You Look It, But Do You Act It?

[pgoat]

gotta be careful not to cross that fine line

 

[pgoat]

Even my grandfather loved the Beatles. How can someone not like the Beatles? Seriously.....my mind is blown.

I always smile when I hear Sean Connery put down the Beatles in Goldfinger.

But going by his (James Bond's) station at that time, it's not too hard to see that he would have considered them awful. I've read that Elvis hated them too - though that may have been the rivalry resentment thing?

It still weird to hear that in 2008. Kinda like not liking pizza...or ice cream

 

[Maguire]

gotta be careful not to cross that fine line

fascinating, is this movie worth taking a look at ?

basically the thing that bothers me or that concerns me is that no matter what we do, we can't force this, and to a degree it will always seemed forced- ie back in the 1920s or 40s or even 50s men and women acted that way naturally. there was no conscious decision to dress or act "vintage", they were vintage, so to speak.

Actually.. come to think of it I don't like ice cream.

Motown.. i always found kind of annoying, but i've got to say i do enjoy the Coasters but i'd never consider the Coasters "great", simply fun, light hearted stuff. at the same time there are catchy songs made in the 80s, and even the 90s, but its one thing to say that's a "nice song" and another thing to say that's a "great piece of music" or an achievement. the Brandenburg Concertos are an achievement. 99 problems and a bitch ain't one.. is not.

anyway this is not specifically about music either but about lifestyle i imagine.

 

[Charlie Noodles]

I'm about thinking with the head, not feeling with the heart. That's not to say I don't have a fanciful or romantic streak, it'd be a rather large one in fact. But in terms of vintage ideas and morality I will discard the ones that are silly and outdated and adopt the ones that are not. A lot of the stuff of being a 'vintage gentleman' seems rather sexist to me, for instance.

 

[Miss 1929]

Only aesthetically...

Like I always say, I like the aesthetics of the olden days, but I like certain things about modern times, like vaccinations, civil rights, etc.

I try to have good manners, and behave like a lady, but I am not about to go back in time to an era in which it was expected that I would be a second-class citizen due to my sex, religion (or lack thereof in my case), or race.

Definitely I am NOT a conservative, old-fashioned person! If I was, I doubt that I could have embraced the vintage lifestyle to the degree I have, as it would be considered "weird" by the people I would have been trying to conform to...

Luckily, I learned at an early age to be an individual with individual tastes and behavior, and damn the consequences.

I am about as far at the other end of the spectrum from Lizzie Maine as one could get, judging by her entry on the first page of this thread, but LM, I wouldn't change you for anything! So there is certainly a lot of room on the scale for us to be as vintage inside as out, as we please...

the point is stick to it STAND UP AGAINST THE TIDE, etc. the soul is more important than the material aspects of it. you may end up influencing people positively by example.

Now that I totally agree with. But I think you are being very judgmental about music, when it is really something that can only be a matter of personal taste. But how anyone could listen to Hey Jude, or to Louis Armstrong improvising, and not be moved is beyond me...

 

[DerMann]

A definite yes-no.

Vintage style and technology is an obsession of mine, and I try to use it as much as I can everyday.

However, I don't wear a tie as often as I should, and I don't have that many "true" suits (mostly just sportjackets and trousers).

Fountain pens are another niche I've managed to entangle myself with. Within six months I've managed to acquire three pens (all made before 1950) which I use on a daily basis. Not only do I use them, but I also restore them and sell them.

I try to observe as many courtesies as possible, holding doors open for ladies, doffing my hat to ladies, removing my hat indoors and keeping it on in lobbies, standing to meet someone, refraining from harsh language while in the presence of ladies, giving up my seat and jacket to ladies, and many more little bits and bobs. Some times, though, I slip up in situations where manners are required, but hey, no one's perfect, right?

I can't stand modern music (with techno and trance aside, but they're not really music, just coordinated sounds on a synthesiser ). The newest thing I listen to is Glen Miller, most of my other tastes lie in the teens, twenties, and thirties.

On the other hand, I could live day-to-day without computers. I've built three computers, repaired several, and make suggestions to friends about hardware. I play PC games online with my friends and show up to LAN parties in a linen suit and captoe bluchers. A few months back I was engrossed with the internet cesspool known as 4chan. I made boatloads of friends, and even a girl friend by being involved with it. Technology is definitely a very large part of my life.

 

[DerMann]

$chan has given us the LOLCats so that = MFW

I take it you read Wired magazine then?

