Is your significant other fond of the Golden Era?

FedoraFan112390 · Jan 25, 2013

Whether it be your girlfriend, boyfriend, fiancee or spouse, how does your significant other feel about the Golden Era, or things vintage in general? For those of us here who are very much into the Golden Era--who dress vintage, who wear fedoras, etc--how does your SO respond to it?

My girlfriend loves Elvis, Elizabeth Taylor, Marilyn Monroe, Rockabilly, Gospel and Country Music--Basically, she is a '50s girl all the way. She is nuts about Elvis. She'll dress and do her make up in much the same way as a 50s starlet (Liz Taylor is pretty much her idol), but does it modern, adds a modern twist to it. And it's a lot easier and more acceptable for a woman to wear a '50s style Poka Dot dress today, than it is for a 22 year old guy to wear slacks and a polo and shined shoes. Somehow, all the dress styles of the past never really went out of style or look odd on a woman...

She grudgingly accepts my wearing a pencil mustache or a vintage haircut, or wanting to dress vintage, but at times will call me "Grandpa."

She also is not at all into the 30s or 40s with only very few exceptions. To her, 1956-1964 was the best period in history. She loves The Misfits (Gable/Monroe) though, and some of Gable's films but that's it. Anything before '56 generally turns her off, and she thinks The Beatles and the British Invasion ruined music and culture in general...But also detests Jazz.

AtomicEraTom · Jan 25, 2013

My last girlfriend was an antique collector, not so much into full-fledged vintage living as I am, but at least we shared the Antiques interest.

I'm holding out for someone who's as into it as I am, now lol

AmateisGal · Jan 25, 2013

Nope. In fact, we are polar opposites on our likes. He's a car guy through and through (is in autobody school right now) and would be much happier driving his Harley than anything else. He's also an old metalhead from the '80s. lol He also is more into the sleek lines of the modern era regarding furniture style, etc. He would be happy with black leather couches and silver, metal tables. Blech. Which is why he can decorate the downstairs (his man cave) and his garage any way he wants, but the rest of the house is mine. lol

Although, I *did* get him started on Cary Grant films and he now loves them all. The closest I could get him to wearing vintage would be an Indiana Jones-style fedora.

splintercellsz · Jan 27, 2013

My girlfriend likes the styles, and items of yesteryear, shoot, she even thinks it looks great on me, but has not quite advanced to the point of wanting to wear vintage styles. She says she is willing to try though!

Touchofevil · Jan 27, 2013

My Lady is more of a fan of the Victorian Era than the Golden Era. And although she appreciates the clothing, cars, music, and architecture of the G.E., she is not so much a fan of the movies.

The Wiser Hatter · Jan 27, 2013

My wife tolerates my interest.

My problem is
she feels I dress better than her. She will say before we go out don't dress up to much.

Hunter_aka_Scotty · Jan 28, 2013

Thankfully my wife shares ALL of my obsessions and hobbies. Especially vintage clothing. We sew together, we clean guns together and we watch a vintage film at least twice a week while cuddling on the couch. We tend to be very much glued at the hip and sharing such interests and hobbies we can indulge in them with out holding anything back. I don't think we could stand being with any one that didn't share our obsessions.

flat-top · Jan 28, 2013

Not at all. But in the beginning it was our differences that attracted us to one another. As of late however it's "Well, we never really did have anything in common."

fashion frank · Jan 28, 2013

My better half and myself dress as we please but at the same time we both are probably better dressed that the average person .

Yesterday we went up to Boston to Salmagundi hat store www.salmagundiboston.com to pick up my hats that I dropped off there last week on a Saturday for cleaning and reblocking .

This is how I was dressed .

This is how my wife was dressed ,she is the one second from the left with the red flapper hat .

BTW the rest of the people in the picture with my wife are the owner, first from the right in that above picture and the rest of these fine people in the picture are his very capable staff .

So you see there are a lot of people who "dress retro" , as for myself I don't care who does or does not like the way I dress I'm living for myself !

