Remington+Lifestyle

Men in suits love nothing more than to talk about how no one wears suits anymore. And it’s true that with each passing year, fewer and fewer people wear traditional tailored clothing. One retailer tells me that he mostly considers his necktie inventory part of his store decor these days, like bars that display antique liquor ads or currencies from exotic nations now defunct. But the reasons given by fashion writers for the decline of the coat-and-tie are often shortsighted, missing some of the more fundamental reasons why men’s style has continually gotten more casual. Since my own theory crosses paths with the reasons why we celebrate the Fourth of July in the US, I thought I’d share it today. 

Almost every story about the death of the suit starts in 1945, the end of the Second World War and roughly three decades before the suit would eventually wane. For Americans, the end of the war was a turning point in the 20th century, not only because it came nearly halfway through, but because the war revolutionized America’s role in global affairs. The US shaped the new post-war order with organizations such as the UN and NATO, which together with American diplomacy and military strength gave rise to the Pax Americana. America emerged from the Second World War as the only power virtually undamaged, its vast military and economic capabilities fully intact, and the only country with nuclear weapons. American power was at its height. 

For American men who love tailored clothing, however, the apogee of the 20th century was a little earlier, in the 1920s or 1930s – the Golden Age of Hollywood, the well-dressed set, and the coming of age of classic American style. The post-war period, on the other hand, was fractious, confused, and noisy. Sportswear thrived. Ready-to-wear proliferated. Designers eventually replaced tailors. This revolution in menswear coincided and overlapped with the culture wars of the 1950s and ‘60s. Establishment types wore the suit; anti-establishment types took to white tees, leather jacket, and jeans. That shift towards what Bruce Boyer calls “rebel clothing” was the first meaningful move away from the coat-and-tie. The suit has been trying to wash itself clean of the stench of Establishment ever since, never with complete success. 

There are dozens of other theories on why the suit has died, ones that are often less convincing and more cantankerous. Some say people are lazy and lack personal pride. Others say the availability of cheap clothing has crowded out the market for quality tailoring. The worst takes are the ones that link the decline of tailoring to Western civilization itself – as the suit has declined, so has morality and virtue. These are about as bad as people who base their conception of the 1950s off film noir.

Much has been made of the revival of ‘90s style – the boxy suits, mallcore tees, and chunky sneakers. If you scroll through the new arrivals section at SSENSE, you’ll find tons of references to that decade’s punk, skate, and even corporate dress culture. The silhouettes are baggy; the clothes hint at teen angst. Even for people who don’t care for most of the clothes, which includes me, it’s hard to deny there’s a bit of sweet sentimentality here that naturally comes with nostalgia. I remember the ‘90s fondly. 

The clothes are just superficial, however, covering up what I think is the more defining revival – the sense of irony that was pervasive during the early-aughts. It’s the idea that some things can be so awful, so ugly, and so stupid, they’re ironically considered good. The actual ‘90s wasn’t about irony, it was about apathy, the other defensive mechanism we use to shield ourselves from scrutiny. Irony is about turning something on its head and laughing at it; apathy is about not caring at all. Either way, both are a dissimulation – a way to conceal our true feelings. 

Princeton professor Christy Wampole wrote a good opinion piece on this at The New York Times, where she says irony is the ethos of our age, “the primary mode with which daily life is dealt.” However, since this was published years ago, it was more about the middle class, often white, hipster that lives in coastal cities – the kind that yearns for authenticity, but shuns sincerity. Wampole writes that irony is used today as a defensive mechanism to preempt shame, a tool to hide vulnerable emotions:

Take, for example, an ad that calls itself an ad, makes fun of its own format, and attempts to lure its target market to laugh at and with it. It preemptively acknowledges its own failure to accomplish anything meaningful. No attack can be set against it, as it has already conquered itself. The ironic frame functions as a shield against criticism. The same goes for ironic living. Irony is the most self-defensive mode, as it allows a person to dodge responsibility for his or her choices, aesthetic and otherwise. To live ironically is to hide in public. 

Cane

1885

Apart from the obvious functionality, canes were an elegant accessory in the 19th century, when the afternoon promenade gave the members of the fashionable set occasion to display their finery and genteel manners. This gentleman’s novelty cane contains a 15-inch liquor vial, in the lower portion and a footed glass in the top, thereby serving the dual purpose of walking stick and portable bar.

Rub ‘n Buff Sampler - Color Review

I’ve been using Rub ‘n Buff as a metallic finish for my props for years, but recently at Gen Con I met an awesome Amaco rep who was giving out free samples and coupon codes (gencon2016 for 20% off a sample kit through their website).  So I picked up a sampler set of their full range of 12 colors and did a few test swatches.  “Sample” kit is a bit inaccurate, because I got a twelve regular 15 mL tubes of Rub n’ Buff.  This stuff is basically metallic pigment in solvent and wax which you rub on to a finely sanded or porous surface.  Because it’s wax-based it does not crack AT ALL, and the more you buff it the shinier it gets.

As for the colors themselves - gold matching has always been an pain in the butt for me so I was really pleased to see they had so many colors available.  The gif at the bottom was me attempting to arrange the colors from the most yellow gold tones to the most red gold tones.  They’ve only got two silver-tone colors, Pewter and Silver leaf, which are pretty similar except Silver Leaf is a little more liquidy and seems to have finer particles.  Spanish Copper is a basically a deep metallic brown, which strikes me as being great for grime or weathering.  The metallic particles in the Ruby color seem a little coarser than the other colors in the line, which might affect the final luster of a project.  Ebony, Patina, and Antique White all seem to be good for adding corrosion/weathering effects as well.

With the Gen Con code above, you can get a 12-pack sampler from Amaco’s website for about $45 shipped in the US, although it looks like you can get the same set off of Amazon Prime for $35.  Considering these retail for between $5-8 a tube, it’s a pretty good deal either way.  Here are a couple projects that I’ve used this stuff on, which are all basically thermoplastic/resin base -> Mod Podge coat -> wet sanding -> painted with Rub n’ Buff (no clearcoat or other finish necessary).

Robo-arm in Silver Leaf:

Yamask Masks in Gold Leaf:

FLYING LOTUS

A former assistant to Diego Rivera, Mexican American artist #EmilioAmero lived and worked for several years in Seattle alongside the Modernists of the #PNW, though his form of Modernism was heavily inspired by the ancient indigenous art of his native country. 👉 Tap the link in our profile to learn more.