Theoretically speaking...

[Baron Kurtz]

(Aluminum is correct).

Heretic!

bk

 

[Senator Jack]

GQ: How to Buy A Suit: The Complete GQ guide

6. Think about the vents on the back of the suit jacket…

• A center vent is all-purpose; it is both modern and traditional. You can’t go wrong.

• Side vents (left) are more European; a bit more suave.

• A ventless jacket is just plain wrong. It says you think it’s still 1986.

This one's for Manton. I knew I saw this again recently and finally tracked it down. The third point, you must agree, is just plain bad advice from a supposed authoritative publication. Now doesn't that tick you off?

REgards,

Senator Jack

 

[manton]

This one's for Manton. I knew I saw this again recently and finally tracked it down. The third point, you must agree, is just plain bad advice from a supposed authoritative publication. Now doesn't that tick you off?

REgards,

Senator Jack

I mean, it's GQ. Hard to take seriously. I don't think they even consider themselves authoritative. If you look at those guides from one year to the next, they contradict themselves all over the place. It's sort of embarassing.

The sad thing is, GQ is the direct decendant of the great Apparel Arts. The name and format were changed in (I believe) 1958. How's that for a decline in standards!

 

[Jovan]

to return to the original point: i don't know if this is the peaked lapel suit mentioned from the film, but notice how the lapels visually echo his angular face which adds to his alert, serious demeanour.

don't forget that while the fit of a suit is important it must all ultimately enhance your main feature... your face. lapel shape and size, colour and fabric are important factors as they frame the face and should compliment your natural colouring, tone and personality.

(Flusser is pretty good on this topic)

I was confusing the two, I believe. I think that may be a double breasted, judging on the lapel width and there being a flower hole on both lapels. I've worn a double breasted coat before and think they work well on me, they just aren't as versatile unfortunately. Someday, maybe a DB solid navy suit.

iammatt: When did I go into exodus? I don't post on SF as much as I used to, but I haven't gone into exodus. I can assure you he didn't cause that either. Now, had you read his posts he stated his "honest opinion," yes, but was being rather callous and rude about it. "I think you look stupid," or something to that extent and giving no constructive criticism whatsoever. Furthermore, the Santa hat reference is just unacceptable, as he's just trying to upset me with it. I won't state what it's about here, as I feel it is inappropriate for this message board according to the rules.

 

[scotrace]

The sad thing is, GQ is the direct decendant of the great Apparel Arts. The name and format were changed in (I believe) 1958. How's that for a decline in standards!

Thanks for confirming this. I saw this information for the first time last week in an Ebay listing for some early issues of GQ. It seemed off the map! "Nooo...... that's hogwash..."

 

[Fletch]

A ventless jacket is just plain wrong. It says you think it’s still 1986.

Or 1996. Or 1946. Or 1936.

Or maybe you don't give a damn what year it is, which would just be unforgivable.

BLEAH!!

GQ don't stand for Gentlemen's Quarterly no more. But what does it stand for?
Don't answer that...

 

[Marc Chevalier]

GQ don't stand for Gentlemen's Quarterly no more. But what does it stand for?
Don't answer that...

Gay Quarterly?

Not that anything has changed in that regard. Gays and women have been the driving force of changes in men's fashion since, well, forever. Take a second look at Apparel Arts from the '30s: http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=10535&highlight=Apparel

.

 

[Senator Jack]

Yeah, that is one magazine that should join the 21st Century and just come out of the closet.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Let me put it this way: In the very early '60s, gay men in San Francisco were already dressing as hippies. In the mid '70s, gay men in Los Angeles were already sporting short hair and dressing in Lacoste shirts and chinos. In the mid '80s, gay men were already pierced and tattooed. In the mid '90s, gay men were already wearing skinny trousers and big-collared shirts.


Men's fashion trends follow gay men ... and it is fashion-conscious women, the media, and the stores that convince straight men to 'catch up.'
I say this without judgement. It's just the way of the world.

.

 

[Fletch]

Men without women

Amazing. Short-shorts, ankle strap espadrilles, preciously matched colors, wasp waists and neat little moustaches. And they're almost all paired up. And not the hint of a female...except...maybe...a pair of lissome arms extended from a high dive.

Let's just say it's a good thing these trends didn't catch on. At least not outside Bohemian Grove or Cole Porter's pool deck.

 

[Feraud]

Do clothes make the gay or gays make the clothes?

That is a rhetorical question so no Project Runway jokes.

 

[Senator Jack]

C'mon, did the gay community really found this fashion trend?

Or even this one?

 

[Marc Chevalier]

In general, gay men are more fashion-conscious than are straight men. It's a small step from being interested in fashion to working in the industry, and then eventually leading it.

.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Or maybe men were just a little less uptight re: clothing in the 30s? Maybe the associations had not yet been made between slightly flamboyant dress - see those AA's - and homosexuality (in my experience this is one of the more untrue of the stereotypes).

Of course there have been incredibly flamboyant dressers throughout the ages who it turns out were homosexual.

I must say i'm a fan of the onesies being sported as "beach suits". I'd wear one of those.

bk

 

[Marc Chevalier]

C'mon, did the gay community really found this fashion trend?

They didn't invent either one, but they certainly latched onto both and found ways to market them. Punk fashion didn't enter the mainstream until big designers started adding 'punk' details to their clothes lines.

.

 

[scotrace]

Drat

It's just the way of the world.

.

This sent me 50 pages into a Google image search for the two foppish prigg actors from the Blackadder series. No luck. But one of them says "you must not question; it is the way of things."

lol





yeah. Had to be there.

 

[Fletch]

Guys, let's remember what an obnoxious and confining thing traditional masculinity can be.

From babyhood you are not allowed to cry. You have to submit to endless stupid rituals to win the love of a good woman. Every few generations you're obligated to go off in huge droves and let people yell at you, and maybe later, shoot at you. And if it were up to most heterosexual men, anything resembling personal style would be a good excuse for a beatdown.

In other words, we straights can celebrate it, we can study it, we can clothe ourselves in it, but with very rare exceptions we can't create it.

Fashion is the commercial side of style. It's not going away. And it can be frustrating, because the commercial and the not-so-commercial often are very close. They come from the same places, people, and circumstances.

What did Bismarck say about the law? "It's like sausage. If you enjoy it, do not watch it being made." That's also true of style, I think.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

"The way of the world." A phrase with a pedigree: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Way_of_the_World


.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Guys, let's remember what an obnoxious and confining thing traditional masculinity can be.

In Elizabeth Hawes's excellent 1939 book, Men Can Take It, there is a chapter entitled "Men Without Hats!" In it, she argues that men -- especially the upper middle class types -- avoid any change in fashion, even when it offers them more comfort and practicality. Why the avoidance? Because any interest in fashion was seen as "sissy." Some examples of so-called "sissiness": ventilated shoes in the summer, business shirts without ties in the summer, and hatlessness.


In the same vein, Mrs. Hawes points out that a generation earlier, soft collars and cigarettes were considered to be "sissy" for men.

.

 

[Jovan]

I love how GQ says that 1986 thing regarding vents, and then later GUSHES over Cary Grant's suits (ventless) in North by Northwest. Come the hell on.

I personally like double vents, but I've never had a problem with ventless suits, especially double breasteds (which look a little too busy with vents or ticket pockets anyway). And actually, some styles (such as half belt backs) lend themselves better to a ventless back. Speaking of which, I've had a little change of heart on patch pockets. Those look especially good with a half belt and no vents. Good example being Ford's suit in Raiders of the Lost Ark, also donned by a certain gent on here...

Didn't it have forward pleats in the movie, though?