I listen to CPDs all the time. Also big band music and LOVE old B&W glamour movies. Do you watch them? Some are pretty sappy, but oh so sweet in their innocence. A lot of times I prefer watching them and escaping into the romance, sweetness and naivete that doesn't seem to exist anymore. Elegant supper clubs with those little lamps on the table. Live bands playing songs to dance to before during and after eating. Torch light singers.
Champaign, cigarette girls, waiters in tuxes, -- all very sexy and appealing.

Didn't seem to be a whole lot of confusion about men's and women's relationships. Almost makes me wish that I was born 30 years earlier.

But having said all that, there are a lot of things that make our lives easier these days and women are not put out to pasture once they're 40 years old.

Oh, yeah babay ... throw back a bottle 'o' beer ... ALL swing is good, big daddy .. Schwing out ...

More bangin' on the piano in your neighbourhood juke~joint ... ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFP4Hwrl244&feature=related

I dunno.. I think the Zoot Suit is a bit over the top. The Zoot suit was popularized (mostly) by the same people who wear their pants hanging off their *** and have long histories of incarceration today.

but check these Zoot Suits out anyway.. Maybe I'd buy one for fun, but at that price, no, not really.

http://www.elpachuco.com/




I don't know if i'd buy on of these getups, but I would maybe go for some hats they have there, or maybe the ties.

I like the shoes they show, the Stacey Adams are nice but I don't like mirror-finish wingtip'd shoes really. I like it to be flat-black.

Yeah, well all fashion has a lineage ... so, all that stinks is still connected through a long line of what was once good ...

I'm not talkin' over the top either, just not too straight and cookie~cutter formulaic, artistically tasteful and originality wins every time ...

NOTHING new under the sun, just new takes on the same old ~ same old...

to all. Havn't been here in awhile. Hope all is good in the mingle forums. I love vintage stores as well as 2nd hand stores or estate sales. The latter often has clothing from the 40's or 50's and cheap prices. I don't go with any particular style. I buy what I like and wear some clothing I have had since about 32,now 54. I have a few purses that were my gradmothers. late 40's early 50's. I carry them at times.
On the subject of the 40's,my favorite films are 41-57. Watch TCM often. Besides the acting I like to look at the curtains,furniture and clothing the year movie was made.

You can't really find too many vintage and 2nd hand stuff on Long Island and I loathe going into the city. I'm glad you have something that works in your area! As for our estate sales, that's another "hum-bug" because Long Island is so bustling a house usually doesn't stick around for more than 70 years... or people are just to busy to bother with an Estate sale and they just throw it all away.

Ohio, however is an amazing place for that kind of stuff. You come across any nice Buicks from the 40s thru the 60s, let me know! haha. I been to Ohio once and that was to buy a '64 Wildcat. My friend bought a 1860 Second-Empire Victorian home for under $100,000. I would've loved to have been able to jump on that! Beautiful house. (needs work, of course).

TCM is a good channel but I don't get into TV much if at all. I prefer to download something good to watch and do it on my own schedule rather than rush from what I'm doing to catch the beginning of a movie, you know? Usually I catch glimpses of something that looks good on TCM and then go download it because, of course, I'm already 45 minutes into it when its on TV.

I can't really say much on purses, I'm a guy. lol.

Many of my favorite films are even pre-1940's. I enjoy all the old Charlie Chan movies, Sherlock Holmes, Mr. Moto, etc. "I Am A Fugitive From A Chain Gang" is one of my all time favorite movies (with Paul Muni, done in 1932). And then obviously the Bogart films, Kansas City Confidential and the later things like 12 Angry Men, etc.

-Pete

I'd just be happy to have the 60's and 70's trippin colours out of of fashion. They're everywhere

They're everywhere? Where do you see these? The 80's are coming back in the US.. not so much 70's, 60's.

More 30's for adding color to this thread...

Australia. All I see is those horrible patterns and colours that my parents tripped out on. I would love to see something more sophisticated.

You know, you do have an advantage that I'd like to have.

Being in Australia.. you have easier access to these famous Akubra brand hats. Oh boy I'd love one of their Bogart's!

