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What would you not be seen dead in?

Edward

Bartender
Messages
24,779
Location
London, UK
View attachment 90832 Which MG do you have GHT? I've got a 1970 B and I use the "1970" loosely as it's an Australian import which came to Oz as a knock down kit so is a mash of 68-70 parts. She's a bit of a "vanilla" classic but runs like a dream and has never left me in the smelly stuff.

Very nice. You're right that in that ers there were some 'bitsas', though if you prefer the styling of the earlier cars, that can be a bonus. In the UK, if memory serves, 69 was the year during which the radiator grill as on yours was replaced with the black 'honeycomb' grille, and in 1970 the bumper overriders gained a rubber piece on the front of them.

If ever I were to run a car myself, an early 70s, BMC era MGBGT would be a nice motor. Less sought after by the purists than the pre-70 cars (or especially the '66 and earlier, which as memory serves was the last year in which leather was standard for seating - after that it was an optional extra), but still very practical - and, crucially, still mechanically sound (the big rubber safety bumpers they adopted from 75 onwards were ugly to my eye, and coincided with them plaing around with all sortso f other spec to cut manufacturing costs - suspension took a turn for the worse, and the higher ride height didn't do handling any favours either).

That's a lovely 'B' that you have got yourself there, set off in racing green, a real beauty. Compliments to you.
It was most perceptive of you to identify the car in my avatar, it's the later YB model, just 1301 were ever built. What appeals about the Y type is that the design is pre-war. It came to the drawing board in 1937, prototypes were running in mid to late 1938, production was due to follow after the car's appearance in the 1939/40 Motor Show. The hostilities that was WW2 meant that MG's factory went over to war effort production. The Y type and TC were mothballed until car production resumed. So although my car was one of the last built in 1952, it's appearance is very much 1930's.
View attachment 91120

It's interesting how many British cars built after the war carried on those pre-war stylings, and for so long - not only the MGs, but the sidevalve Fords, which were very much prewar cars even mechanically, in production right up til 59. My dad used to have a Sunbeam MkIII, a 1957 model from the last year of production, which still looked very prewar (though it was a real racer by comparison, which was a suprb combination for longer runs). Of course, even the next generation of Brit cars were long-lasters; hard to imagine now how little - bodyshape aside - the Austin Cambridge really changed across its long run, or, for that matter, the venerable Morris Minor, during its 1948 to 1971 run. Different world now; I've not kept up with new cars for the most part in years, but I doubt many of those that were current when I last paid attention (twenty years ago or more) are models still around.

I see a lot of no shorts or flipflops. I spent 2009-2012, 3 years in the hotter than hell country of Iraq. We had days that hit in the 140's. 7-12s long ass days. The minute we got off duty, it was shorts, tees and flops. 2014-2017 the South Pacific, Marshall islands, I went 24 months without putting on a pair of long pants. When it is hot and humid like that, pride and style go out the window. Just saying. Now Montana...different story altogether.

IT'll always vary on what people are comfortable in, I guess. If getting out of the Sun is absoloutely not an option, that's when I not only stick to the long trews, but also often reach for the long sleeve shirt too. I burn easily, and I know too many people who've had run-ins with skin cancer to risk it.
 

Charlie_Marlowe

New in Town
Messages
13
hannahdec0117-14.jpg


And the latest fashion trend:

meninskirtstrend.jpg


Well, I just leave it without comment...
 

Canadian

One of the Regulars
Messages
189
Location
Alberta, Canada
Soviet uniform. Seriously, I'll throw on some BDUs for hunting or hiking, but I'm not entitled to wear an actual combat uniform anymore so I don't buy too many directly sourced milsurp items. I probably stop in at the surplus store once a week, but just to buy MREs and look for inexpensive work gear. I used to buy a lot of camo and OD gear, but now I've discovered Dickies shirts and pants and boots from Cabelas. I primarily wear civilian clothing today, but it's always with a nod to the army, or at least what I picture an officer of infantry would wear.

I wear shorts in the summer, but I wouldn't want to go shirtless or in a sleeveless shirt, simply because many years ago, in the desert, I was camping with a friend and without a shirt my back turned to hamburger over five days because I was shirtless. Won't do that again.

I also wore a wooly pully in the desert heat with a combat jacket, liner in. I got up in the AM with my platoon, it was a little chilly and I had never encountered a desert walk, so I ended up putting on my field jacket, my wooly pully and a tee shirt. I desperately wanted to remove those layers, but I remembered that the best way to carry something is to wear it, so I kept them on. A Brit army medic stopped our patrol, looked at me and announced I was certifiable, so he gave us a ride in his truck. Oh yes, I had web gear on top of it all, and it was over 35C.

Bright side is the squad I was in won the competition. We all got a medal and a little knife.

C.
 

Zoukatron

One of the Regulars
Messages
143
Location
London, UK
There's a lot of stuff I would not be caught dead in.

Something that looks terrible that I definitely do wear, however, is socks and sandals. If it is hot enough for me to wear sandals, then it is hot enough for my feet to get really sweaty and develop a disgusting, dirty, sweaty layer under the sole - socks mitigate this greatly.
 

Edward

Bartender
Messages
24,779
Location
London, UK
Soviet uniform.


