Mixing and matching eras

[J. Brisbin]

It's been a while since I've posted... Been busy with school and working on the novel. And had to cut back on the vintage purchases for a while.

My new favorite suit is a 3pc navy BB from, I think the early '50s (it's got the '49-'69 label). I just got in the mail a box of NOS 2" detachable collars:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=190151294691

Mark Twain signature line, no less. Swanky. I've had an older shirt modified to accept detachable collars (works great, BTW, but you have to be careful about sewing up the new hole you make where the button was before you took the collar off...otherwise there's too much material and the stud's not long enough to go through all that material and the collar too).

I picked up a bright red tie at the Salvation Army a while back. It's narrow and short, like a '20s tie, I think. It's extremely thin. The tie not will be about as big as a pencil. So I'm thinking I can wear my thinner ties with these stand-up, semi-soft collars, no? With the '50s suit will I be closer to that '20s look with the collar? I watch a lot of silent movies and besides the preponderance of 3pc suits, early '20s seemed to have fairly narrow (well, about like modern, I'd say) lapels, but with larger notches and maybe a little rounding on the corners. Is this about right, based on what you've seen in '20s suits?

I'll take pics when I get a chance. I'll also take some of the new checked suit, as well:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=280146037499

 

[Forgotten Man]

I’ve known some who will buy 80’s suits at thrift shops and who will have them tailored a little to look like 20’s suits… and it works! They’ll wear them with stand up collars and early neck ties… it looks rather period. Now, a post war late 40’s or early 50’s suit in most cases are very far from the 20’s style in that the shoulders are wider, the coats are baggier and the pants are fuller cut. But, that is the standard trend of that decade, there were still suits being made that look like early 40’s suits even into the late 50’s… but, one can only tell the period it’s from if it has a union label or a tailored date.

My self, I’d wear the suit as a 40’s or early 50’s suit and keep my eyes open for a suit that looks a little more 20’s… that’s just me though, but most people wouldn’t know the difference.

Hope that helps some,

FM~

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Mix and match to your hearts content. 30s suit and 50s hat? No problem!*

bk

* so long as it looks good.

 

[Edward]

IMo, it depends what you're shooting for. If you want to dress for a specific time-set event, or otherwaise want to dress as an accurate replication of a specific period, I might be inclined to go all out to find a period-correct suit. OTOH, if what you want in simply to adopt some of the style of an eariler period, but you're wanting to wear it "in the now" as it were, then go for it, mix and match - as long as it looks good, as the Baron says.

It seems to me that there must have been "retro" people back in the day, or simply people who still preferred an older style, or found it available cheaply. I'm sure a lot of young men who wanted to wear hats in the fifties "inherited" one of Dad's old ones, or many men may have bought on cheap used. If we're still able to wear a thirties hat now, they must have been plenty wearable in the 50s. My point being that there's no reason why a guy in the 50s couldn't have decided to dress up his 50s suit with a bunch of 20s touches.