Friday, September 17, 2010

Apparel Arts

Some trips to the mailbox are more gratifying than others. Some visits elicit a wide range of emotions…especially if I’ve been gone for a week. A weeklong delay in visiting the folks who hang on to my parcels in my absence usually yields the gamut of sensory tweaks when I finally show back up.
But today…today was beyond exhilarating, transcendent or riveting. Hell, I’m still jiggy and my meds wore off hours ago. It was nir-damn-vana. Apparel Artsthe Trade publication for menswear purveyors...redolence manifest by way of tactile and visual cues from an elegant era long passed. Somehow a bunch of them showed up.
Finding one of these hardcover volumes is near impossible these days. And the contents therein makes Take Ivy look like the tourist brochure that it…well…is.
I told you it was a tactile and visual treat. Much like me.
Here's just a hint of what I'll be poaching and extolling about in months to come. One of the 1937 volumes mentions these jaunty loafers...something about peasants, slippers and Norwegian antecedents. Huh.
So I’ll be right here. Not writing blog stories. But sitting-here-alone. Reveling in musty musings and snappy snapshots. Worry not. I've got barbecue Fritos and Stoli.

Onward. Artfully.
ADG

23 comments:

Lisa said...

and no doubt some boiled peanuts to go with the BBQ Fritos and Stoli. If one has achieved nir-damn-vana, why not go all the way, pull out all of the stops and party on Wayne. Fortunately there won't be any buttermilk chasers:p

Silk Regimental said...

Hey ! I could see ya in that grey/chalk stripe number. Think Flusser could cut up a suit for ya like that?

You could make a Publix plastic bag look good man.

SR

M.Lane said...

And what the hell else do you need????? Don't answer.

ML
mlanesepic.blogspot.com

lisa golightly said...

By the looks of the illustration, I know have a good idea where my descriptive image on "formal wear" is from ! Enjoy the Stoli and Frito time !

ilovelimegreen said...

ADG, you may be alone but I have given you suggestions for activities this weekend and have made sure your mailbox will not be empty tomorrow!

Laguna Beach Fogey said...

"leather Norwegian peasant slippers"...

ROFLMAO!!! Don't tell that to the i-trads and i-gents. They're likely to have a fit and do something crazy like start a Weejun bonfire.

ADG said...

Trad...Bonfire of the Weejuns. Damn...that's a blog post.

LimeGreenGal...thank you. I can't go to the big flea though. I spent all my money on Apparel Arts books.

Lisa...thanks ...I'm on my second bag of Fritos. The big bags.

M.Lane...don't get me started.

Silk Regmon...I ain't got no money left for Flusser togs.

Lisa...don't blaspheme the boiled peanuts.

NCJack said...

ADG, "Bonfire of the Weejuns" isn't a post: it's your first novel!

Anonymous said...

No no no..........Bonfire of the Belgians

Young Fogey said...

Wow. What a haul! Is that all of them?

You are one lucky/poor man, ADG.

One of the best things about AA is that they weren't written in order to tell men what the Next Big Thing would be (like Thom Brown's really really skinny coulottes); rather, they were based on what real live actual men were really wearing in actual life.

Enjoy!

Johnny said...

Homer. Simpson. Drool.

They just "showed up," huh?

Johnny said...

Oh, and you've been misinformed; they're not worth anything. I'll give you five bucks for the whole lot.

Anonymous said...

Well, yes. A novel. Why not?

Richard M said...

There was an Italian 3 volume work about Apparel Arts published some years ago. Anyone have a copy?

ADG said...

Richard M...I've never seen the 3 volume reproduction but I understand that it was done by Gruppo GFT...an apparel conglomerate (my former wife used to work for them). Limited run and as all these things go, rare as hens teeth. BTW, if you wanna borrow some of these volumes to gander, let me know. I owe you for helping me with the Art of... pictures.

Anonymous...you don't know me. I don't have the attention span juice for novel.

Johnny...RIGHT you are. Please, take them from me. And yes-they "just showed up." That's why I'm selling fifteen watercolours and three thousand toy soldiers to a dealer this afternoon.

Fogey...that's not nearly all of them. Apparel Arts published 6-8 books each year for retailers. The ones you see in the pictures are all from the 1930's so what I have isn't even representative of one full decade. They continued...I don't know the exact dates...all the way through the 1940's at least and probably into the '50's...But the 1930's issues are the best. And finally, yes, A.A. is a mirror of what men would wear...not a bunch of contrived foppish crap.

Bonfire of the Belgians...Weejuns....whatever. I'll be running with those at some point. Oh damn my creativity, I just thought of others...Dances With Worsteds...Chariots of Flannel...shut up.

Belle de Ville said...

Wow, what a sartorial find. Happy reading.

Anonymous English Female said...

ADG - Brooks Brothers Revisited ? (if it hasn't been done already?). Fabulous loot! - guess you can't even afford that haircut now...
PS - Looking forward to LBT's guest post on Norwegian peasant slippers/Bonfire of the Weejuns Part I.

Young Fogey said...

I can't wait to see Bonfire of the Belgians. Make sure to include those lime green suede bit loafers!

Lisa said...

"my former wife used to work for them" - now we get ask 'which former wife? No. 1, No. 2 or No. 3'. (you brought it up)

PS I don't really think that was a 'blaspheme' against the poor boiled peanut. In my own twisted way, I thought I was being nice.

Laguna Beach Fogey said...

No worries. I would be happy to cut ADG's hair for free, pro bono publico, and execute a proper short back-n-sides or 'Princeton' cut.

Whatever you do, ADG, save those loden Belgians. They're quite exquisite.

Rittenhouse Custom Clothiers said...

Wow!! How in the world did you come across those AA editions. They look like they would be good as a great reference source. I am just starting to build my sartorial library collection and am very jealous!!! Enjoy them!

In The Littoral said...

Bricks ahoy! I have only read the first two chapters of True Prep I am amazed anyone misses the fact that it is tongue in cheek. On another note, I have had a hard time commenting on you post about your father. It is the best I have read in the blogasphere, bar none. My dad has been gone for 21 years and I am not sure I am ready to write about it yet, thanks for being vulnerable. God bless, Dave

Easy and Elegant Life said...

GAHHHH! NGHHEJDJKK! wha? How? I'm dying inside, albeit in a dressing gown.