Sport.........Illustrated

We live in a world full of sports publications, which people will still buy readily, but i stopped buying modern one a long time ago since i discovered the great publications of days gone by, and the attention to detail that was put into them with a lot of the covers being hand illustrated. i will be posting more covers in the future, but here are a few of my favourites for now...

'The Last Picture Show', 1971

I finally got my act together and sat down to watch a film that has been recommended to me for years, Peter Bogdanovich's, 'The Last Picture Show', 1971. With my continuing fascination erring on obsession with 1950's Americana, this film was perfect in depicting life in small-town America, post world war. 'The Last Picture Show' is a simple 'coming of age tale of teenagers in West Texas. Visually it was incredibly bleak, with baron landscapes and tumble-down shop fronts. The 'old boys' looked worn, the women, faded beauties, characters effected by their monotonous exisistance in this deadbeat town. 

The kids however, had an essence of change, it was the birth of the teenager. 

The clothing was a crucial element in this transition. As well as being technically very accurate in clothing choice, the fashion was awe-worthy. The main characters Sonny Crawford, (Timothy Bottoms) and Duane Jackson (Jeff bridges) oozed an effortless cool, with a fantastic wardrobe of themed shirts and Varsity jackets. The girls, in particular, Jacy Farrow (Cybill Shepherd), sported bullet bras and girdles, masked by pencil skirts, their boyfriends letterman cardigans and black and white saddle shoes. Youths were finally showing individualism, no longer mimicking their parents, they were rebelling. 

The acting performances were subtle, the writing was integral. It wonderfully captured the 'birth of the teenager' and the difficult transition it was to make. Much like 'A Catcher in the Rye' it's a perfect film to watch when you are in that period of your life but equally as enjoyable if you want to reminisce. 

David Rathman

David Rathman is a Minneapolis based watercolour artist. I stumbled across his most recent work "Rumble in the Jumble" which depicts the legendary fight between George Foreman and Muhammed Ali and can be seen in New York gallery Larissa Goldston.

I checked out his other work and it is very masculine, traditional American and pretty meloncholic. I can't say much about his style, techniques...etc as I am no art expert but even I can tell that his pieces are very emotional despite them being so hard and masculine...which is amazing that he was able to get that effect across using water colours as that is a very soft medium. Anyway check his stuff out for yourself...

Vogue Submission Rant

So, there is this Vogue competition every year. I'm entering this year which kind of pains me a bit as Vogue really embodies the type of journalism I do no want to get into but my uni course is basically forcing us to enter... Section three of the competition has to be a ranty opinion piece so I've done it on the very contradictory term of "new vintage". I don't hate vintage at all....I am just critiquing the manufactured aspect of it. So here goes...

We buy clothes to express something, if that something is profound or meaningful is not said. We follow trends, trends that are supposed to be new, indicative of the our time but in fact they are regurgitated silhouettes and fabrics from eras gone by. Trends which, instead of providing us with individuality like promised, become our shared urban uniforms.

Vintage clothes are “cool” and “stylish”. They are one of a kind so we are drawn to them. When you buy a vintage garment you are consuming somebody's past. The garment once had the ability to tell a story, it carried meaning, memories and substance for and from its original owner. When you buy vintage you express the wish to partake in this nostalgia but you cannot because as soon as the garment parts from its owner, or rather the owner parts from his garment, the memories and the meanings are lost. The sartorial slate is wiped clean.

The heart-shaped burn mark on the garment's right-hand sleeve which acted as a memory for the owner's first toke of a joint sneakily enjoyed behind the school's shed during fifth period becomes merely a hole, nothing more. A flaw in the garment for which you will try to score a 5% discount at the shop counter.

These flaws indicate that the garment, and therefore his owner, has a story to tell and this has become a desired attribute for consumers which manufacturers and designers have recognized. By transforming these flaws into commodities the very contradictory term “new vintage” is born.

Garments are given “characteristics” to make believe that they have been worn in numerous adventurous places, have exciting stories to tell and have had several rough days...the garment is mass produced to be one of a kind.

You can buy ripped, torn, bleached and shredded jeans that give the brand new denim a vintage feel, an edge and a history when in fact its history is nothing short of being produced in a factory followed by a short stay on a shop floor followed then by a longer stay on your bedroom floor.

James Dean, Marlon Brando, rugged cowboys and the members of the Beat Generation are all associated with wearing denim that stood for their non-conformity, masculinity and rebelliousness. Their choice to wear denim was symbolic, it reflected their attitude towards society and their jeans acted as a blank canvas upon which stories, memories and meanings were drawn on. Frayed denim was a way for them to express their anti-capitalistic stance, rendering the fact that you can now buy garments of the same nature bitterly ironic. The genuine meaning of garments which once served the purpose to tell stories, express views and attitudes have now become commodities, commercially driven artefacts which the trend-oriented consumer laps up to give themselves and their wardrobe individual significance when in fact they are merely partaking in an effective marketing ploy called new vintage.

fashioning depression...

Right now everyone seems to be in the same boat of having not a lot of money but beginning to not lose heart over it. Those of us who have less money have the chance to stand out. The way we dress can reflect on how we are feeling inside, so why not look damn good whilst doing it.

Just have a look at what all men in the Great Depression wore. The suits, hats, shoes and ties. Everything was well put together, among all races and classes of men, there was a unity formed by dressing with pride. This isn't just because all this stuff was intrinsic to the culture. Men in all times and all places have had the option of looking ridiculously unkempt. The point is that these men were under pressure to perform, to show that they were valuable, to demonstrate on sight that they were desirable commodities as workers.

A perfect example i found was this...

Tom, from the vintage showroom..

wants and desires...

A USN N1 Deck Jacket...

After i saw this jacket in the flesh on a friend of mine i instantly fell in love with it and will search the ends until i find one.

The U. S. Navy developed and used many different styles of cold weather gear and clothing during the 1940’s. A sailor’s duties are very often performed in the most challenging and harsh weather conditions while at sea, thus clothing needed to be durable, warm and functional. Winter jackets, commonly referred to as “Deck Jackets,” became the most cherished clothing articles of sailors during WWII and among collectors today. Most of the deck jackets used in WWII evolved from a dark blue zip-front design that was very similar in appearance to the U. S. Army’s Winter Combat Jacket (Tanker Jacket). By late 1943, the second version of this Deck Jacket design was being phased out of production and an entirely new design was being brought into use.

I found an excellent website who have made near enough exact replicas using the same detailing and manufacturing techniques here .

music for that friday feeling....

 From his 1975 album, "Journey to Love" here's Stanley Clarke with "Concerto Jazz/Rock Orchestra".