Look at them.
They've never even heard of "Trad"...
This is the lost age we should all mourn.
The days before the monkeys started to go tap, tap, tap on their computer keyboards and "Trad" was born.
My tears are your tears.
t.
Last edited by Terry Lean (2007-07-18 01:40:46)
^^
How stylish & inspirational!
TV
I think the Mulligan photo perfectly illustrates how early modernist jazz ivy style transitioned into Mod and Skinhead. It's like a whole essay in a single photo. And Baker with the dessies.
More importantly, the photos illustrate an aspect of Ivy that "Trad" seems to have forgotten--the clothes still look good, perhaps even better, with an air of dishevelment. It's obvious neither of those guys were getting dressed for a photoshoot. Sorry to bring up Trad again but i've just been browsing the AAAT forum and it is amusing to say the least. Ivy league style lends itself to hard drinking, Trad does not.
In fairness, Brownshoe did post these pics and more on the West Coast Trad thread over in Andytrad. There has not been a great response to them. I don't think this aspect has been forgotten, maybe some just choose to ignore it.
Thanks for the shout-out, Chris.
I posted this thought over on AA--from what I've seen, it seems this 60s West Coast look largely eschews pattern (Gerry's swell gingham shirt being a notable exception) and focuses on an almost graphic approach of clean lines and solid, understated colors (lots of earth tones, various shades of white, and cool blues and greens, with the occasional shock of something like bright red).
I love the look, and have been angling at approximating it with my summer wardrobe. I was really inspired by one of Parker's post on SF in one of the contests to look deeper at this cool little cul-de-sac of American style.
I prefer it to the more "trad" country club/resort approach, with the reds, emblematic motifs, bright colors, etc.
I do have a couple of great vintage madras jackets that I wear a lot, but always with everything else very toned-down--solid oxford, tan chinos, solid knit tie.
If anyone knows more about this regional manifestation of Ivy, I'd love to hear/see more.
It's because "trad" is out of touch with the original Ivy style, hence why I wanted to post a couple of those pics here, as more folks would appreciate them on this forum. I think when Trads see images like this, they just don't get it, because it's usually being worn by youngish upstarts.....hence something they have nothing in common with.
Thanks GS, I'll look out for that. Sounds tasty.
I think the photos didn't go over so big over there more because, after all the sturm und drang, I think a lot of what is so derided as inauthentic and misguided about "trad" as it practiced on AA is due to a misunderstanding--AA "trad" is not Ivy League. It is (largely) an adult version of Preppy (as codified by the OPH, or "Necronomicon"), which has its deepest roots in Ivy League, but is not the same thing. All of the criticism about "trad" not being "Ivy League" is beside the point. Of course it isn't. I like most of it, don't care for some of it. So what?
Why this causes such consternation is an endless mystery to me.
Last edited by Coolidge (2007-08-02 16:21:34)
I am in accord with messers Brownshoe, Coolidge, Horace and Chris H. on these points. Nobody has forgotten real Trad but many people have ignored it in the persuit of the Andy Trad fantasy.
I'm off to tie one on now- And I'm not talking about bow-ties.
More as my liver allows -
Jack.
(Wonderful loafers on Mulligan.)
Gotcha. For whatever reason (maybe because I'm not a church-goer and my office has no dress code?) the more resorty stuff, while not exactly my thing, just doesn't bother me. In fact, in these days of cut-offs, flip-flops, and t-shirts worn anywhere and everywhere, I think it's pretty durned cool.
And maybe I'm just dense, but I honestly don't get that high-and-mighty prescriptive vibe over there. Just seems like a group of guys who love to dress in a certain way and enjoy discussing it. Nerdy as hell (guilty), but innoccuous.
But anyway, no need to poke that bear anymore.
When I get bored, I think I'll look around for some images of James Dean, Sal Mineo, and cats like that to see how they fit into this California thing that I'm digging. Any other suggestions? How about the Beach Blanket Bingo crowd?
Check out "The Endless Summer," which is circa '63. There's a scene where they get on a plane and these California surfers are traveling in suits. Imagine anyone going on vacation in a suit today, let alone a surfer. They've got the requisite clean-cut look of the time and the aloof blond Sonnenkind Mike Hinson looks super cool in his wayfarers and air of self-absorption.
Ol Sports,
Are any of you blokes surprised by the lack of blazers in Tony V's pictures of the Princeton dining clubs above? I would reckon that if university lads were to dress for a photo today, 95% would wear a blue blazer and khakis. In yet it appears that tweed is the order of that day. Interesting!
Cheers,
Trip