Introduction and a few questions

[strider_ani]

Hi all, I'm the new guy around here and I would like to say what a great forum you have here. It's what I've been looking for for quite a while. Now, I'm not sure if this is where introduction threads should go, but if it should be moved, please don't hesitate to do so.

Anyways, my name's Mario and I'm from Victoria, Australia. I'm 17 years old and have just started learning to dance swing. I like reading, playing games, hunting and sailing. I also love the style of these time periods and I've been trying to get clothes that fit this era. I've already gotten quite a few things, but my lack of knowledge in fashion does little to help me when I'm buying clothes. Right now, my wardrobe is a cross between my dads/grandads clothes + a few things I've bought and my teen/casual clothes.
Along with the things I've bought so far are: a Zoot Suit, an Akubra Fedora, and a pair of Wayfarer II sunglasses (Just cus' I love blues brothers.)
Anyways, whenever I go shopping for vintage or vintage reproduction or anything that even remotely looks vintage, I have no idea what to look for. Currently, I'm looking to buy a few more full sets, so a few t-shirts, pants, an overcoat, vest etc. I'd like to gradually build up my wardrobe slowly so it doesn't hurt my pocket, but I'm willing to work for what I buy.
I've been getting a lot of my ideas, from a website (http://artofmanliness.com/), and they actually led me here. But in a few articles I've been reading, they've suggested that nothing beats a shirt made to fit. While I'm all for this view, it can get very expensive buying every shirt custom made, which I'd like to avoid. So I did a bit of searching around and found this website: http://atailoredsuit.com/mens-style-guide-tailored-suit.html
It has wonderful articles but alas, it's VERY expensive and seeing as I have to convert American dollars into Australian dollars then it almost doubles in price. Then I found this site: http://www.onlinesuits.com/index.html Which is much cheaper. The only problem is, I dunno if they are trustworthy and if they can actually make a shirt in a vintage style.
Anyways, If it turns out that they can - once I find out what exactly IS a vintage style shirt - then I'll probably buy a few shirts from them.

The other things I was looking for was Flannel Trousers, something not even an internet search wants to show, god knows if I can get the down here in Aus, but otherwise, what kind of trousers, other then Flannel, should I be looking for/buying? I bought some really cheap ones a while ago and they have 3 pleats in the front. I specifically went to each shop asking if they had pleats and these were the only ones in the whole shopping center.

The Jacket/Suit, and overcoat can wait. I figure it might be quite a large sum of money to get a good quality one, and I've got a whole lot of my dads leather jackets that I can make do with for now, even though there more 1950's style.

Anyways, looking forward to being a part of the community and heres a picture of me in my Zoot Suit. XD

 

[zetwal]

Welcome to the Lounge XD. And thanks for introducing yourself with such an elegant photo. I can't answer your questions but am sure others will. Happy sailing -

 

[scotrace]

Welcome to The Fedora Lounge!

 

[Barrelhouse]

I'm not the best guy around here to answer your fashion questions but here are a few thoughts to mull over until you hook up with the experts. Insofar as your trousers are concerned, there are certainly folks that sell classically cut flannel trousers. Magnoli's Clothiers (the link at the top of our forum) advertises a very classically cut pair in a rainbow of colors.

You can also go with worsted wool or wool gabardine in a pair of trousers and get that same vintage look. I think its more about the cut than the fabric if you are trying to achieve that Old School elegance. I'd say any wool pants with a nice drape worn at true waist (not the hip huggers that are more popular now) with double pleats, full legs and hemmed in a cuff will serve you well.

The easiest starting point to put together a swing wardrobe is a few wide ties in 40's patterns (easy to find and inexpensive), a period looking fedora (looks like you have that covered already), and some period looking shoes (two tone spectators are what pop into everyone's mind but any traditionally cut leather shoe works great).

Hope this helps some. Great to meet you and welcome to the Lounge!

 

[strider_ani]

Thanks for the welcome. That info is great, something I'm looking for is just some straight cut answers that I can then take to someone and say "Hey, this is what I want." and not have to go through the rigmarole of explaining everything in detail.
I have a pair of dancing shoes - Aris Allens - that I wear when I go dancing. The only thing is that the leather on the bottom scratches easily so I'm afraid to wear them outside. I usually change my shoes at the place I'm dancing. Otherwise and black leather pair that fits comfortable on me is what I look for, if their plain they can usually go with anything.
Right now I'm going for the Blues Brothers look, So black pants, black tie, white shirt and all, but I've only got a black leather jacket and not a suit, which seems to work fine anyways.

 

[MisterGrey]

Pretty sweet outfit. I'd lose either the braces or belt, though; combining the two was more in vogue in the 1980s as a statement of excess favored by Wall Street power brokers. For the swing look, I'd pick one or the other. Regardless... gosh, that getup's snazzy!

 

[Shangas]

Hi Mario, welcome!

I'm 21, also from Melbourne, Victoria.

Small world.

 

["Skeet" McD]

Pretty sweet outfit.... gosh, that getup's snazzy!

Faith, I'll second that! Welcome! This is not my period of expertise, so take it for what it's worth---probably not much!---but the tie looks too wide to me. Perhaps you have taken a modern tie and tied it further down the length than was intended, resulting in the large knot. Others, more knowledgeable than I will be able to tell you whether my thought is correct...but, if it is...keep an eye out on the boys ties, if you can't find/don't care to wear originals....they are shorter, and can be tied where they're intended to be...and still result in the shorter length we're aiming for.

Keep up the good work! I think you look fantastic!

"Skeet"

 

[strider_ani]

Yep that's what I did with the tie. I wasn't sure what kind of tie was 'wide' back then and I didn't know how long it was supposed to be because the pants are so high, so I made it short and stubby so it looked wide and short. I'm actually pretty short myself so most of my ties I try to make short.
The thing with the belt was that because I'm slim, I wasn't comfortable with just braces 'cus they where still a bit big, so I added the belt so I could wear it easier. But I'll keep that in mind. I'll need to pay more attention to waist sizes.

 

[strider_ani]

So does anyone have some info about the shirts?
I had a look at the guybera thread and I'm definately getting a few of them for summer, though it's winter down here in Australia now.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

Welcome! Really dig the Zoot Suit!