To Be Or Not To Be

[Gilbey]

There is only so much you can do to be what you want to be as reality hits you that you are no longer living in the golden era. As we've never been! But to think what you can do to relive the era takes some serious effort from your part considering the bombardment of modern trends that we are continually exposed to. To be a hermit is impractical these days as we have to exist side by side and be counted in modern society.

Thus one could only go so far as dressing vintage, listening to old music, driving old cars, watching TCM, and coming back to the Fedora Lounge. But as soon as you get out there into the world, the reality of 2007 hits you like a brick. Are we in a dreamworld? Are we being not real by the times of this world? To whom shall we conform our standards of time? To be like everybody else is not special. To be what you really want to be is.

 

[PrettySquareGal]

But as soon as you get out there into the world, the reality of 2007 hits you like a brick. Are we in a dreamworld? Are we being not real by the times of this world? To whom shall we conform our standards of time? To be like everybody else is not special. To be what you really want to be is.

I find, though, that to some people, us old-fashioned folks are like, to use another cliche, a breath of fresh air.

I don't think you or anyone should conform to any standards that don't mesh with your values and sense of what is right or wrong (as long as you aren't breaking the law.)

"Get with the times." No thanks.

 

[Feng_Li]

“What does it matter? Science has achieved some wonderful things, of course, but I'd far rather be happy than right any day.” -Slartibartfast

 

[Twitch]

Look, we have to realize it's over and it ain't comin' back! I sincerely love the combat aviators of WW2 and all the stories that entails but I'm not getting transported back there ala Twilight Zone anytime soon and all I can do interview the participants, which I've done a lot of, and study the volumes in print and watch superb recreations such as Dogfights on History Channel.

Probably the next largest bunch of "old time" nuts are the Civil War fans. They have elaborate reinactments, people collect every possible item of the era and study the written works on the subject.

Interest in the Golden Era is simply a hobby or special interest like the CIvil War. No one can actually live it again no matter how much old time schlock you surround yourself with. No matter how much you abstain from TV and radio sooner or later you have to step outside into the harsh reality that you live 2007.

I have a vintage car and with my little vintage fedora on my head I attend shows where there are nothing but old cars surrounding me for like 6 hours and people talking about them. But when I get home I watch South Park or My Name Is Earl like everybody else.

There's a huge difference in immersing one's self in a vintage era and attempting to actually live it by rejecting reality. It's time for those nice young men in their clean white coats.......

 

[LizzieMaine]

I live my life in such a way as to be true to my own values, my own ethics, and my own tastes. If those tastes, values, and ethics tend to coincide more with those of 70 years ago than those of today, well, it ain't nobody's business but my own.

 

[$ally]

I know how you feel. I love the clothes, cars, movies, music, dances, lingo, but wouldn't want to live in another time. It's easy to romanticize the Golden Era, since we didn't actually live it. We just hear the fond stories. It wasn't a better time, not with the class distinction, racism, bigotry, and misogyny. It was only a kinder world on the surface. There were trashy vulgar people then, and there are still Ladies and Gentleman with self-respect now. It is possible to be dignified in today's society.

 

[PrettySquareGal]

There's a huge difference in immersing one's self in a vintage era and attempting to actually live it by rejecting reality. It's time for those nice young men in their clean white coats.......

I don't think one should look to a calendar, though, to decide what is acceptably real for them. One can acknowledge what is transpiring around them but stay true, and sanely so, to what really matters to them, even if it is outdated and obsolete.

 

[PrettySquareGal]

I live my life in such a way as to be true to my own values, my own ethics, and my own tastes. If those tastes, values, and ethics tend to coincide more with those of 70 years ago than those of today, well, it ain't nobody's business but my own.

:eusa_clap

 

[Fast]

To be, rather to do

There is only so much you can do to be what you want to be as reality hits you that you are no longer living in the golden era. As we've never been! But to think what you can do to relive the era takes some serious effort from your part considering the bombardment of modern trends that we are continually exposed to. To be a hermit is impractical these days as we have to exist side by side and be counted in modern society.

Thus one could only go so far as dressing vintage, listening to old music, driving old cars, watching TCM, and coming back to the Fedora Lounge. But as soon as you get out there into the world, the reality of 2007 hits you like a brick. Are we in a dreamworld? Are we being not real by the times of this world? To whom shall we conform our standards of time? To be like everybody else is not special. To be what you really want to be is.

First, the depression wasn't as much fun as everybody made it out to be. As a society we're actually a little nicer about making sure people get to eat and such. Folks back then actually died of poverty, and in large numbers, and until the mid 30's your family helped or you were SOL. World War II was actually miserable. Everybody lost folks, Everybody.

I don't think, given that we knew what it was really like and actually could, that we would live in the reality of a past. We can take something we believe to be worthy of keeping and hold that. Whether we admit it or not, we all do. We are in a real world, the world each of us creates and inhabits, and 20th century gangster chic is no less inauthentic than 21st century gangsta chic.

Are we in a dreamworld? Not much more or less than most folks, except those in harsh places doin' everything they can to get something in their mouths and their family's mouths. Huge hat collection and iphones and satellite TV are pretty much dreamworld stuff. My wife isn't. She's real. My sons are real. My students are real. The american Idol reports on the news aren't, Britney and Kfed and Ana Nicole weren't and the latter died of it.

