores were full of it for cheap, but now if you really want certain things, you will pay dearly for them in some cases. But modern clothes are pricey, too, so for me it's just a question of how I choose to spend. I don't support huge corporations when I get around it, so no logos or labels for us.

 

[Quigley Brown]

I'm going to Japan soon and will be looking for vintage style work boots and Levis/Lee repro's

Sefton...do people ever call you 'Stray Dog?' I loved the way Mifune dressed in that film

I wish I could wear vintage everyday to work, but as a photographer I tend to get into situations that might damage them.....rain, fires (smoke), etc. Heck, when working on a story on a hog farmer it took about a week just to get the smell out of my camera. I'm not too hard core about wearing vintage top to bottom. My style going out on the town is vintage sport coat and 40s necktie (or bowtie) with jeans....sometimes a vintage white dinner jacket over a t-shirt.

 

[zeus36]

Usually I'm in Biker gear. I ride a Harley Fatboy pretty much every day so
I took cues from the wardrobe supplied for the TV show "Renegade".

Don't care for the greasy jeans and Harley T-shirts look, so I went with a cleaner style. Henley's and Guess jeans, black cowboy boots, a leather scarf, sometimes WAH Maker vests, and a leather jacket.

I wear vintage at work; during inclimate weather, or if going out at night.