More Cavaricci from the MailBag
I recently got a note from new friend of VG’sMD - Akber. He wrote in response to “Cavaricci Redux”
I really like the style of Cavaricci Menswear, and would like to see someone bring back the style. I feel that this Style has been totally underrated and misrepresented. I also would like to see banded collar shirts brought back as well. Plus in warm climate areas, I would like to see the usage of breathable fabrics, which also should not require Dry Cleaning. Wash and wear is perfect
With the amount of mail I have been receiving about said pants and clothing, it seems like I should change the name of this blog to the “Z Cavaricci presents VintageGent’s Menswear Daily,” as the subject is where the bulk of our mail comes from.
Akber, you are half in luck. Banded collar shirts are in style, as a matter of fact. This offering, at left, is at Neiman Marcus. There are surely interpretations available at a variety of price points. I spied some available in a variety of fabrics, including cottion. Unless, of course, you were referring to a Nehru collar, or the less formal modified crewnecks.
Until next time,
.
1980s, 1990s, cavaricci | Comment (0)Paintball: The Sport of Gentlemen
I added a new category to the blog called “Repository of Useless Information.” No, that is not my middle name, although some may think it is. I love trivial facts, and there will be some trivia to be gleaned here before the post is over. I’ll be adding more to the category from time to time, so read it and be prepared for your next party.
In my aimless wanderings, I stumbled by an online paintball store. It made me marginally nostalgic for participating in laser tag birthday parties, as at such parties we were imagining or hoping that we were really playing paintball. We weren’t interested in hunting. We didn’t want to harm animals, we only wanted to hit eachother. Although laser tag gave us that feeling that we were actors in the “Tron” movie of our youth, it lacked the requisite supplies and messiness. We would also argue the fact that the sensors fired by accident and would argue and cajole our way back into the game.
There is no “gray area” with paintball. The paint makes several things irrefutable. Firstly, the fact that you are “out”. Secondly, the Tippmann x7 sniper paintball guns and others firmly indicate to your friends that you are in fact an “army guy,” or a special opps person. With laser tag, half the time is spent arguing because they can’t tell that you were obviously supposed to be Luke Skywalker, and there can only be one Luke!
What is the point of all this?
Did you know that paintball wasn’t just a 1980s invention? Paintball actually originates in the 1940s from the forestry industry. Something was needed to mark trees a little more clearly and efficiently. Thus, the paintball gun was born.
I wonder who the first person was who decided to shoot their buddy to find out if it hurt or not. The recipient of the blow would have probably been the one decide that you need some sort of tactical vest or face protector. Well, maybe that person didn’t think of that, as their thinking cap probably wasn’t ready for the adventure of creativity. They probably were just complaining about how much it stung.
Of course, paintball didn’t make its way into bachelor party outings or corporate events until after 1981. Thus, it causes us to associated the activity with modern life, versus something gentleman and ladies in the middle of the century would have thought about doing after their weekly bridge game.
That’s the historical Tippmann for the day. I mean historical tip, man.
Until Next Time,
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 and submitted to the Vintage Fashion Guild label resource, where it also appears. If you are a trivia junkie or a fashion lover, you should check it out.
Until Next Time,
From the Mailbag: Buying Retro Cavariccis
Jason read a recent post “Cavaricci Redux,” and was inspired to write in:
I have been looking everywhere to buy a pair of
80’s/90’s Mens Z Cavaricci pants.Do you know where I may find some?
Thank you ,
Jason
Dear Jason,
In my opinion and observation, the style of Caviricci pants that you speak of have not “come around again,” so to speak.
The upside is that not “everyone” is looking for them just yet, so you won’t have as many people fighting you for them! There has not been a Hollywood Star or a musicians who has decided to wear them and create a trend for them.
The downside is that you won’t find that locating a pair is very easy. They are a little “too new” just yet for vintage shops and websites looking to stock them, aside from maybe if the store owner is about my age and buys them because they can’t believe that they saw a pair. Local auctions that will sell “lots” of vintage clothing consider them “just old clothes.” People aren’t fighting over them yet, but on the other hand they are “not coming out of the closets” where they have been forgotten to be offered for sale.
