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12:36 am
April 3, 2011
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I think we've been mostly talking about women's fashion in this section of the forum so far! So, what about men's fashion from the 40's? Obviously I think the most famous men's fashion style from them is the zoot suit, something that was pretty cool back then but looks just a bit silly nowadays. Some of the other styles of suits looked pretty nice, though!
11:36 am
May 8, 2011
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…and we simply must pay homage here to the fedora. In my opinion, there is no finer accoutrement for men than this particular style of chapeau. Don a fedora (pitched a bit to the side), gentlemen, and your fashion cred instantly gets an upgrade, definitely increasing your swoon-potential. Add a trench coach (à la Bogart) and you've rendered yourself a force of nature not to be reckoned with.
High-cut trousers; short, wide ties; suspenders, and wingtips…I, for one, would love to see the return of such gentlemens clothing. Just one of the many joys of this era was that it wasn't at all difficult to distinguish ladies from gentlemen, and vice versa.
When our service men and women returned from Hawaii (post-war), we saw tropical prints emerge in both mens and womens fashion, influenced by the vivid colors and themes from the islands. (This spawned a resumed interest in Polynesian styles which manifested in tiki decor. "Tiki style" was popular from the mid-1930's thtough the 1960's, and has even become popular today to some extent.) Gentlemen, you may now give credit to the '40's for your love of those comfy Hawaiian camp shirts…or your extreme distaste for them.
11:39 pm
April 3, 2011
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Haha, JazzyDame, unfortunately I'm of the opinion that fedoras and tranchcoats look good on only a select few gentlemen in today's era, and the ones that DO look good in them normally wouldn't be caught dead in one outside of a film or something.
7:44 am
April 12, 2011
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My husband was born in 1940 and to this day wears, not quite a fedora, but a leather cowboy style hat and he loves trench coats and high cut trousers!
11:41 am
May 8, 2011
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FlorrieMay said:
My husband was born in 1940 and to this day wears, not quite a fedora, but a leather cowboy style hat and he loves trench coats and high cut trousers!
FlorrieMay, aren't you lucky! I'm sure he looks quite fetching…I wish that more gentlemen today would trend a bit retro in their fashion tastes. Perhaps we'll soon see a sort of rebellion against the current fads (which are decidedly unfashionable!) and see a return to classic, timeless clothing that never goes out of style. Cheers!
1:04 am
April 3, 2011
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I still have all of my father's old clothes from the 30s and 40s, and oddly enough, a fedora was among them. I also saved a lot of his German military outfits and I must say, military men back then had style, regardless of the nation! The officer's cap he had is absolutely stunning.
5:39 pm
May 8, 2011
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empirestate said:
I still have all of my father's old clothes from the 30s and 40s, and oddly enough, a fedora was among them. I also saved a lot of his German military outfits and I must say, military men back then had style, regardless of the nation! The officer's cap he had is absolutely stunning.
Empirestate, you are so fortunate to be in possession of these priceless clothing items! Indeed, men's military fashions from that era are exceptionally stylish. Do you ever (carefully) step into these keepsakes and wistfully imagine yourself a man of the '40s? I'm not sure I could resist trying them on, if I were you.
1:12 pm
April 3, 2011
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I really wish I could! My father was 6 foot 5, so it's pretty hard to fit into it! Plus, I have a feeling that if I started walking around in a WWII German military uniform, with the swastika on the armband and all – I wouldn't be too welcome!
5:06 pm
May 8, 2011
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empirestate said:
I really wish I could! My father was 6 foot 5, so it's pretty hard to fit into it! Plus, I have a feeling that if I started walking around in a WWII German military uniform, with the swastika on the armband and all – I wouldn't be too welcome!
I suppose you would cause a bit of a stir walking about town in a WWII German military uniform…the swastika just might be a tad offensive!
I thought perhaps you might try on some of his civilian clothes, and especially that fedora you previously mentioned…I bet that's one top-quality hat!
3:08 pm
May 16, 2011
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I wish I still had the clothes I had back then. The only thing about that is I couldn't fit in them now. I'm shaped differently than I was back in the 40's. :) I never wore a hat until I went into the Marines and then I just did because I had to.
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