Tom,

I'm sure that many of us on this forum dress better than their wealthy acquaintances. It's a hobby, like stamp collecting, and is not related to social class, education, or wealth. I'm not sure this was any different forty years ago. The last time I talked about clothes with other men was in college, a long time ago. The group and the tastes was homogenous-there was only way to dress and a limited number of stores that were correct (the usual suspects-not even Frank Brothers made the Ivy cut).

Regards,

Steven

I really enyoyed reading your post, Tom. Although I would never have been wealthy enough to have used a subscribed car, it's nice to know they existed. The description of the "beater" was bang on, nowadays it's all flashy cars and egos! How...un-trad (forgive me, Terry).

Also, thanks to Trip for the Tom Wolfe article.
I will read it tonight.

TV

The old Chevy Malibu station wagon from the 60's was one of my favorites.  Maybe not as desirable as the Buick (or above) but who could beat that plasticy interior.

Just today on maybe MSNBC or CNN or some link there from (someplace I can access from work) there was a story about how the rich are different today. I think basically the theme was they don't dress, although they expect the people who work for them to dress, they have no manners because they are self made. It threw out the statistic that 90% of the truly wealthy are self made and only 10% inherited money.
      We do live in a gilded age and for the most part the wealthy today seem to disdain the style and substance of previous generations who had money. They do adore the Northeast ivy schools. (I guess I am still an icon. I did graduate from what they used to call a "Little Ivy" college) and they probably don't make too much of the Yale Harvard Princeton class distinction. Any old northeast school is good enough, which maybe true. Most of them did not graduate from a northeast college. They don't care about the clothes: this board irrelevant.
       They love big empty houses with lots of windows providing water views. They don't care about antiques (american colonial and federal furniture are often a bargain today). the taste in art is bad (Jeff Koons. make me vomit). But they will spend major bucks for 'designer' jeans and tee shirts and designer shoes. Sailing is too hard. Old houses are teardowns. this is the reality.
     I don't like it much but I understand that I have nothing in common with the truly wealthy of today. And I love spending my time with the people in their 80s and 90s now. Maybe the last truly stylish people in the world. At least they possess the style I have always aspired to.

My father's "beater" during the 70s was a 1966 Ford Galaxy.  I hated that car.  It was white with black leather interior, had a huge V8, power windows and seats.  However, and this is key, the heater never worked.  For some reason my father took great pride in driving it in the coldest of weather.  I can remember going for an hour ride one day and literally losing my big toe nail due to the beginning stages of frost bite.  Of course today, that car would be a "classic" and his pride and joy, a shiny new Oldsmobile, would still just be an Oldsmobile.  Life is funny.

Last edited by Incroyable (2007-06-22 20:41:14)

and mind you, in the 60s British cars were exotic and aspirational here in the colonies circa when I was growing up.
      But to continue a theme. When I was growing up people valued fixing up stuff, keeping cars running. The theory was that the older stuff was better than the new stuff. and that probably was a good theory for someone who had weathered the Depression. I concede it may no longer be a good theory. The money today creates its own values and I consider the values weird.
       When I was young you could get tickets for the local symphony by inherting them. Today the symphony barely scrapes by with a greying audience. The old clubs of New Haven beg for new members. the old stores are way out of fashion. The world I grew up in, is GONE WITH THE WIND. probably it will never come back. The kids of those people who are now very elderly, those kids have no real style.

Last edited by Horace (2007-06-23 14:19:21)

Last edited by Incroyable (2007-06-23 15:28:10)