In the even that your knowledge of 4chan does come from Wired, and not from first hand accounts of the actual board, 4chan has indeed given us much more than LOLcats. Most of it isn't necessarily SFW either...

My girlfriend and I both got really bored with it because there is a definite end to 4chan. Once you have seen all the memes, it's very easy to see the same image/joke used multiple times on multiple threads within 20 minutes. There is no original content on /b/.

They definitely have some very nice wallpapers on /wg/ from time to time, though.

 

[CharlesB]

I realize that...

Ive known 4chan for a while. I also know that a lot of the basis of the Anonymous movement has either support or inspiration from there as well.

I take it you read Wired magazine then?

In the even that your knowledge of 4chan does come from Wired, and not from first hand accounts of the actual board, 4chan has indeed given us much more than LOLcats. Most of it isn't necessarily SFW either...

My girlfriend and I both got really bored with it because there is a definite end to 4chan. Once you have seen all the memes, it's very easy to see the same image/joke used multiple times on multiple threads within 20 minutes. There is no original content on /b/.

They definitely have some very nice wallpapers on /wg/ from time to time, though.

 

[DerMann]

For me, the clothing is not really the most important aspect. I agree that computers and the internet may be great, but honestly, once i get myself settled i'd like to cut myself away from it as best as possible, as it drags me away from books or just enjoying other aspects of the Real world.. It ends up being pure escapism.

I know what you mean. For the longest time, I had a pile of Jeeves and Wooster books just sitting around. However, whenever I got free time I would open up 4chan instead of cracking open Wodehouse - knowing that Wodehouse was twice times as funny and ten times as clever.

Fortunately I was able to go cold turkey. With sites like imagechan, there's no need to drudge through the various hazards of 4chan (furry Friday, Guro and the like) to find the bit of gold at the bottom of the metaphorical sieve.

I really wish I would read more, but sometimes it is very hard to pry myself from the computer. I've taken to reading books from Project Gutenberg on my laptop before bed. A step in the right direction, right?

 

[Maguire]

I really wish I would read more, but sometimes it is very hard to pry myself from the computer. I've taken to reading books from Project Gutenberg on my laptop before bed. A step in the right direction, right?

perhaps, but its not good for the eyes, i imagine. I prefer physical copies, even of works i can find online.

Even now i find it difficult at times to pry myself away from the computer. But i've already successfully removed television from my life almost entirely. Computer is the last phase if it happens, and it will be difficult.

 

[DerMann]

I'm absolutely certain it's perfectly terrible for my eyesight. Hopefully turning the brightness to minimum and having the lights off will help keep my eyes from melting just yet.

Also, I was lucky to discover wet shaving as a superior method to modern shaving. Invested in a good badger brush and safety razor.

 

[Mojito]

I'm not 100% "old fashioned" in my way of life or thinking. I actually prefer the lurid, gaudy, and "offensive" parts of the "Golden Era." That's why I love off-colour pre-Code cinema and exploitation films. I like it that so many people think the "good old days" were so pure and wholesome, yet I've got all this evidence that it wasn't. Sure, it's not as "in your face" as today, but it was still there. Imagine what it was like to all these people who just came out of the uptight Victorian and Edwardian eras! It must've been totally offensive to see a woman 30 feet high in nothing but her step-ins!

Which brings this to me! I swear a lot. I like vulgar and trashy things. I like to laugh and LAUGH HARD! But I'm also very "moral" (I love my husband and no one else!), I'm polite when around those I don't know, I always use Please and Thank You, I never use swear words around family or those I don't know. I don't even put other people down on this message board just because they might not dress like me!!! I don't think I'm any different than a woman my age from 1934. Or any woman from any time for that matter! I've heard that my grandmother (b. 1901) had a vulgar sense of humour and I guess I get it from her!

Absolutely, Amy Jeanne - I have a fondness for these aspects as well (it would be hard to love the twenties and not have a soft spot for what sometimes edges into the loud or OTT...it's part of the charm of the era).

I've spent years researching a particular Edwardian / Twenties merchant mariner who, having grown up in a particular milieu, had a certain penchant for strong language. During a particular event his language was so "colourful" that it was thought by one particular disapproving passenger that he was drunk (he was a lifelong total abstainer). And yet others recognised his extraordinary personal heroism and character - typical of the remarks about him came from one of the women whom he rescued during the event, who said he could not have shown her more courtesy, and another who said that to her he personified the finest traditions of the British sailor. One newspaper editorial was scathing about the woman's criticisms, asking if he should have confined himself to language appropriate to a game of croquet. Even in the Gilded Age (let alone the golden age), some people could recognise that there were more important qualities to being a natural gentleman than the words he chose. As a family member told me, his language might have been littered with high seas invective, but he was otherwise a Victorian gentleman.

