What sparked your fascination with the "Golden Era"?

[bombshell_librarian]

My grandparents! My maternal grandmother had a Japanese pen pal right before WWII broke out, and then lost contact with her during the war. My dad's dad was a Hungarian immigrant who learned English really quickly, and my dad's mom was the daughter of Polish/German immigrants. Both sets of grandparents kept LOTS of stuff from pre-WWI and WWII, as well as telling LOTS of Depression-era stories (not so bad on my mom's parents--being in WV, it wasn't until you went somewhere "big" like Columbus or Cincinatti before you'd learn there even WAS a Depression, most of us hillbillies are so used to being self-sufficient and having men off to war in various branches of service that to us, it's just how we live). My parents' love of jazz and my saxophone lessons got me into jazz and swing, and in the 80s, when the Stray Cats came along, a lot of the kids in my class (graduated HS in 1989) already knew how to swing because of our grandparents. We didn't see it as anything unusual in my family, because we all love sharing family stories and as kids my brother and I just played with whatever was there, "antique" or not. Both grandmothers were VERY practical people who didn't bother with "fancies" or "pretties" (i. e. "Oh, no, the child mustn't touch the Precious THINGSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS") and as long as we weren't willfully destructive, we got to mess with a LOT of cool stuff! My mom's dad worked on the railroad and generally likes tinekring with stuff, so we played with lots of old tools and car parts and things like that. When my grandmothers died, I inherited a LOT of nice jewelry, a couple of fur hats, a fox stole, and a few other rarities/oddities from the 20s/30s, as well as a kimono from pre-WWII Japan. My favorite picture is of my Great-Great-Grandma Golumbusch (Hungarian, not sure if I spelled her name right), when she "rolled off the boat" and they moved to New Jersey. She looked very old, very tired, and very strict.

 

[bombshell_librarian]

HOP UP, count me in as the "like the way you think" people! LOVE the Art Deco stuff! The opulence of all the gilding and the clean, crisp lines are wonderful! They just don't make "stuff" like that anymore, and I think it's a cryin' shame.

 

[Historyteach24]

Gosh it is hard to pinpoint what sparked my interest. I am a historian so I have always loved studying about the time period but to be honest it was probably my love of old time radio that got me crazy for the golden age. I love film noir so that has always been there also. I just long to live in a time where people knew how to act, dress and converse with other people! I really should have been born longggg ago.

 

[bombshell_librarian]

I spend too much time with my grandparents. Adding all the movies, music and my need to be different... These factors created my taste.

Oh, no, one can NEVER spend too much time with their grandparents!

 

[bombshell_librarian]

Throwing in 2 more cents--is it just me, or does it seem as if there is quite a lack of basic etiquette that is missing in our modern society? Maybe it's because I work with teenagers all day, but most of mine (MOST) are rather well-mannered. The adults, on the other hand. . . .

 

[Historyteach24]

I work with teenagers all day also and they are being taught their lack of manners because their parents and other adult figures lack those same manners. It is really despressing when you think about it......

 

[Historyteach24]

Perfect example of the lack of manners in society. Last night I stepped out of the way of a woman and her child down a narrow walkway so they could pass. I ALMOST bumped into a woman's foot who was sitting to the side and her exact quote "good thing you didn't bump into me because I ain't movin and I wouldve shoved my foot up your a**. Seriously?

 

[bombshell_librarian]

Wow. . . . that is truly obnoxious! I'm terribly sorry to hear that. . . Yes, a LOT of this comes from parents who act the same way. Sometimes a kid who is rude I can sort of look past. . . adults should know better. Kids don't know they are being rude until someone points it out to them. Hope your day has gotten better since then, though!

 

[renaissancemedici]

Suppose you weren't a gentleman yourself. Can you imagine the scene, the response she would get from a person as vulgar as her? Didn't she think of that?

