Not charting unexplored territory here, gentlemen, not at all, but I give you fair warning that studying the ads in those vintage 'Esquire' magazines TRS and I adore so much might, if you're a wool/cotton purist, make your hair stand on end and your teeth chatter. Even the shoe ads can look a little 'low end catalogue'.
I have not yet come across a single ad for Brooks, Press, Tripler, Paul Stuart, even Saks. TRS, however, may have done. I can't be certain.
What's the 'thrust' of the message in those ads? Smartness, neatness, success. The little woman at home in the Giant vibrator, you out doing business with the boys, scotch in hand. You'll maybe barbecue the odd hamburger come the weekend. So - Don Draper territory?
Pure wool, though, does put in an appearance with a rather nice-looking Pendleton dressing gown. I'm going to fish about on Ebay Com. to see if any have survived.
Most of those materials were sold as the new wonder product weren't they? I've said before on an older thread, they had something to sell and they didn't have to back it up with any facts. It's not difficult to imagine the marketing meetings; "Tell 'em what they want to hear.......... take the money"
I wonder if the ads were aiming at him and her? You'll look smart and successful, but it's likely her that buys it. She wont be, and doesn't want to be, spending time washing and drying. She can't go near it with an iron. Truth be told she's starting to wonder if her time wouldn't be better spent at work herself. As a 50s/60s young executive you've probably no idea where the iron is kept, let alone know how it works. Something for everyone at the right time.
Until you start getting electric shocks when you walk over the nylon carpet to switch on the floor standing lamp. Or stink like a polecat on a warm day. But never mind, here's a word from our sponsors to tell you about the new wonder - antiperspirant
All the rage at one time. Not for me. Drip dry. Nasty. I worked with an architect once who only wore nylon shirts. Camp as a row of tents he was.
3 flats in the Barbican and very wealthy. Quite a character with an exotic choice of male friends and a poor choice of clothes. He crackled as he glided along the nylon carpet in our studio.
A beauty and a blessing: we can now make more informed choices.
There's a nice bit in 'The Hip' about Miles Davis wearing a cashmere suit. Now that I like the sound of. Summerweight. I'd have been thinking about cotton suits for the warmer weather about a dozen or so years ago.
There is much truth in what Spendthrift says. My God, the power of marketing! Propaganda under a different name.
Lo and behold, a Pendleton dressing gown is being offered on Ebay here: no tie/belt and a high starting bid. My guess is it will go unsold.
£79.95 starting bid. I used to start everything on Ebay at between a penny and 99 pence.
There are natural fibres/fibers in Esquire, mainly in the much coveted September 'Back To College' editions where the classier ads tended to appear. I have seen the occasional Brooks ad in Esquire, and certainly plenty of J.Press, and Bass Weejuns, and Florsheim Imperials. Lots of Brooks ads in 60s editions of The New Yorker.
About time I bought a few copies of the 'New Yorker'. I have the September '63 'Esquire', but have been saving a thorough perusal for a rainy Sunday.
Oh, Peter Arno once got a mention as 'Best Dressed Cartoonist' over on 'The Wardrobe'. Myself, I'm a great admirer of Charles Addams. Treat yourself to that old 'Penguin'.