All the Best , Fashion Frank

CaramelSmoothie · Jan 29, 2013

I like the fashion and really that's about it so I can't really say that I am that fond of the golden era as many of the other Loungers are, but I appreciate every era. My boyfriend and the rest of my family? Absolutely not. My boyfriend dresses very hip-hop (think timberland boots, baggy pants and a baseball cap) and the rest of my family most likely have no idea what the Golden Age would even look like if they saw it, lol. They don't have any good things to say about it and think it to be ridiculous for anyone to even want to relive it.

tuppence · Jan 29, 2013

Wow!! You and your wife must turn heads. Just gorgeous.

fashion frank said:
My better half and myself dress as we please but at the same time we both are probably better dressed that the average person .

Yesterday we went up to Boston to Salmagundi hat store www.salmagundiboston.com to pick up my hats that I dropped off there last week on a Saturday for cleaning and reblocking .

This is how I was dressed .

This is how my wife was dressed ,she is the one second from the left with the red flapper hat .

BTW the rest of the people in the picture with my wife are the owner, first from the right in that above picture and the rest of these fine people in the picture are his very capable staff .

So you see there are a lot of people who "dress retro" , as for myself I don't care who does or does not like the way I dress I'm living for myself !

All the Best , Fashion Frank

tuppence · Jan 29, 2013

I'm with Caramelsmoothie, my partner doesn't dress hiphop, but that's the music he listens to. He doesn't mind my music though and that's all that plays in the house, he's not one to care what kind of furniture we have and I/We don't really dress vintage.

Feraud · Feb 4, 2013

My wife has always been interested in the past. She doesn't dress vintage but is tasteful and ladylike in appearance. She has taught me a lot about furniture, architecture, kitchenware, and a lot of other things. We share our interests and respect the differences.
After knowing her for 27 years (married for 20) I can say there is no one else I am more excited to share experiences and new hobbies with.

Benzadmiral · Feb 14, 2013

My lady friend Miss Linda isn't into the vintage stuff to speak of. She dresses well, rarely a T-shirt or the like for her, and loves to prowl thrift stores and vintage stores -- but she goes for much more recent things. She refers to my dressing well and wearing a fedora as "old-fashioned." I say, "That's the point. Do you want me to go everywhere in a T-shirt, shorts, and a baseball cap turned sideways?"

LocktownDog · Feb 14, 2013

*looks around*
Significant other?!?
Sigh. None.

Canadian · Feb 15, 2013

You bet. Her mother owns a curio shop and she is a musician. I love the way she'll get dolled up for a performance, and we both take stylistic cues from each other. Even if we go to Le Chateau, we both know she's walking out with a dancing dress and I with another hat. And when I mean hat, I mean fedora or porkpie.

I have even been known to put on tails for her birthday parties. I only get about 6 opportunities a year to wear tails.

olive bleu · Feb 15, 2013

My husband is interested in History, and is always up for watching period films, etc but never really dressed vintage..

although in the past couple years he has accumulated a fine collection of vintage Hawaiian shirts

He is also very supportive of my interest in it and will buy me vintage jewellery for presents and scolds me when I haven't sewn anything new for a long time.

TomS · Feb 16, 2013

My wife appreciates the stuff, but doesnt *feel* it like I do.

xXClockwork · Apr 24, 2013

I'll start by saying my wife and I are aged 27 and 25. Her parents had her later in life, they are very close to 70. She has grown up with antiques, in older homes, etc. for the duration of her life and so she appreciates these things, and likes that I enjoy them as well.

Doc Smith · Apr 25, 2013

My wife and I love classic films, period costume dramas, and historical fiction set in the era. She grew up with parents who were 1950s labor activists (and then 1960s civil rights activists), is a big fan of American folk tales and folk music, and loves historical research.

My wife is also a midlist genre author, who started out in science fiction and fantasy but has moved with the market to the romance, mystery, and young adult genres. Her most recent trilogy of young-adult fantasy novels ("Dust Girl," "Golden Girl," and "Bad Luck Girl") is set in the 1930's, ranging from the Dust Bowl to the MGM back lot to the South Side of Chicago.

Unlike me, she doesn't habitually dress in a vintage style, but she loves to join me in dressing the part for vintage-themed events. Luckily, we're having a resurgence of interest in the 1920's here in Ann Arbor, giving us a couple of opportunities since this January.

Is your significant other fond of the Golden Era?

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