What killed the '40s suit?

Jay · Aug 2, 2009

What's a quarter top pocket?

Solid Citizen · Aug 2, 2009

MR.t/bold LOOK

You've got some SPLANIN to do on this look!

Solid Citizen lol

GoldenEraFan · Aug 2, 2009

MisterGrey said:
Think of the lesiure suit of the 70s as the direct descendant of the zoot suit of the 1940s and you'll get my gist.

I'd say the '70s leisure suit is also a descendant from the '40s leisure jacket, only the '40s and '50s versions look better and were made of wool instead of polyester.

Mr. Rover · Aug 10, 2009

thunderw21 said:
Preach it! I despise the boxy, top heavy look of the late '40s, especially in double breasted. I guess it'd be the Bold Look:

I've had 3 or 4 suits like that with the shoulders and low button stance...resold all of them!

EL COLORADO · Aug 21, 2009

Evolution!
The itchy wool 40's had their day, it was time to step down to make way and take it to the next level, loosen up them 'spenders and plain just get GONE!
For all the knocked out pastel colors, flecks, pleats, two tones and buttery gabs and rayons of the spectra-color 1950's.

David Conwill · Jan 5, 2011

Marc Chevalier said:
From Esquire magazine, 1950:

“Mr. T, introduced in Esquire last month, has been booming across the country. In every major store in every community, he’s right on target – and will stay there throughout 1951. This man has everything the American male has been wanting in his wardrobe- from tapered hat to trim shoes, a strictly new and masculine closetful of clothes. Around the clock, twelve months a year, the Mr. T idea is to make a man look taller, trimmer, and always in perfect taste. Mr. T has that comfortable, custom look that you’ve been waiting for in your apparel: straight-hanging lines; restrained colors; fresh, new designs. Examine our man at the left; he’s Mr. T personified. Everything he wears is right in the T-formula: Tremont hat ( snap brim, tapered pinch crown ), pinpoint collar shirt (fastened with a pin), tartan checked tie, Tower model suit (three button notched lapel jacket), and trim, straight-tipped shoes.”

.

I would love to see a post detailing the Mr. T look. I see it referenced so often, but have never really grasped what it means. Obviously, Googling it is no help.

-Dave

resortes805 · Jan 5, 2011

Mr. T is a trimmed down version of the bold look...like this:

or this:

Compare to a bold look suit, also from the early '50s:

]

David Conwill · Jan 5, 2011

Thanks!

-Dave

fluteplayer07 · Jan 11, 2011

This is what I know as a 40's bold look DB. (Hope Anon doesn't mind me stealing this from his Etsy modeling.) I'm not quite seeing the exaggerated top-heavy profile in it, or is that silhouette more typical to the later 40's?

Fletch · Jan 11, 2011

Those lapels are actually pretty dramatic - they cover a lot of territory, almost all the way to the shoulder.

I'm going to guess that the shoulders are seriously padded, too, maybe as much as 1" deep at the sleevehead.

fluteplayer07 · Jan 11, 2011

I own it now - the shoulders are pretty heavy on it. The wool is quite heavy, also. Skeleton lining, and it doesn't have any vents. I still am missing the top heavy boxy look; it has a fairly even hourglass distribution in my opinion.

And a general question to those of you more educated in the clothing field than hats: Does it appear to be an orphaned jacket (as I have always assumed), or was it made as a sport coat?

Widebrim · Jan 11, 2011

fluteplayer07 said:
This is what I know as a 40's bold look DB. (Hope Anon doesn't mind me stealing this from his Etsy modeling.) I'm not quite seeing the exaggerated top-heavy profile in it, or is that silhouette more typical to the later 40's?

It's a bit hard to determine, due to the distortion of the photograph, but that is a Bold Look jacket, and top-heavy was dominant from about '45 to '51. I does look like it was part of a suit, and not a sport coat.

resortes805 · Jan 11, 2011

fluteplayer07 said:
This is what I know as a 40's bold look DB. (Hope Anon doesn't mind me stealing this from his Etsy modeling.) I'm not quite seeing the exaggerated top-heavy profile in it, or is that silhouette more typical to the later 40's?

I wouldn't consider that 100% bold look. Below is a better example.

Fletch · Jan 11, 2011

Widebrim said:
I does look like it was part of a suit, and not a sport coat.

AIUI, sport coats were almost never double-breasted during the 40s and early 50s. The blazer look was out of style except where it was required, such as at club functions.

Widebrim · Jan 11, 2011

Fletch said:
AIUI, sport coats were almost never double-breasted during the 40s and early 50s. The blazer look was out of style except where it was required, such as at club functions.

Correct.

fluteplayer07 · Jan 13, 2011

Thanks guys.

anon` · Jan 13, 2011

fluteplayer07 said:
This is what I know as a 40's bold look DB. (Hope Anon doesn't mind me stealing this from his Etsy modeling.) I'm not quite seeing the exaggerated top-heavy profile in it, or is that silhouette more typical to the later 40's?

Woo! I'm almost internet-famous! Didn't realise that anyone else here knew that was me

(And, being other other one here to have sported that coat, I'm of the distinct opinion that it's not a sport coat. Just an orphaned suit coat.)

1961MJS · Jan 13, 2011

Hi, I don't know if it's been mentioned, but the double breasted look was out because it took more wool. Same reason for getting rid of the zoot suits. There's a war on you know!

Later

Chas · Jan 13, 2011

But they were around briefly after the war, where austerity was not an issue.

I think that it was because suits became something that men worked in, rather than went out in. Single breast w/ lighter materials were in demand.

fluteplayer07 · Jan 16, 2011

anon` said:
Woo! I'm almost internet-famous! Didn't realise that anyone else here knew that was me

fftopic:

lol pdxvintagette mentioned you as the model a while ago... I think it was on the Lounge, or in a PM. [huh]

I really like her Etsy shop; there's actually a lot of great things that pass through the men's department. That green varsity sweater (the one with that huge 'S') is one of my favorite pieces. Just waiting to get it freshened up at the dry cleaners.

Cheers,

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