VintageGent’s Menswear Daily

Happy Birthday, Chuck Norris

All of us at VintageGent’s Menswear Daily wish Mr. Texas Ranger the happiest of birthdays. Mr. Chuck Norris is 70 years old today, March 10th. However, his biceps are 55 years old and his Foot of Fury is 70 years and 9 months old (Of course, he was kicking way before he left the womb).  We are sorry, Feet, that we missed your official birthday.  We will be wishing his guns a Happy 70th in 15 years.  Until then, we cower under our 1950s Robsjohn Gibbings coffee table for fear of him wondering why this was not done earlier in the day.

In honor, here are a few gems from ChuckNorrisFacts.com:

Most Boots are Made for Walking. Chuck Norris’ aren’t that Merciful.

Chuck Norris doesn’t wear a watch. HE decides what time it is.

Chuck Norris is the reason Waldo is hiding.

Outer space exists because it’s afraid to be on the same planet with Chuck Norris.

When the Boogeyman goes to sleep every night, he checks his closet for Chuck Norris

The Manhattan Project was not intended to create nuclear weapons, it was meant to recreate the destructive power in a Chuck Norris Roundhouse Kick. They didn’t even come close.

1974: Wear Your Shirt In a French Way

It’s 1974 week, everybody! In honor of SOMEONE’S birthday (The VintageGent-ette), the Daily will bring you all sorts of retro goodness from the 4th year of the Decade of the Creepy Moustache.

Ah, Paris! The lone acordian player on the street corner. Baguettes. Red geraniums on a wrought iron balcony. Mimes. LOTS of mimes. Forget the Italian suit; no man’s wardrobe would be complete without the French style shirt.  But, as the Arrow ad contests, the shirt is not merely French, the reason for wearing it is VERY French too.  Does that mean the wearer suddenly decide that Marcel Marceau is a genius and started eating pom frites? This ad appeared in current events and men’s magazines in 1974.

Luckily, the folks at Arrow decide to clue us in on exactly what this all means.  And it has nothing to do with mimes. Just read the fine print, Monsieur and Madame:

Is Arrow implying that the shirt was created by women so they could determine if a man was arm candy material or not? Just take away all the amply cut windowpane plaid blazers to check out what one is really advertising? But what if the gentleman is not slim and trim but rather round and um…untrim? Do ladies still want to see the “shape of a man’s body?”   In the 70s, arm holes were smaller and shirts and jackets were more fitted in the shoulders than their modern counterparts.  Overall, I think that it is a smart looking albeit basic shirt…relatively speaking…but the ad description is a hoot.  I am sure if I went to France and interviewed 100 men I would get a few guys spitting their French Roast out their nose if I asked them “If every Frenchman wears shirts cut to show their shape.”

But is that why “American Men Look So Good?”  Then why not call the shirt “American Style.” Ah, but one has to make a blue button down shirt sound a bit more exotic than that.   Or maybe this shirt is put away, and in a couple of years, this guy gains some weight so he wears it unbuttoned and dons the latest fashion accessory - a disco chain.

Win a Pizza! It’s Pizza Day at VintageGent

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Tony’s Pizza. All opinions are 100% mine.

Ah, remember the halcyon days of grade school, when you were shoved off the gymnasium floor to make room for lunch? The basketball hoop was cranked up and the magical little window cranked open. Voila! Instant cafeteria. Perhaps you were one of those folks who went to the “big school” and the lunch room was only used for…well…lunch. Either way, either you brown bagged it or ate Salisbury Steak. Of course, sometimes Pizza Day happened. It was always on a Friday. For some odd reason, we were a bit crazier on Pizza Days. Was it something in the pizza, or was it because we felt that somehow we were double crossing the teachers by being able to have it? The Pizza riot usually coincided with jeans day, so perhaps denim was the explanation.

My intimate relationship with premade pizzas continued at home. It was a huge deal to go 45 minutes into the city to eat pizza. There was no pizza place in town. In fact, there was no nothing in town. The only place to dine was at the ice cream parlor, and that didn’t work if you were lactose intolerant or wanted more than one food group, so the default pizza came on a cardboard backing and was wrapped in plastic. Mom had to hurry home from the grocery store before the 1/16″ thick pie thawed.

