I've just seen rather a nice Pendleton jacket (from when they were still made in the USA: no lazy outsourcing whilst still pretending to be 'iconic') on Ebay. It's attracting some interest, too. But it's described as a 'chore jacket'. (Elsewhere on Ebay we have 'Work Ware'). I wish sellers would drop this nonsense. I may be very, very mistaken but did Pendleton ever intend their jackets to, say, chop wood or haul coal in? Might Edward Hopper have been sporting one when feeding the pot-bellied stove in his studio? Woolrich looks a bit more convincing. I'll also swallow it with Dickies, Osh Kosh and others - so long as the item looks as though it was more or less 'constructed' for, well, chores. Which most of us have to perform from time to time. Patrick will know better than I, but was L.L.Bean clothing ever intended to stand up to much punishment?
This 'chore jacket' thing is getting out of hand. I sincerely hope Vetra don't have much to answer for in 2022.
The chore jacket thing comes from the Hipster phase which is starting to fade now. I saw it around 2010 first in Holland Park, London in a Norwegian staffed bar where all the clothes were rugged outdoor/work wear. It was very new to UK at that time. The irony is, it started with clothing that literally was meant as workwear, the Hipster thing came first out of real craft interest (and later gardening too). As these things become fashion, then mass market - the terminology becomes more generic. It's towards the end of the phase now though. I don't think Vetra really were a big brand in it all, that came later. It is interesting that JS twitter pictures now feature as much hipster/workwear type areas as it does Ivy or Mod.
Any interested in Vetra - there are cheap ones here along with other relevant items: https://www.burrowsandhare.co.uk/
Fads and fashions now seem to crawl slowly, painfully and infuriatingly upon their collective bellies. These silly women in their ripped jeans seem to have been around as long as 'shabby chic' - which, in itself, was nothing new. The idea of 'upcycling' may have originated with Vance Packard for all I know and was certainly being advanced by authors like Jocasta Innes years ago.
In terms of clothing, it's as though the sexes had become wholly stultified. Why? Can it only be the negative impact of mass media, of social media?
I admit, I did have my flirtation with Filson about a dozen or so years ago. The romance was short-lived.
Monty Don & Bill Cunningham, great exponents of "The Chore".
Yep. Monty has been doing it before it was a thing. Watching global garden documentaries as I do - he is consistent in that look, as it is just practical for him and he carries it into the rest of his life.
I had my new CC olive green chore jacket on this morning. On a quick trip to the shops I teamed it up with a green tartan scarf, Lee 101Z jeans and sand walkover red soled boots. The jacket fits me well and looks good. (if you feel comfortable in something then you just know). Context is everything though and it wouldn't have looked good yesterday at a funeral I attended where I wore an Austin Read dark navy raincoat.
I love the chore jacket but then at my Finnish home I do a lot of building work in timber, cutting down trees etc. and in a year or so I will be wearing it outside.
In a way those shorter Gloverall jackets I've ordered (and already arrived) are like a chore jacket. But thick wool like their duffles. Not overly 'chore chic' though, just really like a smart Donkey Jacket. I could create the 'bin man about town' look.
I used to laugh seeing these guys going out for their expensive craft ale in selvedge rolled up jeans, chore jackets, lumber jacket shirts, Redwings. Mysterious chains for their pocket watches/tools etc, massive overly-long beards, loads of skin ink and newsboy caps. Twenty five year olds trying to look like forty year old Finnish carpenters. But hey, that was 2019 and simpler times. Not sure what they are out in now.
Last edited by An Unseen Scene (2022-02-08 10:30:10)
Die chore jacket! Indeed. Just because some ancient New York photographer wore them it does not mean they look good.
Shapeless clothing with no merit other than basic workwear.
I wonder if the short Woolworths Saturday boy jacket will become fashionable? I had the longer coat as I worked down the front on ‘pick and mix’ and broken biscuits. Lads at the back on gardening and electrical items wore the short jackets.
https://www.woolworthsmuseum.co.uk/1960s-working.htm
Quite like a blue chore jacket - maybe wear with a long sleeve stripe top, denim and desert boots. More of a french vibe than ivy, but that 'shapelessness' translates to within the ivy look, I think. Prefer a Keydge but struggling to get hold of them these days and my old Orvis one didn't wear too well.
