Blog - Page 3 of 4 - Historical Menswear

100 Years of Fashion in 100 seconds

This is great! And they didn’t ignore the menswear…

Elbow streamers?

The guy in the middle right under the pillar – what’s with the streamers hanging down from his elbows? Is that a thing? I don’t think I’ve ever noticed that before.

‘Scuse me, sir? I think your fly is down.

Before zippers were invented. So embarrassing.

more clogs

Speaking of clogs (or pattens, if you prefer,) here’s another good example, with an interesting cross-piece under the instep. And some nice demy pantouffles on the gent on the left.

Panel from an alterpiece showing the Marriage of the Virgin by Master of the Tiburtine Sibyl, c.1475. At the Philadelphia Museum of Art

Don’t his shoes look super contemporary? Bonus, he seems to have a spoon in his hat. From Fragments of a Nativity Scene, attributed to Hieronymus Bosch, early 16th century, Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Today’s versions: Alexander Wang, Jil Sander, and No. 6. In case you’re feeling a little Boschy.

Anatomy of a Suit Exhibition – 2014

This looks amazing:

From the Anatomy of a Suit Exhibition at the Museum of London, on exhibition Dec 20 – June 1, 2014

Stocking seams

Here’s a great detail from the same painting, with a clear seam up the back of this guy’s hosiery. Thanks for the clothing detail, Mr. Unknown Flemish Artist!

Fabulous Undies!

I was in Boston recently, and at the MFA I came across this fantastic pair of early Renaissance underwear! From Martyrdom of Saint Hippolytus, last quarter of the 15th Century, by an unknown Flemish artist.

more on that red ribbon

Thanks to Harry in the costume shop at Yale, we have some more of those red lapel ribbons! Ingres was our source, and we believe they are Legion of Honor medals, and at least on some of them, the ribbon is pulled through the button-hole on the coat.

Extra bonus – Yves Saint Laurent must have looked at the same research for one of the jackets in his “Le Smoking” collection sometime in the 1980’s!