[Flanderian]

 

[Flanderian]

 

[Flanderian]

 

[eagle2250]

This ongoing stream of incredibly entertaining, illustrative and educational snapshots are cultivating in my gut an equally incredible desire to find a copy of the "Apparel Arts" book in which they are to be found! :beer:

 

[Fading Fast]

This ongoing stream of incredibly entertaining, illustrative and educational snapshots are cultivating in my gut an equally incredible desire to find a copy of the "Apparel Arts" book in which they are to be found! :beer:

For give or take $100 and a little time searching the old book seller sites - you can (and, IMHO, should) get a copy - it is well worth it:

https://askandyaboutclothes.com/community/threads/esquire-bound-volumes.239099/page-5#post-1865392

 

[Flanderian]

This ongoing stream of incredibly entertaining, illustrative and educational snapshots are cultivating in my gut an equally incredible desire to find a copy of the "Apparel Arts" book in which they are to be found! :beer:

For give or take $100 and a little time searching the old book seller sites - you can (and, IMHO, should) get a copy - it is well worth it:

https://askandyaboutclothes.com/community/threads/esquire-bound-volumes.239099/page-5#post-1865392

I haven't investigated individual old book sites, but E-bay has a market in them. So I'm surprised that they can be found that inexpensively. Apparel Arts continued to be published until the late '50's, when it then became GQ. However it's the one's from the '30's from which these illustrations were extracted, that demand the highest prices. My recollection of E-bay asking prices for these range from around $200 to $1,000, dependent upon condition and rarity. And many are in rags with pages loose or missing.

 

[Fading Fast]

I haven't investigated individual old book sites, but E-bay has a market in them. So I'm surprised that they can be found that inexpensively. Apparel Arts continued to be published until the late '50's, when it then became GQ. However it's the one's from the '30's from which these illustrations were extracted, that demand the highest prices. My recollection of E-bay asking prices for these range from around $200 to $1,000, dependent upon condition and rarity. And many are in rags with pages loose or missing.

The one I referenced is a modern book - published in the '90s - that is, basically, a complication of Apparel Arts illustrations from the '30s-'50s. I'm sorry that I wasn't clear about that.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0...oduct/0847817040/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1&tag=vglnk-c2405-20

If you look on Ebay, Amazon, https://www.abebooks.com and other sites for a few weeks, you can find one in very good condition (mine is all but new) for +/- $100.

 

[Flanderian]

The one I referenced is a modern book - published in the '90s - that is, basically, a complication of Apparel Arts illustrations from the '30s-'50s. I'm sorry that I wasn't clear about that.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0...oduct/0847817040/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1&tag=vglnk-c2405-20

If you look on Ebay, Amazon, https://www.abebooks.com and other sites for a few weeks, you can find one in very good condition (mine is all but new) for +/- $100.

Men in Style is a very nice book, and I was fortunate to find a copy at the Metropolitan Museum's book shop when it was still in print. I very much enjoy it, and would commend it to anyone who has an interest.

But a few things of which a prospective purchaser should be aware are as follows:

1. The book is 112 pages of 6 1/2" X 9 1/2".

2. I haven't counted the total number of illustrations but guesstimate it to be it to be around 80.

3. Roughly half the illustrations are rendered in the original color, and half as grey tone.

4. I believe all of the illustrations are from Esquire, but it's impossible to say. It's now obvious to me that many/most, and possibly all Esquire illustrations were also published in Apparel Arts, though placed in articles and formatted differently on the page. But there were also illustrations that were published in Apparel Arts that never appeared in Esquire.

The illustrations I've offered here are, to my best knowledge, from Apparel Arts, though many have also appeared in Esquire, and consequently in Men in Style. Apparel Arts magazine was evidently a large format publication of about the scale of the original Life magazine. This can be seen in the photo below of the cover of a copy being offered for sale.

 

[Fading Fast]

Men in Style is a very nice book, and I was fortunate to find a copy at the Metropolitan Museum's book shop when it was still in print. I very much enjoy it, and would commend it to anyone who has an interest.

But a few things of which a prospective purchaser should be aware are as follows:

1. The book is 112 pages of 6 1/2" X 9 1/2".

2. I haven't counted the total number of illustrations but guesstimate it to be it to be around 80.

3. Roughly half the illustrations are rendered in the original color, and half as grey tone.

4. I believe all of the illustrations are from Esquire, but it's impossible to say. It's now obvious to me that many/most, and possibly all Esquire illustrations were also published in Apparel Arts, though placed in articles and formatted differently on the page. But there were also illustrations that were published in Apparel Arts that never appeared in Esquire.

The illustrations I've offered here are, to my best knowledge, from Apparel Arts, though many have also appeared in Esquire, and consequently in Men in Style. Apparel Arts magazine was evidently a large format publication of about the scale of the original Life magazine. This can be seen in the photo below of the cover of a copy being offered for sale.

All good info and observations. The first one - the 6.5" X 9.5" size of the book - was the biggest surprise to me as I expected it to be the size of a coffee-table book.

That said, and recognizing that it isn't cheap, if you enjoy the illustrations and the accompanying text, it is worth it as the illustrations are more engaging - more vibrant in some manner - on paper than on-line.

Plus, it's nice to have so many of them in one place.

 

[Flanderian]

All good info and observations. The first one - the 6.5" X 9.5" size of the book - was the biggest surprise to me as I expected it to be the size of a coffee-table book.

That said, and recognizing that it isn't cheap, if you enjoy the illustrations and the accompanying text, it is worth it as the illustrations are more engaging - more vibrant in some manner - on paper than on-line.