I have moved about and even once lived in an apartment directly above a pizza place, but there is a certain nostalgia for the pre-made pies. When I had a chance to try Tony’s Pizza, I was a bit skeptical to read that it had no trans fats. Even so, isn’t the whole point of eating a frozen pizza not to even think about what’s in it? It would defeat the purpose entirely. Still, it brought me back to memory lane due to its strange shape. It is not square, nor round. Or, I can consider it “square with a beveled edge.” Schools have always been full of awkwardly shaped food items. Remember the Spork?

At any rate, I am giving away several coupons to try a Crispy Crust Tony’s Pizza for free. These aren’t the huge ones, but are the right size for 2 people or one really hungry person.

All you have to do to win is leave a comment on this blog (special gold stars for anyone who wants to share their pizza or cafeteria food memories). You will get your name put in the hat one more time if you Twitter about this contest, using a link to this post.  I have a couple of certificates to give away, so step right up while the pizza’s hot.

I’ll make it even easier for you.  Here is a short link to use to direct folks to enter and win! http://tinyurl.com/winapizza

Morgan Freeman’s Early Roles: He Kept It Clean

There are so many slogans for products these days that tout their greenness and wonderfulness, I almost long to be told how awful something is…so awful that I just may want to try it.  Before all of those freshmint and cinnamon flavors for the “kid in you,” Listerine was an antiseptic tasting substance that made you wonder why you gargled with it in the first place.  The marketing geniuses decided to capitalize on it and tag it with the slogan, “It’s got the taste people hate…twice a day!”

Academy Award winning actor and narrator extraordinaire Morgan Freeman stars in this spot for Listerine, long even before the days of playing a bathing Vampire on “The Electric Company.”   Yes. You read that right.

Of course, you have probably completely ignored that last bit and wonder what’s the deal with a bathing Vampire?  Apparently, vampires enjoy bathing in their caskets due to heat retention. It is much warmer in there than running across the hall and properly bathing in the bathroom. Besides, there are too many lights in there.

Surely, this influenced Freeman’s decision to join the cast of the film Clean and Sober. He probably felt it was a bait and switch, as the film was not about “that” kind of clean. Luckily for all of us, Mr. Freeman started choosing roles regardless of level of personal hygiene products and has played a variety of entertaining and career defining roles.

What is your favorite “Before They were Famous” moments?

Tune Togs: 40s Does 90s

It is very common to see items described as “40s does 90s,” meaning an item that was made in the 1990s that has some design details that evoke styling from the 1940s. Have you ever seen an item made in the 40s that was inspired by the 90s?

1890s that is.

I recently came acrossed this 1947 ad for “Tune Togs,” a resort and beachwear line that featured novelty prints. The illustrations dramatized a different song from the “Gay 90s.” This one features the tune “By the Sea.” Did you know that song was that old? Promotional song books were made to advertise the line.

If you have “Tune Togs,” I would love to see photos of them. Post a picture url in comments to share with readers, or email me.  The ad was found in Fairchild’s Menswear, their March 1947 issue, which is a publication to the clothing industry. It sure makes me long for the days of summer. Even though I am not much of a shorts person, I could use a warm day or two about now. Of course, I would just complain that I have to put the wool stuff away that I like so much.

Fashion on the Cheap…Worth the Price?

I used to wear glasses when I was ten to twelve years old. All optical shops were the same. You got in, and for the “special” you got very unattractive frames. To get anything cool costs an arm and a leg. Forget the ads that encouraged people to buy multiple pairs so they can change “with their mood.”   Most people do not live their lives like the imaginary people the models portray in fashion magazines.  They don’t have one pair of studious looking eyeglasses, sport glasses, and sparkling ones for going out.  You either stuck out a sore thumb at the grocery store with flashy glasses, or looked like you were going to play racquet ball at the theater because you couldn’t choose both.

I reading about Zenni Optical in an Examiner Article. I have heard the name before, as I have read about their “too good to be true” $8.00 frame deal before.  Apparently, its NOT too good to be true.   The price is not a “come on.”  There are extra charges for bifocals and such, however. Shipping is typically $4.95. What does this mean for retro fashionistas like us? Zenni has several retro inspired styles, but for purists, you can drop big bucks into a pair of authentic 1950s Buddy Hollys or horn rims, or 80s Wayfarers, but stock up at Zenni for your everyday kick around glasses. That’s a different and economical way to preserve history!

The big drawback of Zenni is the several weeks it takes to receive your glasses, and the fact that they are made in China. The quality is there, but on principle, I am not sure about that for myself.  Of course, some of the glasses at my local optometrist are also made in China, but there have to be some that are not as well. There is always a little quirk or a trade off, isn’t there?

