Ultimate Vintage Wardrobe contents?

[mimesis2nemesis]

Evening Gents. I really would like to build the ultimate vintage wardrobe, but I'm not exactly sure what I should include. I did a search, but didn't really turn out as I expected. In your opinion, what should the Ultimate Vintage wardrobe contain, and in which quantity? It this was already discussed at some point, could you kindly point me in the right direction? Thanks in advance.

-m2n

 

[Brevetti]

Matt Deckard has a very cool article on the vintage college wardrobe. It contains a great list that I've been trying to follow as much as possible myself.

http://deckardsguide.blogspot.com/2012/01/modernretro-college-wardrobe.html

With the exception of owning several more suits and a good evening dress ensemble, I think this might be what you're looking for.

 

[dhermann1]

"Ultimate" is very much in the eye of the beholder. It all depends on what you like, and your finances, the amount of patience you have, your lifestyle, the era you prefer. Oh, yes, and on your size. You can't just dash off to Brooks Brothers, get measured, and have a half dozen suits made up.
Some things, like ties, you can get by the gross. Things like suits depend a whole lot on your size. If you're a little bit large around the middle, like me, finding suits and trousers is an endlless quest. If you have a 32 waist and wear a 38 jacket, you're in like Flynn. You'll find them on Ebay, and several other specialty vintage clothing web sites, as well as at vintage clothing stores, and even thrift shops.
Most young men only need a couple of suits, if that. If you find a good gray wool suit, and maybe a brown, you're in great shape. Likewise casual trousers and sport coats.
A lot of guys would love a Ricky jacket, with the long tabbed collar and button cuffs, and maybe two colors, for body and sleeve.
There are lots of modern shoe brands that can effectively reproduce the styles of the past. Allen Edmonds is very popular here, but other brands, such as Cole Haan, Alden, etc., have nice products. A pair of spectators tends to be one of several "Holy Grail" items.
Oh, yes. Hats. Again, there are lots of excellent buys to be had on Ebay.
If you're hard core, you might think about a pair of plus fours. I have a pair of vintage linen and a pair of vintage tweed plus fours, and I've actually worn them on a few occasions. If you have da noive, they're a lot of fun.
Speaking of linen, it's a great vintage material. Linen trousers in the summer are great, and a linen suit in thye summertime can look like a million bucks. Pair a linen suit with a nice panama hat, and a pair of white bucks, and you're in vintage nirvana.
So this is maybe a start. Anyone else have any thoughts?

 

[dhermann1]

A couple more thoughts. In terms of hats, a nice gray fedora, and maybe a brown one, can be a start. But if you're like most of us, you'll wind up with a couple dozen. It's a good thing.
Outerwear: A trenchcoat is really de riguer. Get a good one. And a top coat. This could be a nice English tweed, with raglan sleeves, or a Chesterfield, if you want to get snazzy.
A brelly. Check the umbrella threads. A nice slender English umbrella is a lifelong possession.
Speaking of tweed, look at the many tweed jackets and suits available and see what you like. There's much more to tweeds than the popular herringbone (or "cheviot") pattern. It's a world of wonderful patterns.
Flat caps and newsboy caps! Get a tweed one and a linen one!
Wanna go really crazy? Get an Inverness cape and a deerstalker cap. There's a reason Sherlock Holmes wore them when stalking the moors of England.
Another ultimate is the good old top hat. If you've a set of tails, then the topper is the final touch. But get a good tuxedo first, with all the correct acouterments. Some people would tell you to wear a homburg with a tux, but a black fedora can look cool, or if you want to be Runyonesque (and who doesn't?) a black bowler can be rakish.

 

[Two Types]

The grey suit is the place to start. Two pairs of shoes - one black, one brown. A selection of light blue, light grey and white shirts - some spearpoint, some tab collar. A good light-brown raincoat. A grey overcoat. One dinner suit. Loads of ties (they are cheap and damn easy to find). One brown and one grey hat. The details of each will depend on the era that attracts you. But that selection will be a good start.

Good luck.

P.S. I almost forgot: you will need about a dozen scarves, all made of rayon, all made by Tootal.

 

[Flat Foot Floey]

Just steal everything from Baron Kurtz, Herringbone Kid and Marc Chevalier and you might have the ultimate vintage wardrobe of all wardrobes.

Just kidding. I agree to the previous posters. It really depends on your taste, size, income and luck.

 

[dhermann1]

And don't waste energy on the "ultimate" anything. Just get together some things that are right for you and make you happy. It's not a competition, tho sometimes it feels that way.

 

[Evan Everhart]

I've personally been building my wardrobe for years, and these are my go to items; the things that I've found that I simply cannot do without, as basics; camel-colour top coat of some type, dark gray or dark blue or black top coat, gray fedora or homburg, brown fedora, tweed flat cap, (possibly a pale gray linen cap too), brown pin-stripe suit, navy or slate blue pin-stripe or simple worsted suit, charcoal gray suit, green-toned tweed sports-coat, navy blue blazer or sports-coat, khaki cotton trousers (uncreased and creased), dove gray shirt, white shirt, oxford blue shirt, pink shirt, a selection of coloured and patterned pocket scarves of a decent size, likewise ties, particularly small neat paisleys, spittalsfields, shepherd's checks, and rep-striped models, and black balmorals, dark brown slim-line wing-tips, and more robust tan wing-tips or balmorals and perhaps a pair of spectators. Oh, and at least one pair of either cordovan wing-tips or ox-blood cap-toes. One more thing; a pair of white suspenders with white leather straps, they go with every colour of leather and hold your pants up better and more comfortably than any belt ever will. Anyway, those are my favourite basic wardrobe elements and necessities.

I wouldn't worry overly much about cost however, just assume that your wardrobe will grow organically with you, as it should, almost nobody gets everything all at once, and if you do, it can really feel quite contrived. Some you find at a thrift-shop, some you might buy new (gasp!), some you might just end up having made for you bespoke or made to measure. It's all a toss of the dice as to which though.

One more thing; it should be assumed that all of the suits listed or included in the wardrobe are most preferably 3 piece sb or db. That way you can dress your suits up or down as the occasion calls for, giving the impression of a much more expansive wardrobe.

Good hunting!

 

[GoldenEraFan]

Blue is your friend! It was a very common color throughout the golden era and there's plenty of examples out there! It's also the second most versatile color, at least in my book. Everyone else said pretty much what I would've said. I would recommend to study up on dating vintage clothes as that will help you determine genuine '10s-'50s vintage over post 1960's as some eBay sellers or vintage stores don't always know exactly what they have.

 

[DamianM]

just steal everything from baron kurtz, herringbone kid and marc chevalier and you might have the ultimate vintage wardrobe of all wardrobes.

Just kidding. I agree to the previous posters. It really depends on your taste, size, income and luck.

thats true

 

[Chasseur]

Just steal everything from Baron Kurtz, Herringbone Kid and Marc Chevalier and you might have the ultimate vintage wardrobe of all wardrobes.

Flo you are letting the cat out of the bag! Fortunately until Dan and I figure out how to make our "size increaser ray" work we'll have to bid our time...