"Grab all the Koratron you can find" 1967
"For the rich guys we make Gold Alligator - We suggested green to match their money, but they seem to like matching their tie tack, their cigarette lighter, their gilt edged securities better." 1967
"Not traditional but excellent nonetheless, the classic officer's trench coat updates these days with a button-out flannel lining." 1964
"Scotchgard sheds rain even after repeated cleanings." 1961
"First really smartly styled waterproof coat - it's Alligator 725. Popular already in cities, towns and colleges..." 1961
Alligator 1961
Rainfair 1960
Alligator 1960
Rainfair 1956
It's the understatement of our elders. Men who did not name drop, change their last name to suit their profession or take Instagram pictures of their first class plane tickets. They did not tattoo barb wire on their arms nor did they ask a woman in public where her tattoo was located. If they tried self promotion -- they usually failed at it. They shaved. And when they looked in the mirror each morning -- they didn't stare.
Keith Darrow from 1961
It's the understatement of our elders. Men who did not name drop, change their last name to suit their profession or take Instagram pictures of their first class plane tickets. They did not tattoo barb wire on their arms nor did they ask a woman in public where her tattoo was located. If they tried self promotion -- they usually failed at it. They shaved. And when they looked in the mirror each morning -- they didn't stare.
Yep, still have my London Fog raincoat.
ReplyDeleteSO true. Great post. I'm printing it out and keeping it where I can read it often.
ReplyDeleteML
Fantastic post to which I agree completely. What in the hell happened to men?
ReplyDeleteYou're going to need more than that to keep warm today, Snuggles.
ReplyDeleteIn the last photo, he's riding on the porter's cart with his suitcase. THAT is badass.
ReplyDelete-13 today.
ReplyDeleteI'll take the flannel lined.
Why do these photos make me wanna smoke?
I am a powerful jedi knight.
ReplyDeleteA good rain/trench is a must-have staple in a man's wardrobe. But like a fedora, I always thought there exists a razer-edge line between Gestapo and Bogart. It all depends on how you carry it off: I say avoid pretentiousness and go with world-weary.
ReplyDelete-DB
Consider this...at supper the other night, I watched two women in their mid thirties sitting at the bar of a restaurant. All they did was play with their phones and take pictures of themselves making duck-faces. This went on for over two hours! One of them then complained that all their pictures were turning out the same, so she changed her glasses and the colour of her lipstick! It was all utterly horrifying.
ReplyDeletehope you're wearing more than that today, sugar pants.
ReplyDeletei have found that trenchcoats retain farts more than any other clothing - wool overcoats tend to breath more. I can fart in a trench coat and walk close to block and if i am careful i can retain the fart.
ReplyDeleteI do love a classic trench.
ReplyDelete(Can't criticize the 'selfies', however, as I do suffer from that affliction.)
Apparently real men in 1960 also commute in helicopters.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if the clothes changed first or the people? Suppose you can't use standard methods to calculate doom.
ReplyDelete--Matthew
With the exception of the kid in one of the ads those guys are all dead or wearing velvour track suits while the shabiness of old age relentlessly taunts them.
ReplyDeleteGather Ye rosebuds while Ye may. Preferrably in an Alligator rain coat.
In 50 years bloggers will be posting pics of 20 and 30-somethings walking around town in North Face fleece jackets talking about when "men were men". I hope I am around for that.
ReplyDeleteTintin, such an beautifully enlightened and cut-to-the-chase post.
ReplyDeleteOyster Guy and Phillie Phanatic's comments: Super funny...and oh so true.
Sadly.
-DB
The days of the good shepards. The greatest generation. When men were as you described them Tintin. Such was my Dad. Normandy invasion. Same with my Uncle. Three amphibious assaults in the South Pacific. Men tempered by causes much greater than themselves. We are not men.....we are....DEVO!
ReplyDeleteStill have my 25 year old grey London Fog rain coat.
ReplyDeleteNice to see so many wearing hats.
ReplyDeleteOvercoat or raincoat without hat = incomplete dressing.