 

[Two Types]

I suppose it started listening to my grandfather's stories of WW1 (him fighting at Gallipoli aged just 16). Then his tales of the London in the 1920s and 1930s - living in hostels, working in grand buildings and getting TB!
As a child in the 1960s and 1970s, I lived in the shadow of Twinwoods airfield. This was where Glenn Miller had taken off on his last fateful flight. We played in the buildings of the airfield, some still locked and containing left over wartime kit (I once lost a set of wire cutters, trying to get into a hut full of British Army battledress still in its original paper packaging).
Watching musicals with my mum. Talking to my dad about films - he had seen everything made between 1935 and 1950 I think!
Then I worked in an amazing cinema - one of those grand 1930s cinemas that were like palaces: broad, sweeping staircases - deep seats - endless half forgotten corridors. it was like living in the past.

But the clothes were always there. As a youngster I recall seeing photographs of my father in the late 1940s in Egypt as a soldier. He wasn't wearing uniform. instead he had wide, sand coloured trousers (officers issue, stolen from the stores, he told me) and a crisp white cotton shirt.

I just thought he looked so cool. I was only about 6, but I remember asking my mum to get me some trousers like that!
Also, after he left the army he still had a good image. Here is is circa 1950 (on left):

Then as a teenager we had no money. All my clothes were secondhand. So I got used to dressing like someone from another generation.

A big inspiration came a few years ago. It was the spark that inspired me to think about dressing more formally. In particular, I rethought my attitudes to neckwear. I was interviewing a WW2 veteran for a book project and he was wearing a cravat. He described himself as one of that generation who believed ladies needed to be protected from the sight of a man's neck! What a great motto. Since then, not a single day has passed (apart fromin hospital etc) when I have not worn a tie or cravat.

It's all gone on since there.

 

[Amy Jeanne]

Ever since I was little I was always "scared" of old stuff, but fascinated by it, too. I was the same with cemetaries. Now I love both! Old stuff that I was particularly scared/fascinated by were buildings and movies. Now, two of my biggest vintage loves.

Also my dad and grandmother had a lot to do with it, too.

 

[Warden]

For me it was the time I spent with my grandparents, I loved thier house, watching the black & white films on BBC TV on a Sunday afternoon. Simply perfect.

 

[St. Louis]

I love all the posts in this thread. I read them all the way back to the beginning and found myself agreeing with just about everything. There seem to be come common experiences that I shared as well: being partly brought up by grandparents, for example. I grew up in a house that had electricity and running water in only one room (the kitchen), no flushing toilet, no TV, no telephone, no cooking gas. My grandmother had an old black coal stove and drew most of her washing water from a pump in the yard. The women in our village wore gloves to church, no one ever swore in front of children, and the first time I saw a television program I thought I was looking at something magical.

Imagine my horror when I grew up (my Mom married an American GI and moved to New Jersey) and realized that the world had suddenly and irrevocably changed. I don't mean to imply any criticism of the U.S.--I love this country and am grateful on a daily basis that I live here--I'm criticizing modern times. I couldn't stand the thought of having to wear jeans and T-shirts, for example. I could go on for ever about the culture shock, but you've heard it all on this forum many times before.

Then when I was about 17 I found a box of old clothes that had been left in some school basement. Actually, I think now that they were 1930s housekeeping uniforms, funnily enough. I still remember feeling absolutely breathless. I just suddenly realized that I had come home. I can't be more specific than that. I never wanted to wear modern clothes again and from that moment on I began collecting, wearing, listen to, and living with the golden era.

My friends and coworkers locally think I'm a bit eccentric, which is fine (their comments are affectionate) but since I started reading the posts here I realize that there's a fairly active Eccentric Club that has apparently claimed me as a member.

 

[Matt Crunk]

For me it was probably my grandfather, George Anderson Amerson.
My grandfather was born in Mississippi in 1900, but grew up mostly in Texas. He never went away to war as he fell into the age that was too young for WWI and too old for WWII. He got a job with the railroad when he was a teenager, and worked his way up from switch yard flunky to train engineer, first driving steam locomotives then diesels. He was in his twenties during the 1920's, and rode a rail line between Memphis and New Orleans, keeping a boarding room in both cities. Can you imagine being part of life in Memphis or Big Easy during the roaring twenties? He later got a job driving trains for the TVA. By the time I knew him (I was born in 1966) he'd retired from TVA and filled his days ranching and horse trading. Even though he was a working class man, I never saw my grandfather leave the house without a suit and hat: always a cowboy hat or a fedora, and usually either a regular or bolo tie . Even around the house while dealing with horses and other livestock, I never saw the man in a pair of jeans or overalls. He always wore dress slacks. The man had style. I would sit around for countless hours while told me stories of his railroading days, and the highlights of his life in the in the 1920's, 30's, and 40's, when he was still a young man. Thanks, Papa.