Until Next Time…

1947: The Three Faces of Steve

As a teenager, I became a student of early photography.   I enjoyed watching documetaries anbout it, and sitting at the library going through photo books.  There was a lot of early “trick photography” made possible by the extended exposure times.    You could create “ghosts” by moving the person every few seconds or so. Occasionally, a mistake would happen in the modern photo lab and you would get pictures run together.   It doesn’t happen now with digital, but sometimes with 110 or even 35 mm film, you got someone who was asleep at the switch or you just didn’t advance the film far enough and got an overlap.  Sometimes, the snap shooter could try to convince you that you are really seeing something wonderful and intentional.

Why am I even talking about this?   There is a very disturbing 1947 suit advertisement I came across and I am just trying to figure out the purpose/inspiration behind it.   It reminds me of a particularly creepy multiple exposure.

I don’t know what it is that creeps me out the most.   Maybe it is not really the three headed multi exposure but the haughty glare this young man has on his face.   He seems to say, “How dare you disturb me, a pox on you!”   Maybe he is a vampire.   Shame on me for “judging” someone who I don’t know, and may have never existed in the first place.

I understand that the advertiser is attempting to illustrate that the satin rayon lining comes in three wonderful colors - navy, black, and brown (woohoo!), but even to the trade, I could imagine that they would have inadvertantly scared people away from their booth at the trade show. Of course, the exception is if it was a booth for the National Vertigo Sufferers Association, they were enticing someone to try illicit drugs, or in modern times, do an electronic cigarette review (yeah, its healthy for you to smoke if its through a machine!)

Maybe I am oversensitive or just have an overactive imagination, but if I was a child in 1947 and got ahold of this, I would have had nightmares for sure (worse than clown dreams).

Sure Beats Rotary Dial…

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Boost Mobile. All opinions are 100% mine.

Remember the commercials for Boost Mobile a few years ago?  Nextel may have been the first that comes to mind that offered the Direct Connect function, but Boost was the first, it seems, to have offered it with a no contract service. (You can’t tell me that you never were tempted to “chirp” someone and ask them “Where you at” when those commercials were looped.) Well, Boost is at it again.  This time, they are offering a no contact, $50 unlimited plan with a SANYO Incognito. Oh, and no more folks wearing round orange shirts.

What is an Incognito? It does most of the things a Blackberry does, such as browse the internet and take photos, but it also has a full keyboard and video capabilities. For folks that don’t want to be linked to a long term contract and want to pay month to month or a few months at a time, it allows them to see if they will actually use the technology without any major commitment. If you are me, you are sorely behind the times and will get that type of contraption in twenty years, though they do appeal to the side of me that likes to par down.  I am wondering if you would let me try out yours to see if I can blog with it.

The price point for the Sanyo Incognito SCP6760 is $129.99, not including taxes.  The phone may not be one of those “free with plan” deal because there is no contract. However, have you looked at contracts that include free phones?  You actually do pay for them many times over due to the elevated fees accruing throughout the year, or even three years, of the contract. You can’t get something for nothing.

Have you played with the Incognito yet?  To me, no contracts just seem more attractive right now considering that I am not sure which way I want to go for my next phone.  I am considering going back to rotary or one of those bag phones, but they seem to be eluding me…and they are awfully heavy.

Robert Talbott: A Brief Bio

Robert Talbott was founded by Robert and Audrey Talbott in the 1950s. Audrey, prior to her marriage to Robert, was a clothing buyer. As a hobby, she created bowties for Robert and his friends. With her skill and Robert’s dream to manufacture a true quality product, Robert Talbott the company was born. By 1955, the business was a success and they were traveling the world for silk.

In 1958, the first Robert Talbott store opened in Carmel, New York with a second opening in Pebble Beach in 1968. 24 years later, in 1992, a Madison Avenue showcase store was opened. Dress shirts were added to the Robert Talbott line in 1990, which had been exclusively ties up until this point. Casual shirts and outerwear followed.

Today, Audrey Talbott has shifted her focus to high quality ladieswear and her eponymous line is featured at many boutiques throughout the country.

A woven SILK tie…square bottomed and skinny. Robert Talbott for Jacobson’s from the 80s…

This bio that I wrote appears in the Vintage Fashion Guild label resource. If you are a trivia junkie or a fashion lover, you should check it out.

