Sartorial swoonage October 22, 2008 6:44 PM Subscribe
Gentlemen, are you searching for that special something to wear to the Paris Court Ball? Ladies, do you long to don a pelisse and kid shoes for your next round of afternoon calls? Vintage Textile can help.
Their "greatest hits" galleries:
Except for the first word of this post and the first picture in the second link (which is the first picture I looked at). posted by DU at 6:52 PM on October 22, 2008
I'm sorry, I guess I should have started off with "Ladies." But there are some men's things scattered throughout if you look - the red damask coat lower down in the "Early" link is particularly fine. posted by chihiro at 6:56 PM on October 22, 2008
I love looking at stuff like this, and I wish there was a A Dress A Day type blog for clothes from the 1700s-1930s (and if there is, please, point me to it!) I also like Antique Dress, and I think it's too bad Heaven of Gowns is being renovated, but I can still look at this Worth ball gown all day if I like thanks to thanks to Google. Also, for things one can't buy, there's the Met's Costume Institute, not like I am buying any of this in this lifetime. posted by shirobara at 7:00 PM on October 22, 2008
Man, I am in love. posted by headspace at 7:59 PM on October 22, 2008
Okay, seriously though, is there any where you can find men's vintage (and by vintage, I mean pre-1940s) or good quality vintage-replica clothing for less than the monthly rent of a NYC apartment? posted by Caduceus at 8:04 PM on October 22, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]
I loveloathe love that site. If only I had the money... posted by elfgirl at 8:04 PM on October 22, 2008
Caduceus, find the forum online called The Fedora Lounge (I am at work, can't access link) and ask around. They are devoted to that stuff.
Most of my vintage look is reproductions, except for some reason I have lots of 'era' gloves. Not sure how that happened ... posted by Megami at 8:19 PM on October 22, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]
Do they have any soiled rags wo you can dress like the peasantry of that era and be truly vintage? posted by jonmc at 8:23 PM on October 22, 2008
It would be so easy to be perfectly vintage and perfectly stylish and perfectly fashionable if only you had an infinite supply of money and time and effort.
Here's a little something for the gentlemens. Or at least, something for the little gentlemens. posted by freshwater_pr0n at 8:53 PM on October 22, 2008
Thanks for this post chihiro. A lovely way to end the day. So much to savor.
This site is heaven. Swoonage is so right. My favorite. Dream clothes that I'm profoundly grateful not to wear or live in the era that wore them. But they would be marvelous for just the right person on the right occasion. Each image gives me a rush. What amazingly beautiful clothes, each one a classic, something out of a novel.
Interesting shoe trivia: shoes in this [1700's and 1800's] period, as well as in earlier and later periods, were made as "straights," or without contouring to fit the right or left foot. The wearer simply shaped the shoe to his or her foot by wearing it.
Historically they are a delightful feast to see, imagining the people who wore them and who might wear them now. What a different world it is, the one then and the one now. posted by nickyskye at 8:54 PM on October 22, 2008
So true! Most women would get (at least) a new dress every year. Guys just wore the same thing over and over and over until it was a pile of rags, especially during the Depresssion era. Then their wife/mom would patch it up and the guys would wear it for another couple of years.
As a vintage clothing dealer, I snap up any menswear from before the 1940's, no matter what the condition. And I am always surprised by the prices I get for them.
Then there are the later mens' clothes, from the 50's and 60's. Far too often they are spotted with unfortunate stains. My guess is that their wearers were drunk - big greasy food stains on ties, dirt and grime on shirts, and don't even get me started on the suits.
This is all with the exception of tuxedos. No one ever throws out or wears out a tuxedo, and black hides the stains. I could cover the walls of my house in vintage tuxedos. Tuxedos are like fur stoles, or wedding gowns, or those beaded 60's Made in Hong Kong tops - they were for special occasions, and special to the wearers, but no one ever threw them out, so there are a ton still around, and therefore mostly not as valuable as people think.
Thank you for posting this site - I think this seller is one of the best out there. So often vintage clothing dealers are considered rag pickers, but as this seller demonstrates, there is an artistic, social, and historical merit to vintage that should be recognized (so PLEASE - don't throw out your grandparents' old clothes!). posted by suki at 5:30 AM on October 23, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]
No smoking jackets? I need a smoking jacket to fully enjoy my cigar. posted by fixedgear at 5:44 AM on October 23, 2008
As a vintage clothing dealer, I snap up any menswear from before the 1940's, no matter what the condition. And I am always surprised by the prices I get for them.
Suki,
I heard a wonderful talk once by a woman, Monica Randall, who wrote a book called "The Gold Coast Mansions of Long Island" about the vanished Gatsby-style summer palaces built by the robber barons that used to stud the coast here.
As a teenager, Randall had cycled around photographing these long empty mansions shortly before they were due to be demolished (must have been the early 1970s) for new development when land prices went crazy. She said she often found closet fulls of perfect period clothes just abandoned by the bankrupted owners - summer party dresses and servant uniforms by the score and rows of handmade shoes.
She (and her sister, I think) would cart off the most gorgeous frocks on their bicycles - often just before the bulldozers went in. She said that she bitterly regrets leaving behind all the 1920s and 30s mens suits and shoes and hats - at the time she didn't think they were "pretty" enough to be saved! posted by Jody Tresidder at 7:45 AM on October 23, 2008 [3 favorites has favorites]
Wow. So maybe I'm not the only one who has that recurring dream where you're in the best vintage clothing store ever? You know, the place where everything is in mint condition, your size, and priced between 5 and 25 dollars. posted by chihiro at 8:04 AM on October 23, 2008 [3 favorites has favorites]
Anybody else see this and think of The Village? The period is about right.
Guys just wore the same thing over and over and over until it was a pile of rags, especially during the Depresssion era.
Thank goodness for clothing fads... the only reason we ever get rid of something is if we feel stupid wearing it. posted by Civil_Disobedient at 9:33 AM on October 23, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]
If Bernard Cornwell taught me anything, it's that pelisses aren't just for chicks.
They're also for cavalry officers of the Grande Armée. posted by adamdschneider at 11:20 AM on October 23, 2008
As always, all women.
Sexist. I think I'd look smashing in an Edwardian silk brocade ball gown. posted by Pollomacho at 12:09 PM on October 23, 2008
Thank you for the link! Beautiful stuff. I'll definitely come here when I'm not coveting stuff over at The Frock. posted by Thin Lizzy at 8:19 PM on October 23, 2008
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Sigh.
I'll just play tennis and be rakish BY MY SELF. OKAY! SO THEN?
posted by The Whelk at 6:46 PM on October 22, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]