Gentlemen

Gentlemen start your engines this one is for you!

Menswear

Boring 

Not so much!

During the the eighteenth century men had center stage when it came to fashion.  Then came the French Revolution and anyone in France caught wearing to much silk and lace literally lost their heads.

 

This started a decline in men's fashion from over the top to under the radar.  Only in the late nineteen sixties did that flamboyant  male make a temporary come back.

After the Great War fashion was changing faster than you could say Bug-eyed Betty. The young women could hardly wait to shorten their skirts and bob their hair. For men it was not so much what they wore that changed but when the wore it.  The tennis outfit came off the court  and went out to lunch.      

Special Occasion

For me men's costume is the easy part of my job but seems to be  most difficult to write about.  For the most part they would wear anything I asked them to.  But then I think most of them are afraid of me!  Don't know why?  They don't seem to have such a dramatic size problem.  Or maybe I have just been lucky.  Shirt size is usually the most difficult.  Larger sizes such as 18 and above are often few and far between.  I could go to the Big and Tall shops but that would blow my budget.  So I frequent second hand stores for shirts.  These stores are usually pretty good for men's costume pieces.  Bow ties and hats I order from the U.S. and sweaters are made by a professional knitter.  Overalls haven't changed much and when the collars on their dress shirts wear out we remove them and use them as work shirts.  To make the knickers we just cut a pair of dress pants at the knee and use the leftover fabric for the cuffs and there you have it.

Dominion Day 

Blacksmith or Tinsmith

From left to right, a Boater, Fedora and Straw Panama.

Details such as bow ties, suspenders and hats make  a big difference to the men's costume. 

   

Cloth Caps

School Teacher

In a time when sportswear driven  fashion rules, it is not difficult to set the men apart at the museum. 

To interpret the School House our male teachers wear suits.  This is something most modern day teachers would not do. This gives us a different look just because of where the suit is worn.
For someone who had a hard time writing about men's costume I seemed to have rattled on at length.  Just remember  for men it is not what they wear it is where they wear it!