Which decade is the worst in terms of style?

[Carlisle Blues]

That's a good point. It might not occur to people to, say, get their pants or sleeves hemmed or shine their shoes, especially if their peers don't.

...and that speaks to personal pride in the manner of dress. It really does not matter what a person wears what matters is how they wear it. One thing that gets to me is shoes in disrepair or unpolished. Clean, pressed shirt and well maintained outfit.

How that reflects upon the person's projection of image can never be underestimated.

I believe that applies to any decade regardless of style.

 

[Forgotten Man]

It has never failed to amaze me that many younger people today do not have at least one nice dress shirt or any neck ties… or dress shoes! In fact, I have been to a thrift shop or two here that don’t even have suits or ties! They don’t sell very well in some areas here.

I always enjoy putting on a nice clean/pressed shirt and a suit fresh from the cleaners… this is rare since I haven’t much time to donate to these kinds of luxuries. I will in preparation to a fancy event and when I step out, I do it feelin’ good! And when I feel good, I look good!

 

[John in Covina]

I am under the suspician that some young men don't even own a shirt with a collar.

 

[Forgotten Man]

Yes, I believe you are right!

 

[Carlisle Blues]

I am under the suspician that some young men don't even own a shirt with a collar.

My little boy when he was 2 got a dress shirt, vest, pants and a tie. He has worn the outfit several times. For now I am the boss I hope he carries that sense of cool with him.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

When I was 5 or 6 years old I had some bell bottoms and I remember, even back then, how much I hated them.

 

[John in Covina]

My dad told me that when he was young bell bottoms were "in" for a bit some time late 1920's-early 30's and the style was where on the side seams of the pants by the bottom was about a 3-4" high 'v' shaped piece of cloth, often a different color, that was the spreader to form the bell bottom. If you get to see modern Mariachi bands, the "costume" of the band members often has this style which i believe goes back to some cabelleros type of western wear.

 

[metropd]

Ron O'Neill was the personification of "funkadeliciousness" no question there. When you take the styling of Mayfield, the hats, the car you are speaking of what so many have tried to imitate, to no avail. I still do not get the fabric for the overcoat.....[huh]

Another is Shaft John Shaft. Who is the man that would risk his neck
For his brother man? SHAFT! Can you dig it? Richard Roundtree as Shaft and Issac Hayes sound track.

I do not think Cary Grant could have done Superfly. However in "To Catch A Thief" Grant exuded his own brand of cool. Grant had his own style which gives me the impression it is suave and debonair. While both had an effect on society each spoke to a different socio-econimic class as well as era in terms of societal confluence.

I could of not said it better myself.:eusa_clap

 

[Maguire]

granny glasses:

I think these are what some of you are referring too.

 

[Viola]

We don't have the all-dressed-in-black cliche here -- evidently hipsters die off quickly in cold weather -- so whenever I go to Boston or New York it comes as a shock. Last time I visited NYC, I wore the same emerald-green wool coat that doesn't get a second look here, but it got *stares* from New Yorkers. Go figure.

The way I see it, the all-black thing is just lazy, no-need-to-think "sophistication." Anyone can do it, it requires no thought or planning or effort to pull on a black turtleneck and a pair of black jeans -- all you need to add is a copy of the NY Review of Books under your arm, a $10 latte in your cup, and a supercilious look on your face, and you're Cool. Which is a lot easier than actually having to think about it.

All black has a real appeal for me. It might be that East Coast urban thing but let me see if I can break this one down for L.L. Bean Ayuh Country. (just playin', Liz)

It's not a hipster thing for me. It's not about black jeans, either, let me get that out of the way. I love classic pieces; cardigans, boleros, a-line/pencil skirts, etc. etc. forever and ever amen.

Navy is untrustworthy and changeable so you end up with a bunch of clashing navies and that is danged annoying. Pastels are just a no-fly zone for me.

Also forgive me but aren't you quite tall? I don't think you quite feel me on the visual DISASTER patterns can be where you end up looking like a dues-paying member of the Lollipop Guild. I am TRYING to ease into patterns just because its such a part of vintage "feel" - and I'm getting there slowly... its easiest on backgrounds of black.

So my go-to colors are black and its close compatriot gray. The stuff all mixes and classic pieces are easy to find it and mix and match. If I wear a color its generally solid and generally a one-off in an otherwise black (or gray) outfit.

You don't understand the plight of the urban hobbit! lol

 

[HadleyH]

Lennon & McCartney wore other style glasses in the `60s.

I have never seen Lennon wearing those glasses before! thanks for the pic MrBern!

Maguire, thanks you for the photo, i think John Denver glasses look really granny on him,don't look so good ...




but......................

To my eyes, they look perfect on HIM! :eusa_clap

no fashion sense in the 70s? who says...i really want to know who says that!

and this.... i can not find a fault here either! All fashion any decade can be worn with class and style....it all depends....

yes...yes....yes....

