Category Archives: Menswear
Heminway Tie Book No. 2, 1920s
Now to round out the pair, here’s the second of our two Heminway tie books. I’m not entirely sure what year it’s from, but after scouring the Internet and copyright records I’m reasonably sure it’s from between 1920 and 1923–my educated guess is 1922 or 1923, but don’t take that as expert opinion.
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Heminway Tie Book No. 1, 1920
This is the first of two Heminway Tie Books in our collection. I’m actually attempting to make one of the ties, but boy howdy it’s slow going! Who could’ve ever thought that following a 101-year-old pattern book wouldn’t be the best way to learn to crochet?
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Should Knickerbockers be Brought Back?
“Knickerbockers are a form of men’s or boys’ baggy knee-length trousers that were popular in the early 20th-century United States. Golfers’ plus-twos and plus-fours are the breeches that were also fastened below the knees but weren’t baggy. Before World War II, skiers often wore knickerbockers too, usually ankle-length.” [1] These types of trousers were often common in the early periods of the 20th century among golfers and youngsters (mostly newsies), especially in Europe. Around the 1980s, although it was amongst the “preppy” fashions, it started to die down. The question remains though is, should we bring back knickerbockers?
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The cap that originated sometime before the 20th century but became popular in the early 20th century amongst men and young boys. It was believed to be worn amongst all social classes, mostly middle and lower, but in upper classes, it was worn by wealthy golfers, drivers, and people for leisure activities like sports.
Button Suspenders
Button Suspenders are a type of strap that are generally used for holding up men’s trousers before they eventually started using belts more often. The most well-known type of the old days happen to be the button type suspenders with the curved or pointed things with holes that connect the suspenders with the buttons sewn into the pants.
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Magic Quick Change Cravat-to-Tie, From “The Magazine of Magic” vol. 4, 1916
“The Magazine of Magic” vol. 4, 1916 is a copyright expired how to magazine of the 1910s graciously shared for free download in Google Books. They have also volumes from 1915, 1917, 1920 and 1921. This snippet can be found by searching for “Quick Change” in volume 4.
The Cravat
The cravat, a neckband, is the predecessor to both the bow tie and the neckband we know the best today, the necktie. The cravat derives from a type of neckwear style that was worn by the members of the Croats, a 17th-century military unit based in the Habsburg Monarchy, which is now broken into Austria, Hungary, and the Czech Republic.
To make things perfectly clear, the cravat is NOT EVER to be confused with the Jabot, a similar piece of neck-wear that was worn by men in the 17th and 18th centuries. Some cravats look like Jabots, but they certainly are not jabots.
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Victorian Smoking Jacket
This is the Smoking Jacket. A Victorian men’s coat that mostly men wore when they were said to be smoking tobacco most commonly in their pass-times.