I've long been something of a fan of Soviet iconography and uniforms, but nonetheless there is a certain wry amusement that one could wear very obvious Soviet stuff without being questioned, whereas if people think it's "Nazi".... I guess Stalin gets something of a cultural pass because he largely stuck to killing his own, and the Soviets were instrumental in the Allied WW2 victory (even if it's rarely acknowledged). The acceptable face of totalitarianism? I'd love to read a good study of the psychology of things like this.

A Tesla. I'd rather walk than drive an electric car.


In a couple of decades, that probably will be your choice. I'm rather at a loss to understand the objection to them, but then it seems mostly to be an emotional thing.
 
A low heeled, wide round toe, short top western styled boot. Reminds me of what Andy Griffith wore. Once described in the cowboy boot thread as "high top slippers".
View attachment 87230


This made me laugh. I know you're kind of cowboy boots, but I LIKE ropers. They're comfy and good for kicking around. I much prefer them to those square-toed things that are so popular today.

Of course, I wear Crocs when I go wade fishing, so I'm a well known fashion disaster.
 
Messages
11,154
Location
Alabama
This made me laugh. I know you're kind of cowboy boots, but I LIKE ropers. They're comfy and good for kicking around. I much prefer them to those square-toed things that are so popular today.

Of course, I wear Crocs when I go wade fishing, so I'm a well known fashion disaster.

A lot of folks like ropers and I don't take issue with them. They're just not what I'm comfortable wearing. The square toes I just don't get and crocs are fine so long as they're under water.
 

tropicalbob

My Mail is Forwarded Here
Messages
3,954
Location
miami, fl
Very nice. You're right that in that ers there were some 'bitsas', though if you prefer the styling of the earlier cars, that can be a bonus. In the UK, if memory serves, 69 was the year during which the radiator grill as on yours was replaced with the black 'honeycomb' grille, and in 1970 the bumper overriders gained a rubber piece on the front of them.

If ever I were to run a car myself, an early 70s, BMC era MGBGT would be a nice motor. Less sought after by the purists than the pre-70 cars (or especially the '66 and earlier, which as memory serves was the last year in which leather was standard for seating - after that it was an optional extra), but still very practical - and, crucially, still mechanically sound (the big rubber safety bumpers they adopted from 75 onwards were ugly to my eye, and coincided with them plaing around with all sortso f other spec to cut manufacturing costs - suspension took a turn for the worse, and the higher ride height didn't do handling any favours either).



It's interesting how many British cars built after the war carried on those pre-war stylings, and for so long - not only the MGs, but the sidevalve Fords, which were very much prewar cars even mechanically, in production right up til 59. My dad used to have a Sunbeam MkIII, a 1957 model from the last year of production, which still looked very prewar (though it was a real racer by comparison, which was a suprb combination for longer runs). Of course, even the next generation of Brit cars were long-lasters; hard to imagine now how little - bodyshape aside - the Austin Cambridge really changed across its long run, or, for that matter, the venerable Morris Minor, during its 1948 to 1971 run. Different world now; I've not kept up with new cars for the most part in years, but I doubt many of those that were current when I last paid attention (twenty years ago or more) are models still around.



IT'll always vary on what people are comfortable in, I guess. If getting out of the Sun is absoloutely not an option, that's when I not only stick to the long trews, but also often reach for the long sleeve shirt too. I burn easily, and I know too many people who've had run-ins with skin cancer to risk it.
Same here. One article of clothing that's made a big comeback in my warm-weather wardrobe is the vest, and I've found some very light and nice linen and silk-linen ones on the web and especially at Brooks Brothers. The last sale they had I managed to grab a couple of tattersalls, which I've always loved. Nice to have those extra pockets, too, when I can't wear a jacket.
 

Bugguy

Practically Family
Messages
563
Location
Nashville, TN
A ball cap. Closest I come to that abomination was a Filson tin cloth cap when they made the short brim.

Worse yet, the ball cap on crooked with the label still stuck on it (inner-city style) = one demographic, and the ball cap worn backwards = another demographic. In my opinion, both reflect poorly on the wearers IQ.

I found one of those "never see the light of day" pictures of myself from 1971 - tight double-knit shirt, contrasting double-knit wide bottom pants, and two-tone shoes with Cuban heels. I always carried a fire-extinguisher when around smokers. One spark and I'd go up in flames. Never, never again!
 

Bugguy

Practically Family
Messages
563
Location
Nashville, TN
Same here. One article of clothing that's made a big comeback in my warm-weather wardrobe is the vest, and I've found some very light and nice linen and silk-linen ones on the web and especially at Brooks Brothers. The last sale they had I managed to grab a couple of tattersalls, which I've always loved. Nice to have those extra pockets, too, when I can't wear a jacket.

You guys convinced me to look for a vest. BTW... at the CLT and BNA airports tonight (Friday nite fly home for business travelers), I saw many suits, but not one 3-piece. Also, many suit-backpack combinations.
 

PeterGunnLives

One of the Regulars
Messages
223
Location
West Coast
Contemporary-style tennis shoes.

For casual wear, I prefer my PF Flyers or Converse All-stars. I even wear them when doing strenuous, high-impact exercise. That's what they were designed for, after all.
 

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