Curbside Seats

I was talking to a friend from the city, and I was reminiscing over the days of itty bitty studio apartments that were wedged in the attic of brownstone apartment buildings. I have left that life far behind, but the treasures that people put up on the curb for the trash was amazing. Far from a dumpster diver, I couldn’t help not stop for a midcentury modern chair or a coffee table with a car engine as the base. Folks tossed it rather than stored it if they were a foreign student who went home for the summer, or just didn’t have a buddy who had a pickup truck. I guess when everyone takes the subway, those are in short supply.

Makes one think about getting one of those New York Studio Apartments for a month to camp out just to see what can be had. Sort of a midcentury modern stakeout.  Maybe not, as a “cheap” studio apartment in town is quite hefty, but everything is relative.

Happy Martin Luther King, Jr., Day

Happy Martin Luther King, Jr., day.   As a special treat, here is the “I Have a Dream” speech in its entirety for you to gather the family around, watch, and enjoy.  When I was in college, we were the first class to have Martin Luther King, Jr., off.   It was suggested that we spend the day at the art of historical museum, volunteer in one of the local soup kitchens, or follow another pursuit that revolved around learning or volunteerism in honor of Dr. King.    The grade school children, I recall, didn’t have the day off yet, and parents were encouraged to take their children out of school to go on a field trip of a similar nature.  Of course, now, they all have it off, but they didn’t always.   Of course, most kids are thrilled for any excuse to get out of school, but families were encouraged to make it count.

It’s Scary…

A feature ran on the New York Times Magazine fashion blog exposing New York locations of H & M and Walmart and their practice of slashing and discarding unsold merchandise.  The article reads, “A spokesperson for Wal-Mart told the Times that the store normally donates unused items to charities, and needed to investigate the 35th Street situation.”  Indeed, I do believe this to be true.  I have seen Wal-Mart merchandise at a local thrift store and given as in kind donations to groups as well. However, I am not sure of the practice of H&M.

The story was already told at the New York Fashion Blog.  You can read it here.   While I do understand the practice of slashing merchandise so that it cannot be looted and pilfered, in this day and age with sustainability being so important to consumers, any company who does this is committing PR suicide.  The practice of sending merchandise to off price retailers and warehouses are also popular. The argument for those that don’t is that one doesn’t want to dilute the brand.  Alternate methods such as rotating stock, and marketing special events may help clear the shelves instead.  These are all corporate decisions.

While I find it troubling, I found some of the comments made even more troubling.

One commentator writes:

“would u (sic) rather them donate to homeless people and have homeless people wear the same jacket you just paid good money for at h&m?”

And another…

“agree that unused merchandise should be shipped out to poverty stricken countries where people do not have many resources or comforts. Not only would that be the morally correct thing to do, it would also create a better image for these companies (and the country).

As for the homeless in America who have access to the abundant resources of this country? Why are we working our asses off to pay for clothes, food, shelter, etc…when people who choose to be lazy can get it for free via handouts? I don’t think that is fair, it does not promote work ethic or responsibility. Yes, there are genuine cases of homeless who just fell on hard times and are actively trying to get on their feet… but for the most part, those I have met are unmotivated to clean up and become productive members of society. Idleness should not be rewarded.

I will give anyone the shirt off my back if they need it, but do not let me turn around the next day and see them not attempting to get their own shirt.”

I have several comments.  Let’s start out at the diplomatic ones.

To me, the price of trendy retail is not solely about the price of the prestige of the brand or the quality of the item.  A consumer is also paying to be the one to own it first and to be seen in it first.  The person who buys it second may have purchased it at a lower price on sale or a clearance center, but they did not have the opportunity to be the first one to be seen in it or to have it before the beginning of the season. The instant gratification was not achieved. That sort of intangible is not often considered. It may be difficult to think about in regards to fashion, but there are rampant and familiar examples in the toy and technology world.  When the Ipod first came out, there were folks that paid $500 or more just to be the first to have it in their hot little hands.  Parents paid a hundred bucks to have a Cabbage Patch Kid under the Christmas tree rather than waiting for a birthday when they could buy it for $30, just for the experience of seeing a child’s face on Christmas morning. Those intangibles are what I am talking about and they directly relate to fashion.

