Menswear in media from the 1930's

The 1930's saw a great change in mens fashion. This was due in place to the start great depression which began in 1929. The colours were dark and subdued. According to Derr Herr, a German menswear fashion magazine , American, British and German magazines did not differ in the styles and cut. According to Gentlemans gazette the lapels have a lower gorge but are not as slim as they were in the twenties; both wear high detachable wing collars, there is drape in the chest, the trousers are almost twice as wide, thought the chest pocket is still angled and the shoes still rather pointy. (see right)
                                             
By the 1940's Hollywood had exaggerated the drape or the cut of the suits. Heavy chests, padded shoulders and flared trousers came to the forefront in this era. Esquire said that war in the 1940s changed everything. The government restricted the use of wool, and single- breasted jackets and cuff and pleat- free pants became the norm. Once the boys come home, big style roars back with wide lapels, spread collars, and roomy suits.Mafia movies of this time inspired mens fashion.

1940's fashion

(www.esquire.com)
   

1940's style

Below is a video is the styles and trends which were set in the 1950's. According to Harpers Bazaar the 1950's was an era where many of the styles from the early 20th century returned  including flared jackets, natural jackets and overall a more narrow cut suit. The 1950's was a time where the teddy boys first came on the scene. Teddy boys were inspired by the dandies in the Edwardian period. Teddy boys were known for tight suits with a loose collared white shirt. Teddy boys often wore oxford shoes, brogue or suede shoes. There hairstyle usually was with the wet look which was slicked using brylcreem and had a quiff at the front. Teddy boys styled themselves on famous music artists at the time such as Elvis Presley.
       

According to Jeremy Langmead, editor of Esquire, the 1960's was the period where the men became more body conscious, wearing suits that showed off your figure. There was a lot of money to be made in the 1960's,which in turn led to the fashion conscious men investing in new suits and casual wear. The style icon of this period is former president John F. Kennedy. The mod culture also came to light in the 1960's. This was a subculture in which a group of stylish London men mixed both fashion and music. The mods fashion usually included Fred Perry or Ben Sherman shirts, teamed with Doc Martens and Levis jeans.

John F. Kennedy

Example of the mods.

The 1970s brought forward new and innovative styles. Below is an example of ad advert for mens jeans and shirts.

The jeans at this time had a different look to them as they were tight around the thigh but were flared from below the knee down. According to mens fashion magazine many of the styles were inspired by non western cultures such as African and Indian. Bare feet and sandals were not unusual as men aspired to their inner self where peace signs and flower chains could often be seen. Disco music inspired the fashion of the 1970s in which stretchy materials such as spandex or lycra were used  Satin shirts and flared trousers were very popular with inspiration the film of the decade Saturday night fever. (Mens fashion magazine)

The 1980's saw fashion become based on more of a street style especially with the publication of i-D magazine. This magazine looked at art, culture, fashion and music. It was set up by former Vogue art director Terry Jones. It combined street style and youth culture. This youth culture of the 1980's brought the punk fashion trend which can be linked back to the mods of the 1960's. Tartan became a trend with the punks where jeans were often worn dirty and had chains attached. Studded leather became a common item of clothing in the street style fashion of the punks. Below is an example of the street style punk photo shoot by i- D magazine.

Menswear fashion in magazines 1825- 1925

Menswear has been in fashion magazines for over 300 years. In 1825 Costume Parisien illustrates a man’s cutaway tailcoat . It had a squared-off high waistline, related to women’s styles. Men’s sleeves, like those for ladies, were cut full and puffy at the shoulders, and shoulders sloped downward from the neck. The delicacy of the man’s pinstriped trousers, bright buttons, lavishly curled hair, shoes with little bows, and snowy high cravat matched the overall effect of the female toilette.

 Example of tailcoat taken from Costume Parisien 1825

By the 1840's menswear fashion became serious and dull. Dandyism never widely popular, was a doomed phenomenon. There was a dramatic change in men's fashion, as men in France and England put on the black suit as their uniform. Fashion historians have come to call this change "the great masculine renunciation." Black, which began as the colour for ecclesiastical garments, extended to clerks and financial men, and then spread throughout male society to become the favoured colour for all urban gentlemen, respectable professionals, shop clerks, and even artists and writers. Men wore dark shades day and night. According to Les Modes Francaises  1886. Tailors offered fabrics in black or dark tweeds for suits and overcoats and the lines of the clothing were simple and stark. Pants could be checked or striped but fabric tones were subdued. Hats with unadorned lines completed a picture of business-like sobriety and no-nonsense severity.

Les Modes Françaises—Journal des Tailleurs 1886

In 1896 Evening dress was both the same for evening and formal wear. Evening dress is the proper attire, winter or summer, on all occasions after candlelight. There are two kinds of evening dress, formal or “full” as it is sometimes vulgarly called and informal (the complete bachelor 1896).

At this period of time the dinner coat came very much to the fore front. Manners for men 1896 tells a similar story from an American perspective. The describe the dinner coat as the badge of informality . Formerly it was worn only at the club and small stag dinners on occasions when ladies were not present. Now it is in vogue during the summer at hotels, restaurant dinners and in fact any occasion not formal (Manners for men 1916).

The English conduct manual of manners to men views wearing the dinner coat on different occasion but formal and play but not when accompanying women. The dinner jacket has very largely superseded the dress- coat for home wear and at dinners where one is a familiar guest. It is occasionally seen at the  , too but it would be incorrect to wear when accompanying ladies. Etiquette is not now nearly so strict as it used to be (English conduct of manners).

Blogging and menswear

A blog is said to be derived from the term 'web log' where information is displayed in date order, with the most recent information at the top of the page (Newson, Houghton & Patten 2009 p.3).

This blog will look at providing information on menswear fashion. The uasal man will give links and ideology of men's fashion closely linking with popular and unknown menswear fashion blogs. This week's blog gives and overview of blogging and further information on men's fashion blogging.

Blogging is a personal view on a particular subject and although mistakenly matched with journalists, a blogger is much more than that. Blogging stems from passion where lack of emotion is impossible. The need to sit for hours at ones computer, slouched over the keyboard, trying to communicate ideas, thoughts, fears and frustrations to the world (Loewenstein 2008 p.1).

Blogging must follow the the perceptions of what is considered as being of being 'popular' and 'real'. Real individual bloggers run the risk of being vulnerable and stepped on by bigger blogging networks who have close links to big fashion companies. When the band together or form groups, they become powerful both politically and economically (Barlow 2008 p.46).

Blogging and social media otherwise know is micro blogging are very closely linked and are very important for men's blogging. Micro blogging is said to be where millions of people publish short to each other and the world all day, every day. With mobile devices blogging is much easier and updates can are now extremely flexible and portable. Sites which have exploded since 2007 include Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest (Genelius 2012 p.651).








Menswear blogging has become very popular over the last 5 years with new, innovative blogs being updated daily. Celebrities such as David Beckham (above)  and the male model (right) have encouraged men to become interested and more aware of new fashion trends and in turn started blogging in droves.

Men's fashion blogs which have a significant influence vary from street style blogs to formal gentleman's blogs. Blogs which are extremely successful are Fashion beans which looks at mens fashion and grooming while giving example lookbooks of how men are dressing from day to day. Highsnobiety looks at mens fashion through streetwear with a close link to music and footwear apparel. Scott Disick has a huge following from men all over the world and his instagram page letthelordbewithyou has over 3 million followers as his post look at a more gentleman sense of style with a mix of luxury. Irelands most popular men's fashion blog is Help my style which looks at ways of using what is currently in your wardrobe and the varying ways in which they can be worn.