Brooks Brothers Madras Shirt Dress 
Brooks Brother's Sundress
Brooks Brothers Resort WearSo I'm talking to this old Army buddy who's in the food biz and we're going on about how white burgundies make for a nice pairing with triple creams. This is usually champagne territory but the still white makes it a little more complex. And I say it reminds me of port wine cheddar on a Triscut with Ballantine Ale. Rich is quiet for a moment and says, "You are a man of extremes."
Maybe I am. Give me the sticks or the city. A station wagon or something with two seats and a rag top. Give me J Press or Savile Row. I'm not so keen on the stuff in between.
These are from a 1990 Brooks Brothers catalog and while you may think there's a world of difference between these ladies and the woman below -- I don't. I mean sure, they're Wonder Bread but there's no botox, nail extensions or implants. Or, maybe I am a man of extremes.
1990 Brooks Brothers - the essence of Tea Leoni.
ReplyDeleteNice.
- Abe Frohman
Abe-
ReplyDeleteYou need to spend more on advertising.
I rather covet that plaid shirtdress. Discretely of course. Under my breath.
ReplyDeleteWow, amazing how far our fashion sense has nose dived in less than 20 years. Though, if you were to pick up a 2009 BB catalog, you might still have hope.
ReplyDeleteThe lady in the blue sun dress is practically a dead ringer for Kate Winslet.
Good observations on extremes and women.
-DB
wonder bread? do you mean they're white ? I know that's close to crime these days. Gee how 'boring'. I hate people like you.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, the other reason for them looking fresher is there was no photoshop in those days- that over airbrushed look is usually done by hack graphics people with little or no understanding of the subtelies of human flesh - particularly fair skin which is the most beautiful thing to paint - like the inside of an oyseter shell- translucent, with color coming from beneath the flesh..
"Anonymous said...
ReplyDeletewonder bread? do you mean they're white ? I know that's close to crime these days. Gee how 'boring'. I hate people like you."
How about "Wonder Bread" meaning "wholesome"? It doesn't always have to be a racial thing...
I agree, naturally appealing to the eyes.
TW
The first one is the hottest. I wonder what she looks like now?
ReplyDeleteI'm assuming that, by Wonder Bread, you just mean plain vanilla...and not the racial reference suggested above. Whereas "A Woman" is more butter pecan...probably with a voice like a gravel pit, but she knows just what she wants you to do to/for her, and if you won't/can't she'll do it herself.
ReplyDeleteWhy on earth do you have a 1990 BB catalog?
LPC- Never covet. Better just to getit.
ReplyDeleteDB- Good eye, DB. A total Winslet. Perhaps better.
Anon 09:23- Wonder Bread means a lot of things. When I first moved to NYC a very good friend who is Jewish called me 'Wonder Bread.' I also dated a girl from Puerto Rico who called me Wonder Bread. Yes, it means white and lots of other things. It also means having a sense of humor-- which you may want to look into.
TWJ- You got it.
Anon 13:12 No kidding. I'd love to see what they all look like.
Anon 14:09 Butter Pecan? Lets get right to it and call it, Breyers Butter Pecan. Or even better, Sealtest Ice Milk.
BTW, I have a lotta catalogs. You must be new here.
What you really need is a Peck & Peck catalogue from 1960.
ReplyDeleteAs in, "She's the sort of girl who went to Wellesley, but got her education at Harvard Square."
Is it just me, or is anyone else struck by the incongruity here? You say you're strictly a city or country guy, eschewing the boredom of the suburbs in between. Yet, these women you find so appealing epitomize the very suburban country club set that turn your nose up at. You are one conflicted man, tintin.
ReplyDeleteIn New York, Boston, Philadelphia and many other places, the rich had/have houses in the city and houses in the country.
ReplyDeleteThe suburbs were/are drive-thru land.
(Piping Rock girls were never, ever "suburban.")
((Not to pick on Piping Rock.))
Anon 21.34 Suburban country club women? I'd say the gals look just like those refined ladies that look good in the city, country, or suburbs. They hold their back straight, move with femininity and grace, are tatoo free, and can drive you to tears with innuendo.... That look that Francois Truffaut described when discussing Hitchcock's heroines...Ivory girls who'll tear the skin off your back in private. Now that's a case in extremes
ReplyDeleteWhen I first moved to NYC a very good friend who is Jewish called me 'Wonder Bread.
