Going to a jazz age baseball game

[SMUPhil]

Well, I live only a couple blocks from the new ballpark here in DC, so I have chances aplenty to go see a game. A friend and I thought it would be fun to dress up like 1920's-30's baseball fans, waving pennants, etc and go see what hilarity ensues. We would either go as just fans, or as 'sportswriters' jotting everything down in a little notepad, commenting on Edison's lights being put to use, stuff like that.

Does anyone have any good recommendations for what would be a relatively decent outfit for this plan? We can't get bespoke period-perfect suits for the game, but maybe some items to look for in our nearby vintage and thrift stores? I know the straw hat, raccoon coat look seems to be the stereotypical Ivy League football game attire, so what would be an equivalent for a baseball game of the same period?

 

[dhermann1]

Look at old films of the era, and you'll see that people went in what we would now call business clothes. Men wore suits and fedoras, women wore nice dresses. So any period correct (or close) dress that would look good on the street or at a white collar job, would be appropriate.
If you're thinking more 1920's you see a sea of boaters at any sporting event. I have a picture of the 1920 World Series at Ebbetts Field, in Brooklyn, and the men almost all have skimmers, (a few bowlers, and few homburgs, a few fedoras) and they all have those nice comfy high starched collars.
Sounds like a great idea, get pics to share!

 

["Skeet" McD]

Ah, Phil: you beat me to it! And I'll be very interested in the replies you get.
I'm headed to Fenway in a month and plan to do the same thing.

There are so many photographs available of crowds at baseball games; you can pretty easily see what was out there. Speaking in very general terms: by and large, people dressed better than now (you already knew that) and, because all games were in the day, they were usually dressed for whatever they normally did (and perhaps SHOULD have been doing....): it follows the season, so early on and late, lots of dark business suits and felt hats of one kind or another; in the summer....lots of dark business suits and straw hats of one kind or another. People did often remove their jackets and watch the game in their shirtsleeves. But a tie and some kind of headgear are pretty much required.

The quick-and-dirty, therefore would be to dress in trousers (dark or darker for spring/fall; white or light for summer) and a white, long-sleeved shirt with a rather short necktie and the hat of your choice (fedora; bowler for spring/fall; hard straw or panama for summer). If you want to go further with the attempt, make that a dark/darker suit for spring/fall and a blue blazer over white(ish) trousers for summer.

The extra toys may be the most fun: by all means, bring a pennant...and if you can find a light bamboo walking stick to tie it to, great! See if you can find a period ticket to repro and stick in your hatband. And, if you're sitting in foul territory--although I can't remember seeing fans with gloves or mitts in period photos--they DO make very good repros:

http://www.akademapro.com/hobokengloves.html

By all means, take photos and show us what you decide to do!

"Skeet"

 

["Skeet" McD]

http://gallery.me.com/finiancircle#100014/DSCF2007[/URL]

And yes: that's what the ties were for.

"Skeet"

 

["Skeet" McD]

You might check over HERE as well...

Dear Phil,
Another fan...with slightly different intentions...began a thread here
http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=40208

Which now has some information you might enjoy/find useful....new toy to bring to your game: MEGAPHONE! (see image displayed there....)

"Skeet"

 

[John in Covina]

If you can, watch the Robert Redford movie 'The Natural" although the later part isat 1939 there is some early sections that are about 1925 like the fairgrounds scenes.

Either way it's a great inspiring baseball movie.

 

[dhermann1]

Here's a link to some great early ballpark photos.
http://www.baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=73408

 

["Skeet" McD]

Here's a link to some great early ballpark photos.
http://www.baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=73408

Boy-oh-Boy: Those are GREAT, DH! Thanks! Particularly like the view of Ebbets Field showing the OTHER side of the street...I've never seen anything but a shot of the field itself: shows you the sort of dodgy neighborhood it was in, not surprisingly. And the Press Room in 1940: that's the heyday of the Press's power I guess--and, in NY at least...rank obviously had its privileges! I wouldn't mind watching a game from there...even if I had to work!

"Skeet"

 

[Shanghailander]

I did this last year when I went to see the Phillies.

Wore spectator shoes, linen pants, and a cotton, long sleeved summer weight shirt with subtle stipes and a band collar, and a balibuntal straw hat.

What amazed me is how 80% of the fans were wearing team jerseys.

A columnist from the Philadelphia Inquirer wrote a story last year, comparing a day at the ballpark in the 1950s to a day at the park today.

Two of his more memorable points:

1. It may be hard to believe, but back then, fathers actually talked to their sons in between innings. Today, with the jumbotron, rock music, crowd antics, contests, and other goings on, one cannot even think, let along talk, in between innings.

2. Back then, people dressed for an event, not like players in the event. Today, grown men pay $80 to wear a shirt with another man's name on it.