Summer of '39: when cool became cool

[Fletch]

From Life, July 17, 1939.

According to this piece, it was in 1934 that the men's clothing industry began trying to get "Northerners" - which back then usually meant Northeasterners - to accept lightweight, light-colored suits for hot weather wear.

Apparently a death-dealing nationwide heat wave in the summer of '34 did nothing to change prejudices that a respectable gent should not dress like a "cracker." Nor did another in '36. It was in '39 that the resistance finally began to fail - altho Wall Street men were still being warned against the "pajamas at work" look decades later.

Note that an Irish linen suit weighed more than a wool gabardine!

 

[Chasseur]

Fletch great post!

 

[Feraud]

It was in '39 that the resistance finally began to fail - altho Wall Street men were still being warned against the "pajamas at work" look decades later.

Oh how prophetic! :eusa_doh:


Thanks for posting it. An interesting read.

 

[thunderw21]

Good stuff, thanks.

 

[in/y]

Quite informative, thanks for the post.

 

[WH1]

Fletch,
a great post and the pictures are truly great. Especially the closeup shots
Thanks for posting this, it should be in the grand sticky at the top.
Todd

 

[Feraud]

^I will make sure it is included.

 

[Fletch]

Hey, thank you! Happy it's been so well received.

 

[Richard Warren]

Doesn't say the tropical wool is 10 oz, but that the suit weighs 10 oz less, or so it seems to me.

Northerners sure are slow.

 

[Feraud]

It looks like we are still trying to catch up on this one.

 

[Orgetorix]

Doesn't say the tropical wool is 10 oz, but that the suit weighs 10 oz less, or so it seems to me.

Northerners sure are slow.

The 10 oz. mentioned for the tropical wool is the weight-per-yard measurement normally used for cloth weights. Confusingly, the author lists weight for other fabrics made up as suits--the weight of the whole suit, not the per-yard weight of the cloth.

The finest modern wools can't make a cloth much below 6-7 oz per yard. As a typical suit requires 3-4 yards, a suit weighing 10 oz. would have had to be made from cloth weighing 4-5 oz. per yard, accounting for wastage--clearly an impossibility.

 

[Haversack]

Is that Basil Rathbone in the photos holding a magnifying glass?

Haversack.

 

[Richard Warren]

It seems to me to say that the tropical worsted suit is "10 oz lighter than the average wool suit," consistent with his references to the total weight of other suits.

 

[LuckyKat]

What is on the front cover of this issue? I want to buy it for those great details.

 

[Fletch]

It seems to me to say that the tropical worsted suit is "10 oz lighter than the average wool suit," consistent with his references to the total weight of other suits.

I think you're right.

I mentally inserted a comma after "10 oz." - but it doesn't flow right somehow. Life captions were written tighter than that.

So pending any further discoveries, disregard what I said about a 10oz worsted. I've edited it out of the OP.

Cover for 7/17/39 (note the correct date): Lord Halifax, who ate lunch on the train to Geneva (presumably not all that unusual an occurrence - he must have been going there to negotiate something.)

(Hint when looking for old Life covers: Stay away from life.com. They will only show you pre-selected "theme groups" of covers - you can't search them by date. I found this at http://oldlifemagazines.com.)

 

[Baron Kurtz]

nothing like him.

Is that Basil Rathbone in the photos holding a magnifying glass?

Haversack.

 

[cookie]

Confirmation of the mixture of materials in Palm Beach cloth.

 

[Nick D]

Note, 'This tussah silk and acetate is considered luxury fabric...'

Very interesting info, thanks for posting!

 

[Richard Warren]

I've seen references to Palm Beach cloth but don't know what it is. Is it extinct? Was it very common? What happened to it?

 

[Feraud]

Palm Beach.