ReplyDeleteI hope you reciprocated by calling him kike, after all it's just friendly ribbing. It is a derogatory term that was, in fact, originally coined by Jews to describe what they saw as bland WASP behavior (in other words we're not neurotic maniacs like ALan Dershowitz)
Sorry, I grew up here, I didn't come here, and I don't take their shit.
Anon 18:44- I have been looking for Peck and Peck as well as old Talbots (mid 70's to mid 80's) and Laura Ashley catalogs. Oddly enough they're getting very pricey.
ReplyDeleteAnon 21:34 - Did you read the post or just look at the pictures?
Anon 23:42- In some odd way the country (and I mean the country or sticks) offers the same thing as a big city. Privacy. The long private dirt road with a gate equates to a door man and a high floor.
cg- I miss those cool Hitchcock blondes. Where did they all go?
Anon 9:29-Actually it was a she. And I used to call her a JAP for Jewish American Princess. I also asked her what's the difference between a JAP and Jello. Jello moves when you eat it. It was meant as a joke and so was her comment about Wonder Bread. It wasn't a slur with the intent to hurt.
It's Anon 21:34 again...
ReplyDeleteI should clarify the intent of my previous comment. I wasn't saying the WOMEN were suburban. For God's sake, they're models who wouldn't be caught dead off-camera in anything as matronly as a Brooks' issued madras shirtdress or multi-colored polo and twill shorts. It's the CLOTHING that's the modest uniform of choice for the tony suburban country club set. And since you loathe the suburbs, I find it surprising you're drawn to the style offered by their retailers of choice.
Hey, maybe you're not conflicted. Just affected.
Very cool post. Wonderful images. What happened to the American style look?
ReplyDeleteAnon 21:34
ReplyDeleteYou seem to have missed the point of contrasts but that's because, in addition to being affected and conflicted, I can't communicate very well.
Heavy Tweed- It's still around Indian Hill and Onwentsia. The Union Lg on Jackson to be sure. I see it on the street here in NY a lot...and at my club where you can still get a decent BLT at lunch without having to rub shoulders with the proles.
ReplyDeleteI give my driver Johnnie a lot of my old clothes. He looks a little silly in my monogramed button downs but no one seems to notice. But please, don't get me started on domestics. Oh, Luvie...another G&T...I must get to work on that annoying Friday Belt thing. Ciao.
When were you a guest at The Onwentsia Club? Were you there for golf, tennis, paddle??? Not to overstate the obvious, but you certainly aren't a member. Since the 'burbs are such a bore. Besides, that pesky bit of the $100,000 plus initiation, and the multiple member endorsement.
ReplyDeleteRubbing shoulders with THE PROLES??? You're not one of them? Of course not. The proles are working class. And working is hardly an activity that distracts, let alone occupies, you.
ReplyDeleteWhat kind of asshole are you? The worst kind, obviously. A total wannabe. To the trailer born.
Anon 21:13- You forgot Indian Hill-- or haven't you been able to find it on Google.
ReplyDeleteAnon 21:35- Sorry. Tried to make a joke with the 'affected' comment. I don't have a driver named Johnnie nor do I reside with Luvi. Should you be unable to secure a sense of humor I can recommend other blogs where you can scream, 'asshole' to your hearts content.
All this talk about having a sense of humor. What is funny, what is not. Blah, blah, blah.
ReplyDeleteWant to know what's funny? Human nature. Invariably, when Person A makes a joke, and it falls flat, it's always because Person B has no sense of humor. Never because the intended joke simply wasn't funny.
Anon 14:28-
ReplyDeleteI agree that humor is subjective. Case in point - Adam Sandler. But I don't watch him anymore. Or David Spade. Unless you're my ex-wife, I'm not sure why you're watching me.
Still getting caught up on older posts. The Kenneth Gordon shirt company out of Metarie, LA had, in the early 80's an in stock catalogue. I lusted-loved one of the ladies in the catalogue forever! Same attributes of these Brooks gals. I even asked the sales rep for KG if he knew who she was...I was smitten.
ReplyDeleteoh my...i remember those sundress and those shorts that looks like it's for a dude!
ReplyDeleteBrooks Brother India is my go-to place for the original button-down collar shirts.
ReplyDelete