Now…let me take my gloves off.  I am so disheartened by people not wanting to take care of their own.  Everyone wants to ship clothes and toys off to developing nations and ignore their brothers and sisters around the corner.  There are people who are homeless through either no fault of their own.  The woman who flees an abusive husband and has nowhere to go, the man whose apartment building burns down and he didn’t have proper renter’s insurance, the couple whose company shipped their jobs to another state and cannot find gainful work to pay the mortgage.  The list goes on and on and on.  Why are people living in other countries more noble and less lazy?  People worry so much about crime and the economy.  If we just stopped a moment and realized that someone’s bridge to getting on their feet might be clean clothes to wear to an interview or to send their kids to school in so they will not be rediculed for wearing the same outfit 4 days in a row, maybe we would start to get the picture. Apparently, the people making these comments were never “there.”

Off of my soapbox for now.  Luckily, some of the commentators are getting on the cases of some of these folks, but one never knows if they will listen or at least consider how selfish they are.  I don’t believe in free handouts.  I don’t believe in lifetime social welfare. I believe in the “Teach a Man to Fish” scenario. However, that man needs something to wear and a fishing line to do so, right?

What Does a Seahawk Taste Like?

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Jones Soda. All opinions are 100% mine.

I have always liked Jones Soda for several reasons. The bottles give me that old fashioned feel and the flavors are innovative. There was old fashioned vanilla cream soda and a lot of funky fruit flavors. Sometimes, however, I worry about the folks at Jones, after the Tofurky and Gravy Thanksgiving offering.

Now, Jones has combined affinity products with original flavors to create the Seattle Seahawks soda. I am sure that no matter what it tastes like, fans will be stocking the shelves. Truth be told, I am sitting with my hands covering my eyes. Like a little kid, I am peeping out between my fingers as I am frightened but strangely intrigued by what the new beverages could taste like. I was very relieved to find that the flavors available were Cream Soda, Green Apple and Berry Lemonade. What a relief.  I was figuring it would be Locker Room Luau, Pigskin, Beer, and Ben Gay (or Icy Hot).

The Limited Edition-ness of the soda extends to the packaging and labeling. They come in special commemorative four packs featuring intriguing art work. Now, you can drink it all, or you can hide it away just in case it is going to be worth big bucks some day. You just never know. My brother may still have a bunch of Arizone Iced Tea and Absolute bottles that he is saving for posterity from a number of years ago. Why not add more breakables to the back of the closet? Mom was plenty happy one night when she heard a thundering crash after he moved out.

The four packs are available for a very limited time on the Jones websites.  If you are a fan of exotic non alcoholic libations or are a football fan, buy them now before they disappear. Then get another one for your great-great grandchildren.

Missing Any Hair?

Yesterday afternoon, I was perusing some books that I haven’t looked at in awhile, though I have lugged them with me from house to house.   There are a few books that I just will never give up, as they are from a time when I was a sound designer for the theater and I have fond memories.

The following is from an instructional book on Theatrical Makeup.  Richard Corson’s Stage Makeup has a line drawing reference that includes the hairstyles of ladies and men throughout the years to help the makeup crew finish off the look for historical plays and film.    Do you notice anything amiss with this?

A few of you may have pointed a finger at the gentleman from 1962 with his faux handlebar mustache.  That could have been considered something that was just plain wrong, though it was actually not an error.  Just picture him with a natty tweed jacket and a pipe to transform him into everyone’s favorite college professor.  He could also be a sitcom eccentric uncle.

While this illustration is not meant to be exhaustive of all the possible hairstyles that someone could have had throughout history, there is one glaring omission. It appears, according to this, that there was only one hairstyle for men during the entire 1940s!   It was a slightly parted down the middle style full of pomade.  I definitely recall the style from a variety of early 40s films.  But wait…aren’t they leaving out one hugely iconic hairstyle?

During WWII, the short cuts of the enlistees was everywhere.  Of course, on the stage of war, but back home, too.   In fact, my grandfather has maintained this hairstyle since he was a private in the Army.   There were a couple of dicey years in the 70s where it was about 1 1/2 longer and his sideburns were 7 millimeters longer, as that was the decade of letting it all grow out.  Maybe it wasn’t the times, but because his grandchildren, like me, drove him crazy, and he was too busy to go to the barber.

Since the illustrations end with an entire page of styles from 1989, which is entertainment all its own, perhaps the author decided that the 40s were not a banner decade for hair.   Perhaps, it was felt that it was just “more of the same” and the decade was just a holdover from the 1930s.  I would like to think that it just didn’t have its heydey with reenactors until the 90s, as surely there was much more to talk about than what the chart lets on.