Men’s Fashion Foibles from 1862
Looking at my estate sale purchase, a bound issue of Punch from 1862, we see that gentlemen were not spared from the editors’ gibes …
Returned Artist (after a year or two’s study in Paris). “What enormous hats you fellows wear in England, now!”
Mr. Bristles. “Then you really think it an improvement, then?”
Miss Spikes. “Decidedly– it hides so much more of your face.”
Before you offer your Railway Wrapper to Young Ladies, be sure to see your fellow has not rolled up in it your toilet necessaries, and sundry articles intended for the Washerwoman, which he could not find room for elsewhere.
Hysterical and right on!
Male dress, like that of women, has, likely, always been a minefield.
I’m 79, retired, and mostly dress in khakis or jeans and T-shirts (turtlenecks in the winter months) and loud sweaters. A kind of nondescript uniform.
In high school, in the early 50s, I worked in a men’s clothing store, and was a “clothes horse,” despite living in farm country in NW Ohio. I had my dress suits tailor-made and often wore cashmere argyle socks. When I went to college, my first term, I took 155 shirts, and changed three times a day.
Beginning in 1962 I had a seven-year, business career and dressed in the suit and tie uniform. But it’s clear that business dress is full of political messages. The usual ones are “I am more important that you are.” or “I’m more powerful than you are.”
So when I became an instructional designer, over 40 years ago, now, I dressed down, sharply, to get authority signals out of my dress. I was interested in fostering learning.
I’ve had a beard since about 1969, but partly because I lost what I had on top. I tell my grandchildren “I’m not bald; it just slipped.
You can see how dangerous it is to raise the subject of male dress with me.
🙂
R. John Howe
Washington, D.C.
So one nugget of history uncovers another! It’s interesting how you chose “approachability” over “authority” to foster learning!
About 30 years ago, when my girls were small, their best friends were Saudi girls that lived close by, and I became good friends with their mother too. I had a trip planned to San Francisco, and she insisted that I borrow a beautiful magenta wool crepe dress from her and her perfume too. I realized that she thought I didn’t have any “good” clothes. She felt one should send that message of respectability, and I, being a good middle-class American, thought people would think, “Who does she think she is!” That was only one of the cultural lessons I picked up from our friendship.
And I did wear the dress on the plane. 🙂
I worked in a large public reference library in the UK for many years, and in our basement stacks (where the interesting stuff was kept, and we did not allow the public to go!) we had on our shelves a complete run of bound copies of Punch. I do think I ever remember having to get one of these volumes out for a reader. How sad is that! Look at the wealth of interest that you have found in them! It has been a delight to see these two posts of yours – I hope there’ll be more to come.
Oh, there will. And I will be counting on my British friends to explain some of them to me! 🙂
It wasn’t that long ago in countries other than the U.S. that men’s flamboyant dress rivaled and even outdid women’s. The whole Beau Brummel fop deal is probably the best known now, but a quick glance through a well illustrated art history book will show men draped in sumptuous brocades, velvets and furs. And the male facial hair thing. I shudder at photos of men’s hair in the ’70s – the mustaches, the sideburns, etc. It’s reassuring to be reminded that men are just as susceptible as women to the peer pressure of fashion, whether or not you look good in it.
It’s interesting to me how most of us try not to call attention to ourselves with our clothes anymore – we rely on our cars, phones, and other technical toys to give people signs about our socio-economic status. This has to be the first era in history where people spend extra money to get clothes that look old and worn from the moment they are purchased.
OH OH, as I get ‘older’ I am dressing More flamboyantly than I ever did. Sort of like ‘dressing up’ as a kid! As a friend from Texas once said…’there’s a teenager in here trying to get out!” Don’t know what all that says about me but I am having fun and I do make my own ‘stuff’. As an RN for 50 years, not counting student years, I wore scrubs so maybe that’s my ‘excuse’. Have you ever seen this: http://advancedstyle.blogspot.com/ My heroes 🙂
Enjoyed R. John Howe’s comment?
I can so remember the dress code of the late 1950’s for both men,and women. One would never think of running to the corner store for a quart of milk in shorts. No, clothes had to be changed, hair combed, etc. The on sunday, Mom always had to wear hats to church and Dad his suit with vest and hat. Now days, it’s blue jeans and shirts. Possibly fashion will do a flip flop one of these days..
When I was a kid, I looked forward to growing up and dressing like a lady. But now I just wear the common uniform of blue jeans and T-shirts. Practical, but not too pretty.
Yes me too. With fall coming, I’ll try to break out my dress slacks for a change.
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