If, each moment of each day, you know who you are, where you actually are and what you are really doing, even if some or all of it ain't fragrant, you'll be as real as you can.

Carpe Diem
Fast

 

[carter]

Originally written by Twitch
There's a huge difference in immersing one's self in a vintage era and attempting to actually live it by rejecting reality.

Originally written by Fast
...be as real as you can.

:eusa_clap As Twitch and Fast have so eloquently written, reality is always just around the corner. None of us lives in a vaccum, at least I hope not. Many of us happen to believe that the most stylish period in American Fashion was what we know as the Golden Era. These fashions really did exist and were accessible to far more people than comparable fashion is today. Times change and socio-economic structures change with them.
All that being said, I wear the vintage or vintage-inspired clothing I have because I like the style and it suits me not because I like to wear a costume. It has utility in my daily living. It's part of who I am but not the totality of my existence.
I wouldn't dream of judging anyone's grasp of reality because of my impression of the clothes they wear or the lives they lead. Each person is entitled to their own version of reality as long as it doesn't hurt others. (Yes, I know someone will want to go on about the American consumer but that probably belongs in another thread.)
As the Bard of Avon wrote, "All the world's a stage and the men and women in it merely players...". To each his (or her) own.

Carter

 

[panamag8or]

I live my life in such a way as to be true to my own values, my own ethics, and my own tastes. If those tastes, values, and ethics tend to coincide more with those of 70 years ago than those of today, well, it ain't nobody's business but my own.

I think that of all the fine people I have met here, that you are the closest to actually living the golden era lifestyle. Your mannerisms and upbringing, your clothes, your job and professional expertise, your home... heck, even your town... are condusive to living a vintage life. That's not a bad thing, either. Sometimes I am envious, except you can keep the harsh winters, I don't envy that at all.

 

[Benny Holiday]

Well put, Twitch. It's not about living in a time period; it's about living in a culture. We're lucky enough to be able to pick the things we like from yesterday and enjoy them - music, cars, clothing, etc - and not have to suffer the ills of yesterday.

As for the annoying things about the modern world, well, no doubt WWII and the Great Depression were more than just annoying for those who lived during those times. I like the aesthetics of the period, but not necessarily the period itself!

 

[KL15]

There is only so much you can do to be what you want to be as reality hits you that you are no longer living in the golden era. As we've never been! But to think what you can do to relive the era takes some serious effort from your part considering the bombardment of modern trends that we are continually exposed to. To be a hermit is impractical these days as we have to exist side by side and be counted in modern society.

Thus one could only go so far as dressing vintage, listening to old music, driving old cars, watching TCM, and coming back to the Fedora Lounge. But as soon as you get out there into the world, the reality of 2007 hits you like a brick. Are we in a dreamworld? Are we being not real by the times of this world? To whom shall we conform our standards of time? To be like everybody else is not special. To be what you really want to be is.

My friend. We all love the past. Most of us only have what we see, hear, and read of the "good old days." But none of us can live in the past for our own good. In many ways things keep getting better. CD players do sound better than cassettes or LP's for example. All of us are on a message board, on a computer, on the internet, this wouldn't have been possible a few years ago. I completely understand your frustration with modern trends. The one I personally detest the most is the "I'm angry for no reason" one. If you love the look and the way the look makes you feel. If you watch the old movies for the acting talent (back then that actually mattered) and the wonderful nature of everyone. And you drive the old cars because you love the style and the simplicity of it, then to hell with the rest of the world. You love what you're doing and that is the key to seeing into a persons soul.

 

[Feng_Li]

CD players do sound better than LP's.

Careful, I know people who can be driven to fisticuffs by that assertion!

 

[KL15]

Yeah, I've thought alot about that one since I wrote it. :eusa_doh:

 

[Amy Jeanne]

Careful, I know people who can be driven to fisticuffs by that assertion!

lol lol lol ME!!!!!

 

[KL15]

lol lol lol ME!!!!!

Point well taken. Sorry if I offended you.

 

[Amy Jeanne]

Point well taken. Sorry if I offended you.

Oh heavens no, I'm not offended!
I don't get easily offended! I'm very pround of my sense of humour! lol

 

[hargist]

Speaking for myself (and I suspect others here may share my view), I wear the clothes I wear not because I wish I lived in another time, but because I like the style. It does two things for me:

1. I stand out because I look good. People may gawk because they are not used to seeing someone dressed nicely with a hat, tie, and handkerchief in the pocket, and rarely do I get negative comments. It's difficult to ridicule someone who looks nice and if anything, it may cause people to think about the way they dress.

2. Dressing up is a reaction to everyone else dressing down. It also shows that you don't have to dress vulgar in order to get attention. For me, looking nice is a form of rebellion. Instead of being punk or whatever, dressing up is a form of rebellion to the casual dress down culture. I used to be a jeans and t-shirt guy, until one day I got so sick of my style (or lack of it) that I made a complete reversal. I had said for years that you never lose points for looking good. I simply started practicing what I was preaching. I haven't owned a pair of jeans in probably five or six years.

Ultimately, one should dress in clothes that makes you feel good about yourself.

 

[Gilbey]

Is it because people nowadays feel that it's just more comfortable to wear shirt and jeans? The more you dress up, the more uncomfortable it becomes. The more casual, the more freedom. You know what I mean. No pain no gain. But society today cares more about how it feels rather than how it looks.