When we see the golden age through rosy glasses and draw negative comparisions with life today, I'm always reminded of Louise Brookes' comment about hypocrites who "prayed in the parlour and practiced incest in the barn" (she had reason to be angry - she'd been a victim of sexual abuse herself). I have relatives on both sides of my family who were only able in recent years to reveal that they were abused by trusted family friends and authority figures in the 30s and 50s - and these were from "nice" families in "safe" suburban areas. Which is not to say that these things do not occur today - only that the past isn't perfect. One of the things that so fascinates me about studying social history is the surface gloss, the underbelly, and everything in between.

As I said, I like having more freedom to choose everything from my values to my personal style. Many aspects of the age have a dual edge to them - one of the things today that concerns me is the increasing sense of urban isolation. We work long hours, we come home on a long commute, we shut ourselves up with our home entertainment centres and have little connection with those around us. There are many lonely, isolated people out there, particularly the elderly, who once would have been more engaged with their neighbours. The downside to that former social proximity was the fact that sometimes your neighbours were not just close to you, they were judging you, and if you stepped outside approved behavioural perameters your life could be made a misery.

Miss 1929, I'm absolutely with you on your post - and delight in the fact that we have a choice on whether or not we want to listen to deliciously degenerate jazz.

 

[Amy Jeanne]

When we see the golden age through rosy glasses and draw negative comparisions with life today, I'm always reminded of Louise Brookes' comment about hypocrites who "prayed in the parlour and practiced incest in the barn" (she had reason to be angry - she'd been a victim of sexual abuse herself). I have relatives on both sides of my family who were only able in recent years to reveal that they were abused by trusted family friends and authority figures in the 30s and 50s - and these were from "nice" families in "safe" suburban areas. Which is not to say that these things do not occur today - only that the past isn't perfect. One of the things that so fascinates me about studying social history is the surface gloss, the underbelly, and everything in between.

I 100% agree with this! I love a raunchy pre-Code film and nude "art" from the era as much as I love the squeaky clean Hays Code films and the perception that a lot of people have about the time. My Aunt Ella had a baby when she was 16 and cast it aside because she was too busy partying. She died in 2001 and she was always terribly racist. It was rather embarassing -- she would just come out with racial slurs like it was nothing; part of her everyday life. I guess she never got the memo that society wasn't segregated anymore. If that's how it was in the "good old days", I'll take today! I'm not saying racism isn't around today (trust me, I grew up in a hick town and know all too well how ignorant and stupid people are!), but I do believe it was more open then because things were more segregated. My grandmother, on the other hand, thought girls who cut their hair short were "whores." lol This was in the 1920s.

I'm with Miss 1929, too. I'm mostly into the "old days" for the aesthetics. Things just LOOKED better then! Art Deco and Art Moderne are two of the most beautiful things, in my opinon. I love old movies, too. I'm mostly into the objects and popular culture of the time.

I just put some deliciously degenerate jazz in my iPod (GASP)! Nothing sounds better when at work!

 

[Flivver]

I have never been drunk, the closest I have come to alcohol was my High School science project - building a scale model still and running it. Someone snuck in and drank the mash - but I got an A+ for trying. I drive close to the speed limit-5 mph over. Punched a time clock until I was unable to continue to work. I was and am considered quite boring. The wildest thing I do on a regular basis is shave with my straight razors.[huh] I wasn't in the scouts, so I have to blame it upon my being raised by old fashioned parents in an old fashioned family.

I was also raised by old fashioned parents (born 1918 and 1919) who taught me their values. And since I was an only child, those values stuck. I also have never been drunk (I don't even drink, and never have) and I try to treat others as I'd like to be treated.

I find that most of my friends are ten years older than me. I guess that's because our values are more alike. I don't try to be old-fashioned...it's just who I am. People my own age never understood me nor I them. That's why I find the Lounge to be so much fun...it's full of people who are displaced in time - like me!

 

[LizzieMaine]

Which is not to say that these things do not occur today - only that the past isn't perfect.