 

[rocketeer]

My dad was a boy during WWI and a fireman during WWII he was a bit backward at looking forward when I was young so my world was full of older people and the way they did things, some good, some bad. I guess I liked a lot of old stuff because it was unusual to see it.
Not everything from the so called Golden era is appealing to me though. High end art deco is, though everyday furniture from those era's looks morbid and dark to me, a lot of those things shout poverty, especially clothing and house hold items from the 1900s to 1950. I dont and wont own any of that stuff in my house. But decent art deco items still command high prices, even compared with todays made in China rubbish.
As it is I try to mix nice old things with modern stuff.
But maybe I am odd on a forum such as this as I dont know anyone who lived in those times that would rather live them again. I suppose it is how the past affected your life, good or bad. Most people even here will just cherry pick the good bits, that is to say they love the look of old A2 jackets and B17s but would not want to have to live in a ball turret for an 8 hr mission wearing one. Or they think owning a pair of 1930s buckle back Levi's are fantastic, but to have to wear them and beg for work in the depression is another thing.
Maybe because these things live in the past and we dont see them that often is what make some of us fascinated with them. I know that is why I like old stuff.
Johnny Tee

 

[this one guy]

I always appreciated the past - it's what got us where we are. My interest in the golden era snuck up on me when, in searching my radio dial for good music, I landed on AM740 from Toronto. Sunday is big band night, and I was amazed at the polish and virtuosity of the recording artists. Hearing the music my parents had listened to in their prime stirred something in me. They are gone now, but having lived through that time contributed to making them what they were.

A search for headwear that doesn't have writing or logos on it led me to fedoras...
I always preferred pocket watches...
Fountain pens are a marvel to me...
Black & White photography fascinates me...

Yes, I'm in a ways, and still sliding.
John

 

[Murphy]

Just a love of classic styling, good music and old movies. I like to use fountain pens so much more stylish to write with. The style and quality of design in buliding, clothing and cars of the Art Deco period really appeal to me and I am in everything I do a traditionalist.

 

[Flicka]

I think my mother raised me to live in the Golden Era. Not that we lacked modernities, but I grew up reading stuff like Nesbitt, Scott, Ann of Avonlea, Wodehouse, Christie etc and I was taught manners and mores more appropriate for that era too. There were always old movies on tv as well, not that we watched much tv. We talked and read instead. As a result, I grew up a little out of synch with my surroundings. When I started school, I had never heard of ABBA (which is saying something as this was Sweden in the '70s), but I knew which fork to use for what and I was the only child in my class who could name our prime minister. It marked me as different and I think I was confused and tried to adapt for years before deciding I was fine with being eccentric.

But while I've always loved history, old movies, old books and old aesthetics, I didn't start actually dressing this way until recently.

 

[Matt Crunk]

I grew up thoroughly a child of my era (born in the 60's, came of age in the 70's and early 80's), but the older I get, the more I tend to recede into the the ways and styles of the Golden Era. Everything just had so much more class and authenticity back then.

 

[filfoster]

Wet blankets easily criticize nostalgia by highlighting the things that were wrong with an era.
Who the hell wouldn't want to live in a time, not that long ago, when grown-ups were in charge, wore wonderful clothes, especially hats for men, drove great cars. cheap or fancy, of character; drank, legally or otherwise, ate without calorie or fat content concerns, lived without cell phones and email and generally cared to maintain that socially beneficial hypocrisy that my generation set a match to without benefit of any wisdom? Well, who? Ok, thanks for the rant.

To answer the OP, the movies we saw in the '50's and '60's, set in the Golden Age, and the stories my grandparents and mother told about it. There were still cars from the 30's and '40's on the streets of my home town into the '60's.

I will forever associate 'the Golden Age' and the early Sixties as the yardstick for 'normal' and admirable adulthood.

Am I a reactionary? Yes, in the best sense.