Category Archives: Men’s fashion

The Perfect Dent

Posted on 2018-06-19 by Jonathan

Anyone with a mild case of OCD can drive themselves mad perfecting symmetrical dents and folds (without creases or kinks) in soft felt fedoras. I thought maybe I just didn’t have the right touch, but if you look at 1940s … Continue reading →

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Canadian Fashion Connection – H. V. Cowie Company Ltd.

Posted on 2018-05-20 by Jonathan

The H.V. Cowie Company Limited was founded by 45 year old Hedley Vicars Cowie on March 6, 1922. The company specialized in manufacturing and importing menswear (dress pants, blazers, dressing gowns, smoking jackets, neckwear, scarves…) Initially located at 22 Front Street in … Continue reading →

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Canadian Fashion Connection – Lou Myles

Posted on 2018-05-06 by Jonathan

Luigi Cocomile was born in 1928, a month after Joseph and Lucetta Cocomile (an itinerant shoemaker and his wife), immigrated from Calabria, Italy to Toronto, Canada. The family struggled financially and Luigi dropped out of school after grade 8, earning … Continue reading →

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What fashion cost in 1926 – Men

Posted on 2018-03-10 by Jonathan

From the same 1926 Motion Picture Classic magazine series as Clara Bow’s oufit, comes this article with the breakdown for how Ramon Novarro’s evening suit cost $430.00 (not including shirt studs and cuff links, which could range in price from … Continue reading →

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Canadian Fashion Connection – The Golden Lion, 1847 – 1898

Posted on 2018-01-15 by Jonathan

English-born Robert Walker moved to York (Toronto) in 1829 and by 1836 was operating a dry goods store on King street. By 1847 he had built a stone-fronted store and two years later adopted a golden lion as its symbol. … Continue reading →

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A Century of the Trench Coat

Posted on 2017-11-27 by Jonathan

Before 1915 men wore overcoats or raincoats (aka Macs). Overcoats were warm but heavy, and raincoats were light but not warm. The advent of the Great War necessitated a solution to combine the advantages of both styles of coats for … Continue reading →

Posted in Glossary, Men's fashion | 1 Comment

Six different ways to hang a watch chain…

Posted on 2017-11-16 by Jonathan
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Canadian Fashion Connection – Paul Minichiello

Posted on 2017-10-19 by Jonathan

Born in Campo Basso, Italy in 1940, Paul Minichiello apprenticed at a local tailor’s shop before immigrating to Vancouver in 1954. He worked for nine years at Tip Top Tailors as well as other tailor shops before opening his own … Continue reading →

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More WTF (What the Fashion) Shock Chic

Posted on 2017-07-04 by Jonathan

This is an excellent example of a wearable art collection that presents itself as a provocative fashion idea, but is not intended to be taken as a serious fashion direction. These collections get far more attention than they warrant, mostly … Continue reading →

Posted in Fashion, gender, Men's fashion | Tagged | 4 Comments

Beefcake with your cheesecake

Posted on 2017-06-14 by Jonathan

A recent article on Messy Nessy brought up a little known piece of sexist uniform history – beefcake carhops. According to Paula Bosse of Flashback Dallas in the late 1930s “Women were dressing in scanty outfits, hula skirts, midriff-baring costumes, to serve drive-in … Continue reading →

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