Street photos 194o's to 1980's

[Transportfan]

Not to sound too much like an old fart, the 60's youth revolution of "do your own thing" and "let it all hang out" was taken literally in a non-fashion sense, somehow giving people permission to appear in public in ways that would have been unthinkable in earlier generations. The emphasis on youth led to the infantilization of menswear, where we see today grown men appearing in restaurants dressed for dinner like 8-year olds on the playground (shorts, caps, t-shirts, etc.).

But men are still surprisingly old school and traditional when they dress up. Women have actually taken that casualization trend much further, and have adapted casual wear such as t-shirts and tank tops as dressy outfits, something which would be unthinkable for men. What surprises me is that ppl are amazingly nearly oblivious to this fact, and actually think men don't know how to dress up properly.

 

[Cast_Member]

The emphasis on youth led to the infantilization of menswear, where we see today grown men appearing in restaurants dressed for dinner like 8-year olds on the playground (shorts, caps, t-shirts, etc.).

 

[sebo2000]

this is the best spot on the net for Toronto old photos!

 

[Silence&Motion]

Not to sound too much like an old fart, the 60's youth revolution of "do your own thing" and "let it all hang out" was taken literally in a non-fashion sense, somehow giving people permission to appear in public in ways that would have been unthinkable in earlier generations. The emphasis on youth led to the infantilization of menswear, where we see today grown men appearing in restaurants dressed for dinner like 8-year olds on the playground (shorts, caps, t-shirts, etc.).

I wouldn't be too hard on the 1960's, or necessarily use the term "infantilization". The 1960's was just another episode in a much larger transition from a strict, codified, homogeneous fashion to the more casual, heterogeneous fashion we see today. Even the business suit of today was the casual lounge suit of the early 20th century. There are many explanations for this shift, but one that I find most convincing is changing class structure. In a society with a strict division between a small urban bourgeoisie and a larger working class, your ability to signal your class status through fashion was very important. With the rise of the middle-class in the mid-20th century, and the blurring of boundaries between upper and lower ends of the class structure, fashion looses its ability to signal status.

 

[Earlscourt_Lad]

With the rise of the middle-class in the mid-20th century, and the blurring of boundaries between upper and lower ends of the class structure, fashion looses its ability to signal status.

Unless you consider the difference between a $20 fashion tshirt at Walmart, and a $200 one from Holt Renfrew. Same basic idea, in a fashion sense, but class (or wealth at least) are signaled quite clearly.

 

[Urban Shocker]

Best Suit Ever: the one that Cary Grant wears in Hitchcock's 1959 film North by Northwest.

 

[Goldie]

well-dressed slap-stick

Best Suit Ever: the one that Cary Grant wears in Hitchcock's 1959 film North by Northwest.

Photos on this site should be mandatory!

 

[thecharioteer]

Best Suit Ever: the one that Cary Grant wears in Hitchcock's 1959 film North by Northwest.

I'd vote for Bogart's suit in The Maltese Falcon:

 

[brewster]

My vote goes to me for wearing this Powder Blue Leisure Suit for my sisters wedding in 1976.


Powder Blue Leisure Suit by Mr T.O., on Flickr

 

[adma]

That thing looks half-prison, half-Mao

 

[brewster]

That thing looks half-prison, half-Mao

The leisure suit has become famous in our family. I wore it for 25 minutes during the ceremony , never to see the light of day again. When you were a 19 year old rocker in 1976 it wasn't cool to wear anything but skin tight bell bottoms , white tiger brand t-shirts and Greb Kodiaks. Little did I know that disco was just starting and the hippie era was done.

 

[Urban Shocker]

Cary Grant's North by Northwest suit:

http://neveryetmelted.com/2008/01/04/cary-grants-north-by-northwest-suit/

http://clothesonfilm.com/cary-grant-grey-kilgour-suit-in-north-by-northwest-1959/844/

http://www.google.ca/search?q=cary+...TCYj30gG94c3NAg&ved=0CCAQsAQ&biw=1072&bih=708

http://www.thesartorialist.com/photos/cary-grant-north-by-northwest/

http://www.richardtorregrossa.com/Cary-Grant-and-the-secrets-of-the-perfect-suit.htm

 

[Mississauga Slim]

My vote goes to me for wearing this Powder Blue Leisure Suit for my sisters wedding in 1976.


Powder Blue Leisure Suit by Mr T.O., on Flickr

A bit of a "Lord of the Rings meets Harry Potter" feel going on here.

 

[brewster]

A bit of a "Lord of the Rings meets Harry Potter" feel going on here.

The gentleman on the left still has a 2 foot beard and hair halfway down his back , pure white I might add. The boy is now 42 , my sister is the best sister in the world and I am balder then a new born's butt with hair growing everywhere but my head.

 

[Goldie]

A "Then & Now" of that photo would be a sight to behold!