 

[LizzieMaine]

All black has a real appeal for me. It might be that East Coast urban thing but let me see if I can break this one down for L.L. Bean Ayuh Country. (just playin', Liz)

It's not a hipster thing for me. It's not about black jeans, either, let me get that out of the way. I love classic pieces; cardigans, boleros, a-line/pencil skirts, etc. etc. forever and ever amen.

Navy is untrustworthy and changeable so you end up with a bunch of clashing navies and that is danged annoying. Pastels are just a no-fly zone for me.

Also forgive me but aren't you quite tall? I don't think you quite feel me on the visual DISASTER patterns can be where you end up looking like a dues-paying member of the Lollipop Guild. I am TRYING to ease into patterns just because its such a part of vintage "feel" - and I'm getting there slowly... its easiest on backgrounds of black.

So my go-to colors are black and its close compatriot gray. The stuff all mixes and classic pieces are easy to find it and mix and match. If I wear a color its generally solid and generally a one-off in an otherwise black (or gray) outfit.

You don't understand the plight of the urban hobbit! lol

Ah, now that does make sense -- I have a good friend who is about your height, and she has the same basic approach, but rather than black she goes with earth tones and such. For quite a while she was enamored of different shades of olive drab, until someone rather cruelly suggested she looked like a fire hydrant on an Army base, and she moved on to other shades. Under the circs, I can see where blacks and greys are appealing.

But yeah, I'm 5' 6", and dressing all in black makes me look either like a lady undertaker or Natasha of the KGB, and neither image is one that really works. (Although it might put the fear of Discipline into the concession kids...)

I think another reason why black is not common here is that six months out of our year are just so *bleak.* When all the world is shades of dirty grey, people get desperate for any kind of color...

 

[Paisley]

granny glasses:

I think these are what some of you are referring too.

Round glasses don't suit a round face, made to look even rounder by a bowl haircut. This showcases the pitfall of adopting a fashionable look whether it suits you or not.

Denver with a haircut and glasses that suit him better (probably from the 80s):

 

[Hemingway Jones]

John Lennon's glasses were supplied by the National Health system. They were government freebies. I think he wore them to be a man of the people. Perhaps he wore them ironically. Perhaps he liked them. Luckily for him, they fit his face perfectly.

 

[MrBern]

I have never seen Lennon wearing those glasses before! thanks for the pic MrBern!

Maguire, thanks you for the photo, i think John Denver glasses look really granny on him,don't look so good ...




but......................

To my eyes, they look perfect on HIM! :eusa_clap

Yup, he wore a few diff styles

Some of his glasses were the WWII style, called a panto of P3.

Some were the older perfectly round with no nosepads. I think those are called windsors.

and thene there are various sunglasses

Im not big on `70s style, but it had its merits...and Ive seen worse at the airport any day of the week.

 

[Miss 1929]

I like Sarah Palin's glasses. I mean like this:

Yeah, well, each to their own,. I think they look terrible on EVERYONE.

That model looks like a beautiful girl if you would take those atrocities off her face and do her hair.

 

[Carlisle Blues]

Yup, he wore a few diff styles

Certainly did sometimes all at once......

 

[HadleyH]

Im not big on `70s style, but it had its merits...and Ive seen worse at the airport any day of the week.

I agree! MrBern

For me, this pic below doesn't belong to any decade (it is the 1970s though) could be 20s 50s 70s 2000 could be any time... 1970s was just another number...no better or worse than any other decade.

 

[Widebrim]

Early- i'd say the time when the transition occurred. The Late 60s couldn't exist without the early 60s. The 70s couldn't have happened as they did without the 60s. In a way you can even blame the late 50s ( i don't believe the world suddenly went to hell as soon as the 60s came about. Everything that burst out into the open in the 60s was simmering beneath the gilded surface of the 50s).

Right, that's what I thought you had in mind, and I agree. You're also right about the "simmering beneath the gilded surface of the 50s," examples being the proliferation of biker gangs (many of the early Hell's Angels were discontented WWII veterans), the Rock 'n' Roll explosion (early Rock was often raw), and the Beat Generation (precursor of Beatniks and Hippies).

 

[Widebrim]

Respectfully, I don't think the problem is that people demand too much ease in getting dressed (basic suits and dresses are easy outfits) or too many designers. The problem as I see it is that the I-don't-care-what-anyone-thinks attitude has run amok. Partly, designers are to blame. (What were the designers at Liz Claiborne thinking when they offered pink gingham dresses?) But a lot of people have just given up, too.

Society has gotten to the point where many people do not want to dress up for anything, but want to be accepted in whatever type of casual "uniform" that they adopt. In addition, at one time it was royalty and certain other well-known setters of style who led the fashion pace, and who were emulated by many, when it came time to dress up. Since the late-60s, the focus has shifted to that which is worn by those "on the street," the whole urban fashion scene. This is not to say that "street fashion" did not exist before then, but it certainly has reached its peak in the last few decades, and shows no signs of reversing.