The Internet has tons of vintage online stores you can buy from many different era's. I live in a city with many thrift stores and you can get just about anything you want that is vintage if you have time to drive around and look in the stores.
I think vintage is fun. You can have a vintage dress than everything else modern or use a vintage purse with modern clothes. I think today you can wear anything that you want.
Vintage became really big when the celebs started using vintage the past few years.
I have been wearing different vintage pieces for years, I just like the way some vintage clothes look.

Yeah, I pay no mind to the celebs, in fact I can't pick out Jessica Simpson or Angelina Jolie in a photo album if you tried to make me! lmao, and I'm not kidding. I mean, I know who they are, I heard about them (I don't live in a cave, after-all) but I really don't care about them enough to recognize them. And I get too busy indulging myself in classic movies to bother learning who these people are. I think all the decent actors died out around the time when Chevy Chase became unpopular. (mid 90s)

Anyway, to the topic at hand.. I noticed a lot of good vintage stores online, but a lot have women's stuff more than men's. I really need to get down to a few hat stores and try things on before I can buy off the internet. I believe my hat size is 6-3/4 but I need to be sure before ordering anything. I also understand that vintage clothing of the 30s, 40s.. ran a little small. That their size 34 pant may fit someone a size 32 or 30.

I often wear whatever I want, also. Suit, headband, and black t-shirt with Jeans comes to mind. LOL. But now that I've gave it serious consideration... I wanna go for the full effect, I just like it a lot.

Where do you look for your vintage stuff? I trust eBay. Some people call it "evilbay" and "fleabay" but I've never had one problem buying there and my feedback is 100%.

I'm from an era where people dressed to suit the occasion. To church I wore a dress with 50 petticoats, gloves and a hat. But people had more respect back then.

There was a lot more respect back then, and I guess that's a large part of it.

I would also venture to say that we were a much more proud nation at that time. Perhaps that was a reason for some of the respect we upheld.

People today have too much and care too little. I think a big part of it is how our communcaiton has evolved, or things to distract us from communicating.

It just makes sense.. that one would be more respectful if he was having to deal with people for socialization and to get his laughs, etc..

more so than the guy who sits in front of a 65-inch LCD television on a PlayStation 3, or the one who sends text messages always, rather than speaking to someone or going around the corner to talk in person.

a lot of technology took place of social gatherings, sports, dancing, etc. people can have fun without being around another person for weeks at a time now. and when you see less people, you respect less.

----------------DISCLIAIMER--------------
I DUNNO ITS 5:00AM.. maybe what I just wrote sounds like drivel. if it makes sense to anyone, let me know.. if not.. maybe I'll try and clarify later.

sorry, I'm a sucker for a man in a suit anyway, but the style of the 40, 50's were a classic.

I thankfully inherited a bunch of my grandmother's dresses, hats, and shoes and love wearing the vintage items.

The era's did have it's perks but it had it's downfalls as well but the clothes were definetely a lot classier

PERFECT sense to me. If today's people had to fight WWII we would be speaking Japanese or German. Nobody does anything out of their comfort zone. "I won't wear a dress. I'd rather die." Or "A jacket and a tie?? Eff 'em!"
I have to tell you that you look so respectable and dashing dressed the way you are.

Ebay is fairly good for vintage you can email for the exact measurements. The measurements should be in their description anyway.
Ebay also has a costume section that has some very expensive costumes made for plays etc they are cool but too expensive for me.

I go to the thrifts in my city which has an overwhelming number of thrifts, I find great stuff at a low price, really low like $1.99. People are looking for new clothes and the vintage stuff is cheap.
I am sure ebayers go thru these stores as well looking for vintage clothes to re-sale on ebay.
I often see that they have men's cloths as well, I have bought a male friend some really great vintage ties that by the way were very expensive on ebay.
Look for charity thrifts in the phone book. You may find out they have more thrifts than you think.

O thats pretty cool. My mom used to make all my clothes from patterns when i was little. All my dresses were real short, and litle a baby dolls dresses.. the panties underneath were frilly on the butt to be seen, like in the old days to show off under the little baby dress.

She made me dresses as i got older too.. everything 50s like, and collars, and straight, everything perfectly ironed.

What I DONT like now a days are the freak looking women with the 1000 tattoos into this style like the tattooed lady at the circus.

Just not my gig.

Those aprons are cool though. I like the sexy heels from that time too. Smart, and sexy.