Don’t despair yet. Another note is that because this style didn’t “work” for everybody, there would be an equal number of people who would have put them back in the closet unworn or after just one or two wearings, so the ones that you find might be in “like new” condition. The other half, of course, wore them incessantly!
My best advice would be to keep checking Ebay. Reason being is that when no one else is selling them, people sometimes “test the water” by “trying” something on ebay first to see if it is worth putting something in an online shop. Or it may be something their customers wouldn’t normally buy. I have seen jeans in smaller waist sizes show up there periodically with the same high waisted style as the dressier pants. Also, your neighborhood consignment shop may carry them. It may be dicey as some consignment shops will carry anything that is in top notch shape, but some may reject clothing that they don’t fee is “in style” this minute.
Happy hunting, and I will keep an ear to the ground if I hear any news for you.
1980s, 1990s, cavaricci | Comment (1)Caviricci Redux
Quite some time ago, I wrote about Z. Cavaricci pants. Let’s take a trip back in time, shall we?
I had a bad flashback today. I read an article that mentioned Z. Cavariccis. For those that want to forget, Z. Cavaricci created a men’s style in pants that in the late 80s to early 90s. Many a young man who I knew wore them. I am asking whoever made themselves in charge of looking at influences from the 80s to overlook this one when designing next season’s clothing.
They were high waisted like tux pants, but the belt loops were a bit lower, at the natural waist. The legs were pleated, and what made them veer way off the track of a classic trouser, was that they featured a deep “v” front yoke. It caused the legs of the pants, because they were pleated but flat acrossed the stomach and groin area, to pleat out even farther. On the tall, gangly, and knobby kneed gent, it was actually flattering because the pleats laid right and it made his legs look more proportional. You noticed the guy’s overall ensemble.
But on everyone else…it was “Here comes pants.”
If you were stocky, or were fit but were more muscular of leg, the pleated legs brought a strange adaptation of puffed out harem pants to mind or made one look bowlegged. Of course, this was overcontrasted by the virtually flat triangular yoke covering the stomach to the top of the groin area, appearing like a virtual “directional arrow” towards something that I am sure the designer could not have realized, or the joke was on the wearer that their whole…um… “area”… was being pointed to. The finishing touch was to buy them long and cuff them.
The rear of the pants had little style, most of the budget had been put into the front.I have no photo to show you. I could not find one anywhere. So you may just have to take my word for it!
Well, flash forward to this week, when an alert reader sent me the following image:
The shirt is hiding just how high the waist band is on the man, trust me. Maybe I remember them worse than they actually were. However, having them on a model doesn’t have quite the same effect.
1980s, 1990s, cavaricci, vintage ads | Comments (7)Here Comes Pants!
I had a bad flashback today. I read an article that mentioned Z. Cavariccis. For those that want to forget, Z. Cavaricci created a men’s style in pants that in the late 80s to early 90s. Many a young man who I knew wore them. I am asking whoever made themselves in charge of looking at influences from the 80s to overlook this one when designing next season’s clothing.
They were high waisted like tux pants, but the belt loops were a bit lower, at the natural waist. The legs were pleated, and what made them veer way off the track of a classic trouser, was that they featured a deep “v” front yoke. It caused the legs of the pants, because they were pleated but flat acrossed the stomach and groin area, to pleat out even farther. On the tall, gangly, and knobby kneed gent, it was actually flattering because the pleats laid right and it made his legs look more proportional. You noticed the guy’s overall ensemble.
But on everyone else…it was “Here comes pants.”
If you were stocky, or were fit but were more muscular of leg, the pleated legs brought a strange adaptation of puffed out harem pants to mind or made one look bowlegged. Of course, this was overcontrasted by the virtually flat triangular yoke covering the stomach to the top of the groin area, appearing like a virtual “directional arrow” towards something that I am sure the designer could not have realized, or the joke was on the wearer that their whole…um… “area”… was being pointed to. The finishing touch was to buy them long and cuff them.
The rear of the pants had little style, most of the budget had been put into the front.I have no photo to show you. I could not find one anywhere. So you may just have to take my word for it!