93 Days Until Black Friday
As a kid, I enjoyed going to the mall after Thanksgiving and seeing all the Christmas decorations. When I was twenty, I worked at a mall and was a little unsettled that the lights seemed to go up earlier and earlier. One mall put them up the day after Halloween!
I remember the infamous Black Friday of 1995. I was innocently working at an upscale shop when I noticed my very pregnant customer holding her back and making a face. I asked her what was wrong, and she replied:
“I’m in labor. That’s okay though. This is my third. I have twelve hours to wait so I might as well shop!” She called to her two unruly children, “If you be good, we’ll go get an ice cream!” between contractions.
Of course, as you can imagine I had mixed feelings of panic, wondering if she would have her baby somewhere in the window display of our store, and half sort of in awe of her perseverance
It’s only August, but some folks are already thinking about Christmas shopping. Yes, it is completely true. Blackfriday always is more associated as an unofficial holiday for women, but plenty of men are guilty of being sucked in to the mayhem. Normally, many men would go out a few days before and wrap their presents in brown paper bags, but when “feats of strength” are even hinted at, retailers have men at “hello.”
First, there is the endurance test. Show up at 3:00 A.M. If you are among the first in line, you can buy a brand new television set for only a buck. What they don’t tell you is that there are only two, and the rest are priced at double. It requires a pre-opening wrestling match to determine who is the fittest.
You can navigate this all like an adventure hero with a little site called BlackFridayScans.com, and it has every “Day after Thanksgiving” circular before it even hits your newspaper. Of course, they are not up YET, but you can sign up for email alerts for the moment they are.
Uncategorized | Comment (0)A Brief on Briefs
Excuse us for bringing up a delicate subject for a moment..Why exactly do men buy vintage underthings? It seems to be a growing trend. Being sticklers for every historical detail? For a certain thrill? Neither….Read on!Wearing vintage briefs certainly won’t matter for reenactors. Afterall, you do not have x-ray vision to find out if the gent at a 20s style Gatsby picnic is wearing historically accurate underthings and in most cases, wearing them or wearing something freshly store bought would not impact the outward look of a garment. Men’s underthings do not have quite the history that ladies underthings do, which are meant to support and shape the body depending on figure type but more so the fashionable tastes and social morals of the day. (Of course also, there were times in history of course that while the proper lady wore layers of undergarments, the gents wore none!)When perusing the internet, and hearing from wearers of vintage underthings and other vintage clothing merchants alike, we found that a certain fetishist aspect was also not the reason for the interest like we half expected. Afterall, the underwear preferred is usually left over stock from a store that closed years ago.The big, mysterious reason that men buy vintage underwear is…They don’t make ‘em like they used to. You heard us right!There are several reasons they aren’t “made like they are used to” and one has to do with homogenization of sizing and the other has to do with features. The features that men may find in years past, even as late as the 70s and 80s are as follows:Fit. Boxer shorts especially are made in Small, medium, and large, and it is leaning that way with regular briefs too. It does save money for manufacturers’ bottom line because everyone is forced to pick something. They don’t have produce signage for sizes that don’t sell through as quickly and they have fewer templates required to cut from, also decreasing the chance of irregulars. One size does not fit all, and just as women have fitting problems when they are expected to fit into one of 3 or 4 sizes, men have similar, even if less obvious issues. I am sure everyone has experienced, male or female, when one size was too small and the next size up was too big!
Snaps front styling. One found a snap front feature in different styles of briefs rather than full elastic. This allowed for easy dressing, especially for those with special considerations such as mobility issues, freedom from irritation that some men experience with elastic waistbands or even perhaps allergies to synthetic fabrices.
Quality of fabric. The content of the cotton used and the grade of fabric, and the fact that items were not blended with synthetic some men find more comfortable, and some find to last longer through multiple washings.
Kangaroo Pouch. There, I have said it. Munsungwear, I believe, actually coined the term. Instead of just a slit in the front, older styles actually had a complete seperate area in the front, to speak politely. It allowed for a better overall fit because the leg holes were not encumbered by the excess of material needed in the front, and allowed further wearing ease with certain types of garments.
Leg Bands. Many times the leg area was fully formed, not just an afterthought, and the leg bands could be elastic on regular briefs.
Gussetting. The seams and crotch area were lined, unlike some modern versions.
We are not intending this to be the “last word” as it is a vast subject and there could be a whole book I am sure devoted, nor are we out to “convert” anyone to wearing vintage underwear. We hope to have explained a little more about what makes vintage men’s underthings buyers tick, so you will know what it is all about should you run acrossed an ad for some, and not think it is anything strange, or more so think that folks need to get a life and stroll down to their local store and get what everyone else is wearing with no complaints. Of course, you can still think that way, but at least you know to use the old phrase “there is a method to their madness.”
fashion history | Comment (0)Labor Chic
What’s plaid, involves knit caps in the summer, requires black workboots and carhart pants?
It’s not grunge, or so they say. It’s “Labor Chic.”
While the ensemble does not include outgrown hair, an “I don’t care” beard, and we cannot assess aroma/B.O. from a photo, they are not fooling me at all. This looks suspiciously like someone has run out of ideas and is already recycling the look of my college days and trying to repackage it back to me. The difference, they claim, is that army surplus is out and surplus from the local railroad workers union is in. Details magazine claims that we are going to like Schlitz.
My questions is: it is one thing to “mix in” elements of work clothing, or don your Pendelton 49′er, but if you walk into a club in “The Loop”, won’t someone think the owners called for a metro dallas slab leak repair company when you waltz in? All the while, the actual skilled trademen would be sitting back in their “going out” clothes and wonder what they heck you are doing?
If you are looking for a skilled tradeperson or repair company, you can go to clicksmart, where there is a directory or reputable companies. If you just look around, now that the fashion is moving towards work clothes again, you may sorely disappointed to ask an investment banker or a college kid who is passing by on the assumption that their clothes indicate that they know what you are doing, and your foundation repairs will be in capable hands.
If you are truly looking to just copy the fashion style of a more capable person yourself, the latest fashion magazines will have the latest on what you need to look like someone who works a little bit harder than you for a living.
Wife Dressing
Looking back through the archives, I stumbled across a Wall Street Journal Article. In it, Tom Ford tells men to not have their wives dress them. He says “in doing that they are denying their ability to express themselves through clothes.”
There has been a long tradition of women buying or selecting clothing for their husbands. Perhaps it is because women traditionally did more shopping than men and it was a matter of convenience.
There is also a lot of press about the “woman’s touch.” In numerous films and television shows, an old run down house or a bachelor pad is the back drop and a character comments that it “could use a woman’s touch.”
There is also truth to the fact it is true that sometimes the picture in one’s head of the effect one has in a selected outfit is not always the reality. One may hang on to a comfortable hair style and “5 lbs ago” pants a little too long and could use the validation of a trusted peer rather than people walking down the street pointing and whispering.
So, do you think Tom Ford is correct, that men should prevent their wives from selecting wardrobe items, or do you think he has it all wrong and wives save their husbands from embarrassment on a daily basis?
fashion tips | Comment (1)