Picked mine up very cheap and stopped wearing it when they started getting worn by everyone. The fad seems to have passed on. There are a few 'workwear' things that fit into a 'rugged ivy' look, I think, which you can take or leave. Got a cord shirt jacket that fits easily enough with a more casual take on the ivy look. Suits me just fine, but won't be for everyone.
Much rather both those jackets to a harrington, though, I must say...
The chore jacket is the Ivy sack of the 21st century - soft comfortable functional clothing for masculine men. Formal tailoring is very naff and softness is key to all.
Monty Don is a style God to us Vetra and Bill Cunningham lovers.
I still see a world dominated by men in bad suits and shoes. Like really bad. Put some of these berks in a bit of Vetra/Le Laboureur and some desert boots and watch the world get better, quickly.
Sorry, but I still despise them - or, rather, the people peddling them online, often with chic rips, tears and smears of dirt and paint.
In fact, I've just been taking a pre-breakfast look. Revulsion creeps in anew. I need toast, orange juice, coffee and Vitamin D. Why do they remind me so much of old-fashioned greengrocers and school caretakers? I quite like the look of barn coats, though. I doubt if I'd wear one. Gloverall, where art thou?
Greengrocers and caretakers only wore their jackets when they were at work.
How about a barbers jacket for summer? Light weight, easy to brush down. Nylon fabric might be an issue though.
I suppose it's this notion of work wear as leisure wear that gets my goat. It's as though Arthur Seaton, instead of putting on a suit and tie to meet Brenda, decided to turn up still wearing his greasy Raleigh overalls.
Bill Cunningham looks to be a nice, genial old fart. He also looks as if he's wearing the jacket because he can afford nothing better.
How about a barbers jacket for summer? Light weight, easy to brush down. Nylon fabric might be an issue though.
@Kingston1an, ooh nice maybe in grey or navy blue.
Runninggeez - I sent you a PM off subject, might be of interest to you,
My grandfather, the adored Billy, was a barber. He was one of the nattiest dressers I ever knew, almost defiantly so, in his purple shirts and Hush Puppies. Circa 1967. He was never seen tieless except when in his dressing gown. He took his dog for a walk wearing a tweed jacket, collar and tie.
Thanks Stax, always forget to check PM's.
Bonus points for using the words "curated," "artisanal," and "heritage" when selling on old coat on eBay.
We currently have on offer an 'iconic' Odie/Simons Shetland crew-neck. Amazing the quantity of items being sold on Ebay that are damaged in some way. But, in an age when mothers of school age children often look as though they're part of a Ramones tribute act and Ralph Lauren apparently offer chinos with holes in them what can we expect? The USA-made flannel shirt I'm wearing right now has a slightly frayed cuff, but the seller pointed it out and it was reflected in the price.
The phrase 'Mid-Century' is becoming especially annoying. Often the seller means the 1970s or later. Vague isn't in it.
AUS - ‘ The chore jacket thing comes from the Hipster phase which is starting to fade now. ’
… and thank goodness it is. It seemed as though the rougher and tougher the pseudo Finnish carpenters lookef, the more namby-pamby and flakey they actually were. There are still a few comedy beards around and they are now looking rather anachronistic, a bit like the guys who defiantly continued to wear flares 12 months after everyone else had stopped. Beards can be shaved off of course, not so easy to deal with the monster tribal or half sleeve tattoos that cost you an arm and a leg (arf arf) and that you were so proud of in the pub a couple of years ago. . Lasering them off doesn’t always work out either.
It's the tattoos, more than the beards or inappropriate clothing, that I've always thought would prove to be a problem for the aging hipster. Like a snapshot in time the tattoo will go out of 'fashion' and then what? Like Woof says lasering might prove problematic with some of the tattoos being sported. I passed a tattoo parlour this morning (there must be a dozen in my area) and there was a 35+ geezer proudly sitting in the window getting his half sleeve tattoo added to. Oh dear.
I think we can all agree that tattoos are not Ivy?