Plus, it's nice to have so many of them in one place.

Absolutely! And they're all high quality images on quality stock.

 

[Flanderian]

 

[Fading Fast]

Clearly Ralph Lauren wasn't the first in selling a "lifestyle."

I don't know where that world is, but I'd like to live in it.

 

[Flanderian]

Clearly Ralph Lauren wasn't the first in selling a "lifestyle."

I don't know where that world is, but I'd like to live in it.

But he may have been the first in re-branding this lifestyle!

During the heyday of Polo Ralph Lauren in the '80's I recall reading quite a few descriptions as to how his clothing came into being. And no doubt as many know, while possessed of great style, Mr. Lauren was not himself a designer. But he employed many talented men and women who were, and they sought to both emulate and update designs from the the'30's. Aesthetically, I've always thought their best work a synthesis of roughly equal parts Ivy League and classics from the '30's.

To aid them in their efforts I read in several different sources that they were "snapping up" original source material in the form of old magazines along with books of fabric samples. So it seems certain that much of what we see in these illustrations served as direct inspiration for their designs. How direct? I still have a couple of Polo ties from the early '90's in homespun tweed in two different colorways. They're particularly unusual in that the bottom tip, instead of being folded under and sewn, is left raw. One of these ties' twin appears in a photo montage in Esquire from the '30's. And it is identical! Happenstance? They're unusual to the extent that I've never seen another like them.

But as to your request to live in that world, perhaps we'll need to content ourselves with Peregrine Heathcoat's until the real thing comes along!

 

[Fading Fast]

But he may have be the first in re-branding this lifestyle!

During the heyday of Polo Ralph Lauren in the '80's I recall reading quite a few descriptions as to how his clothing came into being. And no doubt as many know, while possessed of great style, Mr. Lauren was not himself a designer. But he employed many talented men and women who were, and they sought to both emulate and update designs from the the'30's. Aesthetically, I've always thought their best work a synthesis of roughly equal parts Ivy League and classics from the '30's.

To aid them in their efforts I read in several different sources that they were "snapping up" original source material in the form of old magazines along with books of fabric samples. So it seems certain that much of what we see in these illustrations served as direct inspiration for their designs. How direct? I still have a couple of Polo ties from the early '90's in homespun tweed in two different colorways. They're particularly unusual in that the bottom tip, instead of being folded over and sewn, is left raw. One of these ties' twin appears in a photo montage in Esquire from the '30's. And it is identical! Happenstance? They're unusual to the extent that I've never seen another like them.

But as to your request to live in that world, perhaps we'll need to content ourselves with Peregrine Heathcoat's until the real thing comes along!

A good friend of mine works in fashion - and worked for Ralph for years - and you are spot on, they have an incredible research library of original source material.

You are also correct about his inspirations. While many think Ivy, he was equally inspired by the '30s - movies, Apparel Arts, etc. When it first started, the Purple Label line was much more '30s than Ivy (and still is today) - you can feel Hollywood's Golden Era in those Purple Label clothes.

Purely from memory, but I believe Coco Chanel was also not a designer, but one who, like Ralph, had a vision that drove the brand. If true (i.e., if my memory is accurate), it's funny that two of the biggest "designers" of the last hundred years weren't actually designers.

 

[Flanderian]

A good friend of mine works in fashion - and worked for Ralph for years - and you are spot on, they have an incredible research library of original source material.

You are also correct about his inspirations. While many think Ivy, he was equally inspired by the '30s - movies, Apparel Arts, etc. When it first started, the Purple Label line was much more '30s than Ivy (and still is today) - you can feel Hollywood's Golden Era in those Purple Label clothes.

Purely from memory, but I believe Coco Chanel was also not a designer, but one who, like Ralph, had a vision that drove the brand. If true (i.e., if my memory is accurate), it's funny that two of the biggest "designers" of the last hundred years weren't actually designers.

Thank you for verifying and elaborating on the information I had only read about previously.

I believe Coco Chanel got her start in fashion as a milliner and may have had something to do with design of some of the hats, but otherwise that's my understanding as well. An entertaining and nicely produced made-for-TV film titled Coco Chanel aired in 2008 with Shirley MacLaine as the mature Coco.

I'm aware the first illustration below is clearly labeled Esquire, but I don't recall seeing among their issues, and think it may be some of the sharing that went on between the two publications. I believe the final two were AA only.

 

[Flanderian]

 

[Flanderian]

Just located this text in relation to issues once offered for sale: for any for whom it may be of interest -

"Published from 1931 - 1957, Apparel Arts was a large format (11x14) book sold to haberdashers and often displayed in store for consultation of both salesman and buyer."

Notably; when published, purpose and size.

 

[Fading Fast]

Now when I get off an airplane after hours rolled up in a coach seat with my suit jacket either smushed on my lap or scrunch in the overhead (despite my best attempts at carving out a space for it) - I look like an unmade bed. Only in my wildest and most pleasant dreams does my suit look like this guy's ⇧.

 

[Fading Fast]

Just located this text in relation to issues once offered for sale: for any for whom it may be of interest -

"Published from 1931 - 1957, Apparel Arts was a large format (11x14) book sold to haberdashers and often displayed in store for consultation of both salesman and buyer."

Notably; when published, purpose and size.

And thank God it did exist for the incredible and invaluable historical information it provides us today. With the internet and digital photography, future generations will have a rich trove of documentation about today's clothing, but without Apparel Arts and movies, our insight into '20s - '50s attire would have been meaningfully reduced.

 

[Flanderian]