I don't think there's anyone here who thinks the past was perfect -- as the descendent of people who lived in poverty during the Depression, I certainly don't. But one thing that's often bugged me is the tendency many modern folk have to tar the past with a broad, bad brush: everyone was sexist, everyone was racist, everyone was repressed, and damn, aren't we lucky to live in such enlightened times today, free of all that.

I think it's important to bear in mind that there were plenty of people in 1920s-40s America who *didn't* casually accept the evils of the time, and they weren't just rare intellectuals writing in obscure publications. Many common people of the time thought the practice of legal segregation in the South was a ridiculous violation of real American principles -- it's no coincidence that the foundation of the Civil Rights movement was laid by the generation born between 1905 and 1930. Many ordinary American women worked and made significant contributions to society outside the boundaries of the kitchen -- by 1940, over thirty percent of the total American workforce was female, and that's well before the boost in female employment created by WW2. Right here in sleepy little Rockland, Me., the movie theatre where I'm house manager today was owned and operated in 1940 by a strong, single woman. And on and on I could go.

Certainly, there were evils in the past. But all too often I think those evils are invoked merely to distract attention from the equally-offensive evils of the present day. Racism, sexism, classism, and all the other isms are just as present now as they were then, the main difference being that they're expressed behind closed doors.

 

[retrogirl1941]

The opinion of most people I work with is that; I am stuck in a leave to beaver episode. I always try to act like a lady(or as much as one can in world where all the gentlemen have disapeared.).I know when to stand up for myself but do it with out being unnessarily mean or hurtful. I consider that if I dress like a lady, I should attempt to act like one.

Samantha

 

[Smithy]

Well it really seems to water down any genuine emotion as far as i'm concerned, when you're in a relationship with someone who was in 10 relationships before. And you yourself having had a similar number. How can it be special, how can an "i love you" really have any value?

Sorry but IMHO that's complete nonsense. It is capable for human beings to fall in love more than once. This seems more a fact that there are distinct differences between countries and individual levels of religious persuasion which seem to inform people's ideas of love and the nature of it. But I think it's slightly arrogant to think that those who have led, what could be deemed as a virginal life, have an exclusive market on love, or that how many people one has slept with previously determines how deep one can be in love. If such ideas stem from a religious belief fair enough, but that's a matter of belief and faith, rather than any real evidence of such. Classic case of each to their own.

 

[byronic]

The opinion of most people I work with is that; I am stuck in a leave to beaver episode. I always try to act like a lady(or as much as one can in world where all the gentlemen have disapeared.).I know when to stand up for myself but do it with out being unnessarily mean or hurtful. I consider that if I dress like a lady, I should attempt to act like one.

Samantha

Ahem! ahem! i like to think that some of us are gentlemen, i give up my seat to ladies on crowded trains and always hold doors open just like my dear old granny taught me, (so it was a lady who taught me manners )- but you are right retro, judging by the astonished looks and gushing thanks i receive from ladies my behaviour must be the exception rather than the rule...

 

[freebird]

I was also raised by old fashioned parents (born 1918 and 1919) who taught me their values. And since I was an only child, those values stuck. I also have never been drunk (I don't even drink, and never have) and I try to treat others as I'd like to be treated.

I find that most of my friends are ten years older than me. I guess that's because our values are more alike. I don't try to be old-fashioned...it's just who I am. People my own age never understood me nor I them. That's why I find the Lounge to be so much fun...it's full of people who are displaced in time - like me!

Sounds like we could be related. My parents were born a little later than yours (1928 and 1931) but other than that small difference. Most of my close friends are at least 10 years older than I, with the exception of a few High School classmates that still live in the area.

My family is tight-knit. When we moved here from Tulsa, it wasn't long before My Grandmother and Aunt followed, then My Brother,my Aunt and Uncle moved back from New Mexico and another Uncle also moved back after working in Seattle,Louisiana, San Diego, Long Island and Dallas. My Sister who's 6 years younger than I, went to college and married after graduating. She lived in Arkansas with her family for several years before they moved to the county in which we live.

This year has been the first in many that we haven't celebrated Christmas, New Years or the 4th together, mainly due to my Mom's having Alzheimers and not feeling up to having the get-togethers here at the house.

 

[retrogirl1941]

Ahem! ahem! i like to think that some of us are gentlemen, i give up my seat to ladies on crowded trains and always hold doors open just like my dear old granny taught me, (so it was a lady who taught me manners )- but you are right retro, judging by the astonished looks and gushing thanks i receive from ladies my behaviour must be the exception rather than the rule...

I have yet to run into many gentlemen in my day to day travels.

Samantha