It seems to me that the question comes down to whether you view this as a practical pursuit, or a hobby. S.E. is dead-on, from the point of view of building a wardrobe that one can wear on a daily basis, if that is all one wants to do. If you want to trot out the old chestnut of authenticity, he is also more on the money - it requires a neurotic mind to obsess over the minutiae of how one dresses, and is a mentality that was probably foreign to most of the guys in the vintage photos we trade. Some in this space seem to believe that men in from the Victorian Age through the 1960s (give or take) obsessed over their attire. Having been around a lot of old Ivy Leaguers etc in my life, I'd issue the counter-argument that a lot of what we place on a pedestal were just considered clothes, and dressing was absorbed by osmosis.
Long story short, I view dressing and clothes as a fun pastime (and am, frankly, not married to Ivy), with the fringe benefit that it has also helped me earn more money, and get noticed by ladies from time to time. I'm not in this to be practical, I'm in it to have fun.
Last edited by mhalat (2018-01-10 18:45:10)
Like mhalat I got into Ivy for the drugs and the women.
Last edited by Babbling Brooks (2018-01-11 10:57:48)
@B_B - I agree that Stan is a treasure! And, speaking to my own neurosis, I totally have a 'best of' sheet from the late 70s prep checklist stuck in one of my OneNote notebooks. Am not /so/ obsessive that I am working through it as a shopping list, just fun inspiration when there's a hole burning in my pocket.
@Babbling Brooks - Ha! Ever since my mother started dressing me in sailor suits as a toddler, I've drawn a lot of inspiration from Donald Duck; getting into lots of trouble, but trying to look semi respectable while doing so. Apparently, the Norwegian sweater I was wearing when I met my current girlfriend really did it for her, which is strange, but I'll take it.
The fact that the legit stuff is much harder to procure now than in 1960 is what makes me a little neurotic about the clothes I have. If I snag a hole in a Shetland sweater or a vintage tweed sack I can't have Mrs. Worried Man pick up a reasonably-priced replacement on the way home from the market.
I have this sense of foreboding that the stuff will be even more scarce 15, 20, 30 years on. Like, what if O'Connell's went out of business? I, for one, would be really fuc#ed. So I think this notion makes me take more care and consideration with my wardrobe. Has also fostered the collecting habit: "Well, even if you don't wear it often, just hang on to it because it's a nice piece. You'll regret getting rid of it because you'll never find it again."
But if I hit the lottery or something and money was no consideration I'd consider starting over from scratch and just hit O'C's, Press, H. Stockton, and having an impeccably tailored, staple wardrobe like the guy in the OP.
I've just been focusing on taking pleasure in wearing what I have recently. I've parted with a lot of stuff over the past year that I really liked the idea of owning, but didn't wear. Having a more manageable, more wearable, wardrobe is definitely something I've been working toward. My closet and dresser got to the point where the options were just too many. It was daunting to even look through everything and put together an outfit. So I would typically forego that task and just ended up wearing the same few items in rotation all the time. I still have too much, but I'm getting closer to a nice equilibrium. But it's still damn hard to pass up certain items I come across. That acquisition high can pull hard!
I think Ivy sucumbs to this idea of average being attractive ...and is probably the driving force behind its longevity, and i dont mean its attractiveness in trying to bag a mate, I mean its reason for being so attractive in terms or proportion etc. to the eye, its avoidance of extremes etc.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Averageness
Id call it the polio coat
Im sure weve done this a thousand times before on a few threads, ive never got bored of it though!
The el-pine is finally avaible in the UK via amazon global
Last edited by Babbling Brooks (2018-01-11 15:34:26)
Trouble with ebay when youre starting out on sports jackets etc is fit, if you go somewhere and they do alterations its probably better in the long run, you normally have to kiss a few frogs when it comes to jackets,, problem would be finding a kosher seller of ivy kit.