pop culture – In the Vintage Kitchen: Where History Comes To Eat

The fun thing about adding vintage pieces to your wardrobe is the variety in how you can wear them. But sometimes this seemingly fun game of match and go can also be challenging. Don’t fret my dears, Ms. Jeannie is here to help advise.

Let’s take a look at this mid-century sweater that Ms. Jeannie has listed in her shop.

red2 — Vintage 1960’s Red Belted Cardigan

It’s bright color, cableknit accents and short sleeves make it a versatile piece to wear in multiple seasons and situations. The belt and buttons lend to its classcly tailored lines, which means that it would look great with the following…

Modern denimn trousers from AnnTaylor

jeans — Modern Denim Trousers from Ann Taylor

Brighten it up even more with an elegant silk blouse…

If you have great legs, pair it with a twill skirt from H & M

For an office look, wear it with Jones Wide Leg trousers from Anthropologie

pants — Jones Wide Leg Pants from Anthropologie

Or on cool summer nights…

shorts — Season Staple Shorts from Anthropologie

For office-in-to-evening outfits, this Jersey Tea Dress from Boden in taupe would be effortless…

Sometimes all it takes is a great accessory like this Italian leather handmade tote to make a vintage sweater look even greater!

A fun romp through one woman’s experiences with (now vintage!) clothing is the book called Love, Loss and What I Wore by Ilene Beckerman.

love-loss-1 — Love, Loss and What I Wore by Ilene Beckerman

This funny, poignant story details the critical clothing choices Ilene made during pivotal moments in her life. Each story is accompanied by delightful illustrations such as this one…

Ilene had no intention of publishing her experiences. She wrote down and illustrated her memories as a momento for her grandchildren and assembled them in a binder.

In 1995, her book was published, much to Ilene’s surprise. In 2010, the book was adapted by Nora Ephron and Delia Ephron as an Off-Broadway play.

love loss playbill cover — Playbill Cover

It’s on it’s second year run at the Westside Theater, but will be closing at the end of March 2012 after over 1,000 perfomances. Here’s a picture of the final cast…

lovelos-cast — Final Cast Members of Love, Loss and What I Wore, The Play

Over 30 different casts have participated in the play. Each cast performed for 4 weeks. Members included: Jane Lynch, Alexis Bleidel, Rita Wilson, Janeane Garofalo, Rosie O’Donnell, Kristen Chenowith and Samantha Manthis just to name a few.

Imagine the 1960’s vintage red belted sweater making it all the way to Broadway! Or at least it imagine it sparking some great memories in your life that could be passed down to other generations.

You never know… life is surprising!

Ms. Jeannie is perplexed. As of late, there seems to be a lot of hillbilly happening in the contemporary sporting culture. TV is packed with shows about guns, shows about catfish noodling, shows about 800 ways to camouflage your hunt.

Cut-off jean shorts and dirty t-shirts, duck-tapped boots and grungy attitudes are running rampant. All which got Ms. Jeannie wondering…whatever happened to the days of the elegant sportsman?

The Brad Pitt’s In A River Runs Through It

or the Henry Fonda’s of On Golden Pond?

on-golden-pond2 — On Golden Pond – Starring Henry Fonda

Or the Robert Redford’s in Out of Africa?

The classic styles, the hats, the wool and the tweed, the velvet and the linen? Has refinement gotten lost somewhere down the long and dusty road of men’s sporting clothes?

Let’s take a peek at some examples…

Ms. Jeannie was reminded about an invitation she received recently to a fox hunt in the Pennsylvania countryside. Never having been before, she was impressed that everyone participating looked like they had just stepped out of a 19th century painting like this one from Henry Thomas Alken’s…

BAL1279 — Fox Hunting by Henry Thomas Alken

Bright red coats, top hats, tan riding britches. Hound dogs underfoot, horses brushed, braided and polished to a shine. Now this was a spectacle of elegance. There was even a ceremonial pre-hunt cocktail served in silver cups… while on horseback, we might add. It was decandant. It was old-fashioned. It was magical. Grand animals in a grand setting. Well done fox hunters for keeping the spirit of the sport alive…

Sport their same look with these items, available on Etsy…

woolpants — 60’s Wool Mens Fox Hunting Pants from GreatGuyGifts

Antique Beaver Top Hat from threadsandpins — Antique Beaver Top Hat from Threadsandpins

Vintage English Riding Jacket from eldonhill

Likewise, the fisherman of yesteryear, seemed to do it right. Wool sweaters, corduroy pants, tweed hats… check out this 1924 advertisement for fishing tackle. He’s wearing an Oxford style shirt and a belt!

winchesterjpg — 1924 Winchester Fishing Tackle Poster

Get this same look with the following items:

basket — Antique Fly Fishing Creel from Nuvegriz

Boating never looked more picturesque than in this 1917 ad of a captain and his dog, proving that boating can still be fun even if you are wearing a bow tie!

Next time you are on the water, trying wearing this…

hat2 — Greek Fisherman’s Cap from PoisonPuddingFaire

bowtie — Dark Blue Denimn Bowtie from Bowtie Company

shirt — Woolrich Grey Long Sleeved Shirt from CairoVintage

vest — 1960s Vintage Mens Sweater Vest from VimVigorVintage

You’ll notice in these examples that all the men pictured are wearing hats. Hats stopped being worn by men around the 1950’s. Some attribute it to JFK and his own vanity. Apparently he liked his hair and wanted to show it off! Hence no need for a hat. As a trendsetter, others took note and the hat slowly started to fade out of popularity.

This is an interesting article on the history of the fedora…

http://www.ties-necktie.com/blog/wrapper.php?/archives/305-Fedora-Hats-in-Mens-Fashion.html

Ms. Jeannie wants to launch a campaign to help bring the Fedora back!!! How could you resist such handsome ones as these: