Writing / logos on clothing.

[V.C. Brunswick]

Funny but the very first piece of vintage clothing I ever had was a green bowling shirt with a Texaco patch on it and the name of a gas station which I found in a thrift store. And I wasn't even into vintage at that time.

 

[LyraMae]

It's taken me a long time to accept that 1) clothing can come in colours other than black, 2) prints are not the enemy, and 3) really, try something that isn't black. Logos would be a bridge entirely too far, even if I didn't find them tacky.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

The very best cheap range cotton shirts are from Ralph Lauren. The quality of their twill cotton beats all other brands in the same price range, bar none.

You have to put up with the embroidered polo logo. c'est la vie

 

[herringbonekid]

Does a tailor's name on trouser buttons count?

i wouldn't call those logos exactly, as usually the font isn't the same as the tailor's / brand's main logo. i like them on old British brace buttons. they're so unobtrusive as to be virtually invisible when worn. i also like other little subtle embossed features on braces, metal workwear buttons or cinch buckles.

i wouldn't wear any shirt that had a visible logo on it.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

My favourite buttons are the "For Gentlemen" and "Deutsche Mode" suspender buttons.

 

[Fastuni]

My favourite buttons are the "For Gentlemen" and "Deutsche Mode" suspender buttons.

Yes, those are great. I also like the "Mode de Paris" buttons. But are you sure you don't prefer the "Echt Steinnuss Hosenknopf".

The most interesting buttons on trousers I've seen are on a 1908 German green-plaid suit I recently got... the metal suspender buttons bear the cameo of Kaiser Wilhelm and "Deutsche Industrie".
Too bad the suit is something like size 34 short.:eusa_doh:

 

[Baron Kurtz]

34 short, eh????

 

[herringbonekid]

Cooling Lawrence & Sons :

 

[Amy Jeanne]

I have some workout clothing with a small "REI" or "Under Armor" logo on them, but I would never buy, say, a workout t-shirt with a huge "REI" logo across the chest. I mostly wear t-shirts with fun designs on them to workout -- like a skull and crossbones made entirely of puppies

I make most of my own clothing for non-workout occasions so that avoids the logo issue lol

 

[Tomasso]

a skull and crossbones made entirely of puppies

lol

 

[dhermann1]

Funny you should mention crocodiles, Hem. I think that's where this whole thing started. The short sleeved cotton knit shirts from Izod La Coste first appeared right before the war (correct me if I'm wrong) and slowly became more widespread in the 50s. There was a certain cache about that crocodile label, that implied that you were hip and cool and Eurocentric, without SCREAMING it. I think all those label thingies in one way or another subtly implied that you were part of the . . . let's say upper classes. And then around 1970, designers and marketers latched onto it and were off and running, resulting in people who just HAVE to let everyone know that their short cost $4,000 or whatever.

 

[Guttersnipe]

The original Crocodile, tennis champion Jean René Lacoste, founded his clothing brand in 1933:

 

[DamianM]

I read somewhere that people would rip out the red tab on levis because they thought the logo showing was distasteful.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I read somewhere that people would rip out the red tab on levis because they thought the logo showing was distasteful.

When I was a kid everybody who wore Levis removed that brown patch thing on the waistband with the sizes on it. Because it was considered a store tag, and only idiots and comedians went around with the store tag on their clothes.

 

[DamianM]

When I was a kid everybody who wore Levis removed that brown patch thing on the waistband with the sizes on it. Because it was considered a store tag, and only idiots and comedians went around with the store tag on their clothes.

When you really think about it it does show the size of the garment. Like any other store tag would.

 

[Guttersnipe]

When I was a kid everybody who wore Levis removed that brown patch thing on the waistband with the sizes on it. Because it was considered a store tag, and only idiots and comedians went around with the store tag on their clothes.

When you really think about it it does show the size of the garment. Like any other store tag would.

With collectible denim (I know you dilike the term "vintage," Lizzie) it's quite common see old Levis without the waistband tag. In say the last 10 years, the material from which these tag are made have become significantly more durable (i.e., intended to remain permanently affixed). I remember that when I was a kid, the tags were made from a much more paper-like material that would become very ratty and crumble away after a few go arounds in the washing machine (back then, everyone washed jeans, as "raw" denim hadn't been invented your . . . )

 

[DamianM]

They wouldn't give a rats butt about what selvedge was.
Now, thats all that matters with the denim crowd.

 

[Two Types]

Fastuni: have you posted pics of the 1908 suit yet? Not that it's my period, but I do want to see it. And i'm sure the vintage tailoring enthusiasts are getting most excited.

When i first started posting on the FL I never expected to be party to a discussion in which this sentence was written:

"My favourite buttons are the "For Gentlemen" and "Deutsche Mode" suspender buttons."

Brilliant.

 

[Two Types]

This has got me thinking:

someone needs to start a 'Show Us Your Favourite Suit Buttons' thread.

 

[Alice Blue]

The original Crocodile, tennis champion Jean René Lacoste, founded his clothing brand in 1933:

My, that's a large crocodile. Prior to seeing this I thought that a small embroidered logo was traditional, but that large logos such as the giant Ralph Lauren polo logos were a vulgar modern invention. I wonder if this was a riff on school or club insignia on sports blazers?